Preach Magazine Issue 4 - Preaching in the digital age | Page 52

52

SERIAL

View from the pew

What
are they
thinking?
Context:

The preacher is a young
Lively Anglican church in
the
north-east of England
man – I would think
Service:
probably in his
11.15am family service
mid-twenties. He is
Preacher:
working in a Bible
One of the church’s mission partners,
college in Asia, and
home on leave
he has a winsome,
Sermon duration:
30 minutes
friendly style that
Key passage:
means although this is
The book of Jonah
not somewhere he is well
known, we are all quickly
comfortable with him. His accent is a fascinating
mishmash of influences. I have to deliberately
stop myself dissecting it at the expense of
catching the content of what he’s saying.

H

e chooses to stand in front of
the pulpit, which means he is
closer to the congregation and
therefore more engaged with
us, but it also means his notes are
in his hands. He is preaching from
a manuscript and so he looks down
quite a bit. I am aware throughout
that he is not an experienced
preacher, and most of the things I
could find to criticise I am sure will
be ironed out over time. As well as
being a little stuck to his notes, this
would include a slightly patronising
cheeriness to his tone.
He has three main points to his
sermon. As he covers them, they
appear on a PowerPoint above
his head. This might be helpful
for some, but to me it seems