Pastor as Proclaimer
We continue our series on the roles of a pastor.
Today; the pastor’s role as a preacher.
How important is preaching; I mean, really? Some pastors are known as good preachers and some aren’t. What criteria is used to determine that judgment? Is it mostly subjective? Isn’t it enough to make sure that people don’t fall asleep during the sermon?
In the Lutheran tradition preaching is very important. Martin Luther wrote that the proclamation of the gospel is what builds the church. Keep in mind that the Holy Spirit has a lot to do with that proclamation. It’s not just some homiletical (homiletics is the art of preaching) bag of magic tricks that pastors pick
up at seminary.
And it’s more than just having good sermon illustrations (stories) or being able to lead off a sermon with a good Sven and Ole joke.
My homiletics professor at seminary was constantly calling us back to what he called “the law-gospel dialectic.” I’m not sure I fully understood it at the time, but after years of study and practice I think I have something of a grasp on it. To put it simply: it is the dialogue between the law and the gospel in each text. The law isn’t simply equated with the Old Testament any more than the gospel is equated with the New Testament. There is law and gospel in both testaments. What we are looking for in homiletics is how these two forces pull upon us. We
as humans are naturally attracted to the law: rules keep things neat and people get what they deserve. The gospel goes against human nature because it proclaims that God gives mercy to people who deserve punishment: God causes it to rain upon the just and the unjust.
Our sermons should reflect that didactic, that conflict, between what we want to hear and what we need to hear.
Sure grace is good for me, I’m all for it. But what about grace for the drunken driver who kills a teenage girl who is working on a road construction site (my cousin Wendy was killed just like that)? Does God love that drunk? Does that mean that I should?
Pastors consider preaching to be one of the most important jobs of their calling. Congregation members want their pastor to be a good preacher as well. We joke that a good preacher can condemn sin but not the sinner. I think a good preacher can raise God’s grace to the utmost place in our lives.
Blessings and grace!
Pr Mike