Preach Magazine Issue 4 - Preaching in the digital age | Page 14

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SERIAL

Preaching has certain things
in common with other forms
of verbal communication
such as university lectures,
political speeches,
wedding toasts or office
presentations. It needs
to be engaging, it needs
to convey information
clearly, it requires a level of
confidence and conviction
from the speaker. But perhaps
more than any of these other
examples, it depends on
personal authenticity to be
truly effective.

I

f the listeners sense a lack
of conviction or any kind of
falseness from their preacher,
it will undermine the power of
what is said. Referring to reaching
the young unchurched, Ed Stetzer
of Lifeway Research writes, ‘There
is no substitute for authenticity.
Preaching with transparency has to
do with being open and honest with
a purpose that is redemptive and
developmental. A preacher who is
being transparent opens a window
for the divine and pure purpose of
helping others change in positive
ways…’1 The goal of preaching is to
facilitate life-changing encounters
with God. Of course God works
through us regardless of our frailties
and failings, but if we bring our true
selves to the task of communicating
his word, our preaching will be all the
more powerful. Let’s look at some of
the elements that make up authentic
preaching.

TRANSPARENCY
Aristotle argued there are three things
that create trust between an audience
and the speaker, all of which relate

to the speaker’s
ability to convey
their character. First,
phronesis : practical
wisdom. Second, arête :
virtue and goodness. And
thirdly eunioa : goodwill
towards the listeners.2
Personal vulnerability is
costly, and it can be tempting
to deliver our sermons
from behind the mask of a
professional Christian doing
their job. But if we allow our
congregation to see who we are,
they are more likely to trust us, and
take what we say as authoritative
and worthy of a hearing.

REVEALING WEAKNESS
In times gone by, people would have
wanted their preacher preaching
down from a nice, tall pedestal, safely
removed from the struggles of the
ungodly masses. Today, we tend to
respond much better to teachers
who acknowledge weakness, who
are willing to admit they haven’t
got it all together, who are a work
in progress just as much as we

are. We are suspicious of people
who seem too slick or who present
a shiny, impenetrable veneer. Rick
Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church
in California, lost his son to suicide
in 2013. His preaching ministry has
continued through his grieving, and
he writes, ‘The kind of preaching
that changes lives is from the heart
to the heart, not from the head to
the head. Lives are changed as
we speak from our deepest pain
and suffering.’3

BEING Y