In my last post, I advocated preparing sermons in community. One way to do this is to use study groups or focus groups composed of people in the congregation who do not serve on staff or a leadership board. Today, I’d like to share a story about how this approach made a huge difference in a sermon I preached.
I had decided to preach a sermon from Titus 2:1-5 titled “Older People: The Future of Our Church.” I wanted to cast the biblical vision for older believers mentoring younger believers. A few days before I preached this text, I invited a few senior-aged people from the congregation to help me think through the text and the challenge of fleshing it out in our context. I had already done my exegetical work. But I wanted to hear the questions and concerns which the text raised in their minds. Six men and women ranging from 65-81 sat around a table with me, and we talked.
When I asked them what the sermon needed to address in order to help listeners make sense of the passage, a 77-year old man replied: “Why does verse two tell old men to be ‘sober and grave’ when people our age are grumpy enough? I’m not sure I like that.” For a moment I was puzzled. Then, I realized that he was using the King James Version, as were at least half of the group members. It had not occurred to me to check this translation that several of our senior-aged people grew up with and still used. If it were not for this man’s question, I would have neglected a detail which created confusion in the minds of several senior-aged people.
I think of this story whenever I’m tempted to neglect this aspect of sermon preparation. I’m busy enough, so why not streamline the process and dispense with the hassle of getting a group together?! The fact is, God uses the collective wisdom and insight to craft sermons. Who knows what insights and questions and issues we miss when we fail to prepare sermons in community.
Posted by Steve Mathewson at 8:02 AM on August 28, 2007
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Thanks for the reminder. I think many might accuse your use of focus groups as getting into "itching ears" territory. This is a great illustration of how the only way to really know the questions our people might ask, is to ask them. We can't assume we know both the answers and the questions...
You keep writing, I'll keep reading! Thanks!
Posted by: Doug Rutter on August 28, 2007
To do a good job of preaching in community the way that is suggested here would take a lot more discipline by most preachers than they are willing to give. I am mentoring a young pastor who is still getting his sermons done the night before. His models have all done it that way. I am the only pastor that he knows who is done up to 4 months in advance. We also need to get feed back on the video we are using as a hook and where we are placing the video in the message. I am working with more of our youth who give me valuable feed back on this important part of the preaching tools that are new to me and to most people in the pews.
Posted by: Don Berry-Graham on August 30, 2007