Kuziej, Kenneth

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On Preaching and the Preacher

Wilfrid Laurier University

ConsensusVolume 3 | Issue 2 Article 24-1-1977On Preaching and the PreacherKenneth KuziejFollow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensusThis Articles is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by anauthorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended CitationKuziej, Kenneth (1977) "On Preaching and the Preacher," Consensus: Vol. 3 : Iss. 2 , Article 2.Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol3/iss2/2ON PREACHINGAND THE PREACHERKenneth KuziejThe ministry of preaching is inspired by the Holy Spirit and based in the Wordof God. The necessity of the call to preach is defined by St. Paul in Romans 10:“How are men to call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how arethey to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they tohear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14-15) The preacher, therefore, is onewhom the Spirit of God uses to convey the Good News of Jesus Christ to menand women.THE PREACHERIn history, the preacher is analogous to the Old Testament prophet. The word“prophet” (nabi*) in Hebrew probably is related to Akkadian and Arabic wordsmeaning “to call” or “to announce.” ^ If this is so, the ancient prophet can beunderstood as a preacher, or as a proclaimer of the Word of God. The modernpreacher also is an announcer. The vocation of preacher therefore stands indirect line with those great and powerful voices of the Old Testament as Moses,Elijah, Jeremiah and Isaiah. These prophets courageously proclaimed orannounced God’s Word in spite of the most incredible opposition. Today, thisvocation of proclaiming God’s Word in spite of opposition is still manifest in1. B.D. Napier, "Prophet", Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, vol. 3, (New York: Abingdon Press,1962), p. 900.12Preaching and the Preacher 13living memory in such prophet and or preachers as Dietrich Bonhoeffer andMartin Luther King. The spirit of the Old Testament prophets in speaking forGod, by God is at work in Christian preachers today.Today, the preacher is analogous to the broadcast newsman. The role of thenews announcer on television or radio is that of a herald: one who proclaims orannounces the most important of the day’s events. Similarly, present daypreachers are proclaimers or announcers of God’s Good News of Jesus Christ.Like the broadcast newsman, the preacher is only the one who reports thenews ... he is not the shaper of events. ^ This fact properly subjects theproclaimer to the proclamation, and ultimately, to him who issued theproclamation. The media, contrary to Marshal McLuhan, should not be themessage. This realization keeps humble all announcers, whether broadcastnewsmen or ministers of the Word.But, though humble, the newsman, like the preacher, should be recognized asa man or woman of integrity, credibility, and authority. This is necessarybecause often events are formed in the most unbelievable manner. For instance,it is shocking to hear of the assassination of a great political figure. In the sameway, God’s events, his news, also are stunning: God became man. He, thoughdivine, suffered and died. Yet three days later he rose from death. And he didthese things for us! Therefore, when Christian preachers mount their pulpitsthey must do so with that same spirit of authoritative urgency that televisionnewsmen have when they slide behind their news desks, before the cameras,with their urgent bulletins to read.THE PREACHINGChristian preaching must be shaped by the Word of God as interpreted by theChurch: it must be theological and confessional. It would deny its links with theancient prophetic ministry of Israel if it only was formed by what people want tohear or like to hear or eiqiect to hear. This is not to say that traditionaltheological language must be used to proclaim God’s Word; rather that thehistorical truths that God revealed will determine its foundation and its content.Paradoxically, Christian preaching also must be existential. It must be able torelate God’s Word and his Good News to the sufferings, struggles and sorrows ofthe people of our day and our society. The preacher that avoids the modernprophetic ministry, that is, refuses to become vulnerable in order to minister totoday’s brokenness, in his preaching will only preach shallow and trite sermonsthat are a charade of true, prophetic proclamation.Christian preaching must be psychologically affirmative. Christianity, throughthe Gospel that it both proclaims and lives, frees people from all that hasenslaved them in the past, enslaves them in the present, and would enslavethem in the future. The goal of Christian preaching is having men and women2. In Canada, Canadian Broadcasting Company announcers are not even allowed to write their ownnews copy.14 Consensusput their trust in Jesus Christ for the things needed both in this life and after itand in living lives that are open, honest, fulfilled and joyous. Preaching, by beingciffirmative, must not encourage people to be over-dependent on the forms, norsustain neuroses and inhibitions. Preaching, Christian preaching, will not dull orstifle the human spirit.In traditional language, preaching affirmatively is preaching the Gospel. AllChristian preaching must be “rooted and grounded” in the Gospel. It is theGospel which separates Christians from out of the world and unites them intothe Church by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Law is also present inChristian preaching, but never without the Gospel. It is the preacher’s exactingtask to separate Law and Gospel. Martin Luther said of this: “This differencebetween the Law and the Gospel is the height of knowledge in Christendom.Every person and all persons who assume or glory in the name of Christianshould know and be able to state this difference. If this ability is lacking, onecannot tell a Christian from a heathen or a Jew; of such supreme importance isthis differentiation.” ^THE FORM OF PREACHINGAs in the basic rule of architecture as laid down by Frank Lloyd Wright, theform of preaching follows its function. “The characteristically propheticphenomenon, always presupposes . . . the decisive impingement of Yahwehupon history.” Thus preaching is the proclamation of God’s will and action topeople throughout history. This is the function. What is to be the form?Oftentimes, it seems as if this function Just stated above forces contradictorymanifestations of the form of preaching. For example, it is a necessity that thepreacher be at once imitative and eclectic as well as creative and innovative inthe form of his preaching. He must be in the ancient traditon, using the formsand formulas in order to be recognized as a man of God proclaiming the Wordof God. For this reason, such liturgical necessities as the Votum and the Paulinebenediction (Philippians 4:7) will be used for sandwiching the sermon in a formthat gives the hearer the message that he is listening to God’s Word for him inhis day.The modern sermon is the major form of preaching today. The sermon haswithin it much of the same content as the earliest recorded sermons of theChristian Church. In the Acts of the Apostles, the preaching of Peter and Paulshow that central to these messages is the astounding fact of Jesus Christ,together with an interpretation of who he is, what he accomplished, and why.(Acts 2:14-40, 3:12-26, 5:29-32, 10:34-43, 13:16-41, 14:15-17, 17:22-31)Without this basic foundation in Jesus Christ, preaching would be reduced tomere moralizing or, at best, perhaps, teaching.Preachers today must be readers. They must garner ideas, illustrations, andinterpretations from their brother preachers of the past. Modern preachers are.3. A/Vartin Luther, The Wisdom of Martin Luther, (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1973), p. 12.4. Napier, p. 905.Preaching and the Preacher 15therefore, imitative and eclectic, and they stand in the tradition of men andwomen of God reaching back into the pre-Christian era of ancient Israel.Furthermore, preachers must mount their well-worn pulpits to claim for theirday the authority that is theirs as the spokesmen for God. Preachers are menwho “stand within a tradition in which a remembrance is preserved of God’swords and actions in the past.” ^But in no way must a preacher be held to only the forms of the past. JamesSmart writes, “Never is this tradition merely repeated by him as though of itselfit were an adequate revelation of God in the present. Each prophet speaks bothin remarkable unity with those who preceded him but also in remarkableindependence of them.”^ The modern prophet, the preacher, is creative andinnovative. Though his foundations are in the past, rooted firmly in tradition, hissuperstructure is all his own, a manifestation of his own emphases and stylesand forms of communicating. He must be full of life, life today, and aware of cillthat which militates to make life worthwhile and all that which brings life downinto the dust. The preacher, then, must be acutely aware of his experiences, andmust become a collector of those experiences which are the raw material forexistential illustrations and sermon themes. Yet, again, all of these themes willbe attempted within a basic theological pattern determined by Scripture and bythe Confessions of the Church.Again, the preacher is imitative, but in this case imitative of the methods ofcommunication which are effective to carry the Gospel to the people of hissociety, time, and place. Today, in North America, for example, the preachermust be acutely aware of the impact of the various electronic media availablefor broadcast of the Gospel. These media cannot be allowed to be usedexclusively for entertainment, education and politics without attempting to putto use their power and influence for communicating God’s Good News.Furthermore, the modern drama can be put into the service of Christ, just asmedieval dram was, in the morality play. Still further, dance, music and otherarts as media of communication are to be exploited'for the communication ofthe Gospel. Thus, in spite of the controversies surrounding them, such filmedmusicals as Jesus Christ: Supperstar and Godspell did yeoman’s service inpresenting Christ to all sorts of people, pious and impious, religious andirreligious, believing and unbelieving.At the very least, Christian preachers should be well trained to present theGospel in an attention-getting manner. The prophets of the Old Testament didsome very attention-getting things. Hosea, for example, married a harlot toillustrate Israel’s unfaithfulness to her God (Hosea 1:2-3). With a precedent likethis, it is clear that nearly any way may be sought to strike the collectiveconsciousness of the hearers in a manner that will be well remembered and willpresent clearly the will and Word of God.For this reason, preachers must be aware of the psychological impact ofcertain rhetorical techniques and press these techniques into the service of the5. James D. Smart, The Interpretation of Scripture, (Philadelphia; The Westminister Press 1961)p. 176.6. Ibid.16 ConsensusLord. The use of the dramatic pause, the cataloguing of powerful words, thenecessity of illustrations, the inflection and intonation of the voice are all amongthe rhetorical techniques that preachers should cultivate. Effective speaking, itcannot be emphasized too strongly, is more often based in the mastering ofthese simple methods than in the assembling of meaningful and logical contentsof speeches. It provided the success of the smoothly articulate Herbert W.Armstrong. It accounted for the effectiveness of Adolf Hitler in mobilizing dieGerman people.Much of the effectiveness of good preaching depends upon professionalpreparation of the sermon. This does not preclude the Holy Spirit in thepreparation and delivery of the sermon; rather, it is to be understood that theHoly Spirit is present in and abetting the process. The preacher should be awareof the task that he has before him when he sits down at his desk and looks uphis sermon text. He begins to encode the ideas of the text in such a way thatthose ideas may be easily decoded and understood by his hearers; hearers whoinclude young and old, believers, doubters and unbelievers, rich and poor. Thistask of preparation begins with interpretation in the exegesis of the biblical text.The preacher must know what he is talking about! After this, the central themeor message must be organized into a textual exposition. It should be based, ofcourse, on the exegesis of the biblical text and not on some preconceived orhoped for meanings of the text. This exposition, then should be expanded into aprofessionally prepared sermon, made effective by the use of rhetoricaltechniques. The sermon should be clearly written and in simple language. Itmust be stylized into a sermon, and delivered as such in a powerful,attention-holding and memorable manner. By no means must it be lengthy. Byno means must it be a dry presentation of a series of facts.The sermon must be concerned with critical, vital, life-or-death subjects.Trival subjects are not to be presented from the pulpit. Fine points of OldTestament Law are to be avoided as are the meaningless trivia which fills ourlives today. For example, “sermons” on the question of whether or notChristians should dance or smoke are not fit subjects on which the preachershould use his time.Rather, “we preach Christ crucified” (1 Corinthians 1:23), which is theultimate kerygma. The proclamation of Christ, and his atoning sacrifice is thepurpose of the preacher’s call into the ministry of the Word. His job, hisresponsibility, is to proclaim that message in ways that will bring the grace ofGod’s mercy and forgiveness and reconciliation and atonement to as manypeople as possible.

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On Preaching and the Preacher

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