Preach Magazine Issue 4 - Preaching in the digital age | Page 54

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SERIAL

Preaching problems:

advice from our panel

THE SCENARIO

RICHARD LITTLEDALE

I am in my early eighties
and I have been a
Methodist local preacher
for nearly six decades.
Preaching is one of the
greatest joys of my life. My
question is this: when do
I need to hang up my hat
and walk away? Like many
in their later years, my
sight and hearing aren’t
as good as they used to
be, and I worry that I may
not be as clear-minded
as I was. I have not lost
my sense of calling or my
love of preaching, but I do
wonder if I ought to give
up. Do you have any advice
on how to know when the
time has come to retire?

The first thing to say is that your
years have clearly given you wisdom –
or you would not be writing this at all!
As I read your words, I am reminded
me of a group I once attended in a
church in Fife called ‘Inklings’. The
idea behind the group was that if you
felt the inkling of a call to Christian
ministry, you could explore it in the
group. On the group’s first session,
the leader talked about the call to
preach, and posed this question: if you
feel called to preach – do
people feel called to listen
to you? Maybe that is the
place for you to start. Are
there others to whom you

THE IDEA BEHIND THE
GROUP WAS THAT IF YOU
FELT THE INKLING OF
A CALL TO CHRISTIAN
MINISTRY, YOU COULD
EXPLORE IT IN THE GROUP.

preach who can confirm your calling
to do so? If so, then it could be right to
continue. That said, I would suggest
that you might want to amend your
approach. If sight is a problem – why
not stick to shorter sermons which
you can memorise? Don’t forget that
sermons preached long ago may still
be doing their work too.

Richard Littledale
Richard Littledale is the minister of Teddington
Baptist Church and has always had a lively
interest in innovative