Toolbox For Faith

Ok - perhaps the title is a bit of an overstatement. Most of what I learned about preaching came from listing to my father preach for years and from classes with Dr. Tom Ridenhour at the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, but as I read a story in the October 2011 issue of Inc Magazine, I was reminded of the influence that Robin Williams and other comedians have had on my preaching.

The article entitled, “Badabing, badaboom - Can doing standup help close the deal?” focused on a company that brings in a standup comedian named Clayton Fletcher to teach employees comedic technique as a way of making them better public speakers. “Fletcher runs through a list of rhetorical devices commonly used in standup routines. He explains how to establish a roll structure, or a succession of punch lines, and how to set up a reference to a previous joke, known as a callback.” The owner of the business says, “Many of the skills used in crafting a standup routine . . . are essential for winning over prospective clients. ‘If you’re a good comedian, you’re probably a good presenter.’”

Now I don’t tell jokes when I preach, but like standup comedians, I tell stories, talk about life and make observations on society as a way of connecting my story, the congregation’s story, and God’s story revealed in scripture. When I started preaching, I remember watching Robin Williams doing standup and noticing how he would always reference something from the beginning of his act as he was finishing up. At the time, I didn’t know he was doing a “callback”, but I recognized that it was a helpful way to highlight a point and I incorporated it into my preaching. As I listened to observational comics, I got a sense for how to look at the ordinary events of life from a different perspective. As I listened to storytelling comics, I got ideas for how to share an illustration in a way that draws the congregation into the story and while the content of my preaching has more to do with Tom Ridenour than with Robin Williams, the rhetorical devices used by standup comedians have definitely had a helpful influence on my sermon structure and delivery style.

When Dr. Marcus Miller came to Roanoke to talk about preaching the Lenten texts, he took a few moments to share his ideas on preaching. I thought his ideas were helpful. Let me know what you think.

1. Preaching is the central task of the pastor.

2. The Law/Gospel dichotomy still works in today’s world.

3. Preachers need to be as responsible for what people hear as for what they say. It is important to create opportunities for congregational feedback on preaching to make sure that our style doesn’t get in the way of proclaiming the good news about Jesus.

4. The purpose of preaching is to explicate scripture.

5. Biblical illiteracy is not the issue for most people. The issue in most cases is lack of theological understanding. Many people know Bible stories. Preaching involves more than just retelling the story. Preaching addresses the issue - “What does this mean to our life of faith?”.

6. Preaching needs to build community.

7. Preaching needs to point beyond ourselves. Dr. Miller instructs his students to write down a few of the current events of the day as they begin to prepare a sermon as a reminder to look beyond themselves.

8. Preaching is shaped by our own journey of faith. (I remember Dr. Charlie Sigel essentially saying that we look at the world through glasses that are tinted by our life experience. The preacher, he said, does well to learn what colors their glasses so they can know how that affects their view of scripture and shapes their preaching.)

- From a presentation Feb. 4, 2011 at St. Mark Lutheran Church, Roanoke, VA by Dr. Marcus Miller, president of the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary

Some sermons and Sunday School lessons stick with people for a lifetime, while others are forgotten almost as the words are spoken. Chip and Dan Heath in their book, “Made to Stick,” explore the reasons why some ideas are sticky and others are not. The book offers a model for how you can make your ideas (read sermons and teaching) more engaging and more memorable. I have tried using a few of their six principles in my writing and speaking and they work. The six principles are known as the SUCCESs model: Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional and Stories. The book is wonderful and their website contains lots of free helpful resources.

I was with a group of pastors the other day who were talking about resources for preaching.  The group listed several commentaries and favorite books, plus websites like: Textweek.com, and WorkingPreacher.org as possible resources. We also discussed the value of pericope study both with colleagues and with congregational members.

Last Thursday however, I was reminded that one of the best resources for improving my preaching is the congregation I serve. I was talking with one of my senior adult members who said with a gentle, coaching spirit, “I finally figured out why I have trouble hearing you when you are preaching. You just go a little too quickly.” I trust her judgement and so this past Sunday, I made an intentional effort to move a little more slowly through my sermon. The pauses seemed a little long and unnatural to me, but I tried it and the results were dramatic. After the service, three different senior adults made a point of telling me that they heard every word I said. Just to me sure I wasn’t going too slowly, I asked a few younger folks about the pacing and they said it was fine. The change in pace was relatively simple, but without the coaching of my congregation I would never have known that I needed to make the change.