The exercise is to prepare a one-paragraph philosophy of preaching statement. I did this recently as part of writing a larger ‘philosophy of ministry’ statement. Our church needed a statement like this to clarify our identity and our approach to doing ministry. When I prepared the paragraph on preaching, it forced me to revisit basic questions about the ministry of the Word. Why do I preach? How do I preach? What do I preach? Yes, I’ve wrestled with those questions before, and I’ve settled on the answers. But thinking through them again renewed my focus and my passion for preaching Scripture.

Here is my paragraph. I don’t offer it as the final word. Rather, it’s one example of what issues a ‘philosophy of preaching statement’ addresses.

“We will preach the Scriptures for life-transformation so that people can effectively follow Jesus and engage in his mission to the glory of God (1 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Timothy 4:13; 2 Timothy 4:2. Our primary form will be “exposition for a new generation.” Expository preaching works through blocks and books of Scripture in order to expose the meaning of a text and apply it to the lives of the listeners. Yet, exposition must be done for a new generation. At a very minimum, this means: (1) a willingness to move beyond some of the traditional forms and styles which have worked well in past cultures – such as parallel or even alliterated outline points; (2) a commitment to connect particular passages to the storyline of the Bible; (3) a commitment to speak as if non-believers are present so that more will find their way in or will be invited. At the same time, the exposition of Scripture in our contemporary context must recapture the focus on the grandeur of God! It must display passion for the person, work, and mission of Christ! These commitments get lost when preaching becomes human-centered rather than God-centered. The gospel is the core of our message since it is the ‘power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes’ (Romans 1;16) and since it is intended to shape the way that believers think and act and live (Philippians 1:27).

There you have it! How about carving out a couple of hours to draft a statement like this? The exercise will benefit your preaching.