"But let him take heart; He is called not to be an actor, a magician, in the pulpit. He is called to be himself. he is called to tell the truth as he has experienced it. He is called to be human."(F. Buechner "Listening to Your Life." p. 104-105)
One of the many things that just about every Profile from a church that is looking for a new priest claims is that they want a priest who can make the Gospel relate to their lives.
That's a pretty tall task if you ask me. What makes a sermon relative or connective to folks? The answer probably is I don't know, but I know it when I hear it. A good question to ask of any sermon is "where is the preacher in it." A good sermon to me comes from the heart engaged with the mind. It recalls how the passages of scripture read in church that morning, caused an ah-ha moment for the preacher. I suppose it is okay to tell anecdotal stories, and define Greek words, or quote big named theologians. But ultimately that stuff is filler or perhaps even camaflauge if the preacher really has not direct experience of God's presence or sometimes even absence in his or her life.
That takes courage to admit where you are in the story, or how you've made connections. It also takes time to figure out how to connect the dots for the hearers. Time that is usually spent in Pastoral Care.
I don't need to be Ed the Entertainer in the pulpit. If I say something that gets a chuckle, bonus points I suppose. But if I say something that gets people reflecting and/or talking, then I've really nailed it.
Blessings,
Ed
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