Preaching to the People or Your Seminary Professor?
Author: Sherman Haywood Cox II (586 Articles)
Sherman Haywood Cox II is the director of Soul Preaching. He holds the M.Div with an emphasis in Homiletics and a M.S. in Computer Science.
Paul Lamey on the Expository Thoughts blog has an interesting post that seemed very relevant to me as an Black preacher and all those who are interested in Black preaching and hearing Black sermons or sermons of any kind for that matter.
He notes that it is easy for us as preachers to
slip into “seminary mode†and preach with the shotgun of exegetical insight rather than articulating the Word with pastoral care.
Sometimes preachers are accused of showing off their knowledge when they do that. This is the case sometimes, but I would guess that often it is that the preacher is simply following the rules and methods given to him or her in seminary. Lamey rightly states that the preacher should
strive for balance where the grind of hard exegesis is hidden from sight yet the fruit is laid bare for all to see.
Lamey suggests that fellowship will help in navigating this gulf between pastoral care and exegetical precision. I would also suggest that the Black preaching tradition provides a good example of using whatever tools that is in our hands. But the tools are always secondary to the purpose of illuminating the Gospel so that it might be revived in the people of God.
I have heard preachers use original Greek tense and terms that really brought home the message of the sermon to the heart of the hearer. I have also heard preachers use original greek in ways that alienated the people from the sermon and the Gospel…
Always use whatever tool you have in exegesis and sermon prep. But when it’s Preaching Time, only use what will strengthen the parishioners holistic encounter with the gospel. That’s what the Best of the Black Preaching Tradition has always attempted to do.
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