First-person preaching

This mode of preaching not only brings variety to your worship services; it is powerfully persuasive.

Richard O. Stenbakken serves as chaplain of the Fourth Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado. This article is adapted from one that appeared in Praxis, Fall 1987. Used by permission.

The setting: an Easter worship service. In answer to the question of the morning hymn—"Were you there when He rose up from the dead?"—a voice cries out, "Yes, I was there! In fact, I was in charge of the guards at the tomb that morning. Let me tell you what it was like. You see, it all began when I was assigned to duty in Jerusalem..."

The congregation turns and watches as a soldier strides toward the platform, red cape flowing, bronze helmet gleaming, leather breastplate and steel sword signifying that he holds the rank of centurion.

This Roman officer describes the final scenes of Jesus' life: The triumphal entry—"We thought we might have a rebellion brewing, so I told the soldiers to watch closely." The capture in the garden—"I wasn't in charge that night, but I heard a strange story about how He loosed His ropes and healed a severed ear." The Crucifixion—"It was my turn to pull the execution detail."

The centurion tells how his life was unalterably changed by the events of the Crucifixion. He recounts the glory of the Resurrection as he experienced it, and confesses that when he looked into the eyes of the resurrected Christ he knew he was worthy of death. He relates how guilty he felt, how tortured by shame—and how the compassionate 'Christ looked at him with love and walked by, allowing him to live.

Continuing, the centurion says that now he knows what forgiveness is, that Christ not only spared his life but gave him real life. He invites the congregation to find the life, the dignity, the forgiveness he has experienced by accepting Christ as Lord.

Fiction? Hollywood? TV special? No, a first-person sermon.

Part of the genius of Scripture lies in the drama of the events portrayed in the lives of people—people whose emotions, experiences, and needs parallel ours. The Master Preacher often used the vehicle of the dramatic story to illustrate truth. Think of the parables of the prodigal son, the good Samaritan, the good shepherd. Each portrayal taught a deep lesson as it captured the imagination of the listener.

A first-person sermon/dramatic monologue builds on the same visceral and visual stimulation, reinforcing them by the use of biblical costuming and appropriate props. In a first-person sermon, the congregation experiences the biblical story rather than merely hearing the preacher talk about it. They wince as the centurion uses a rawhide mallet on wood to reproduce the sound of the nails being driven into the Lord's hands. They be come agitated as he picks up the crown of thorns with the point of his spear and thrusts it toward an uncomfortable congregant whom he has asked to feel the circled points of pain.

Sermons for the TV generation

Today's congregations have grown up with TV, so they are very visually oriented—they respond to visual imagery. A dramatic first-person sermon from the centurion makes a greater impact and is more memorable than a sermon about the centurion. The difference can be illustrated by comparing a sermon one sees and hears "live" with hearing that same sermon on tape. It is obvious which vehicle has the greater potential for impact. And because of the greater impact, the first-person sermon has the greater potential for opening the heart to change.

I began to use the first-person sermon almost by accident. I had been assigned to "present the Christmas story in a unique way" to a group of chaplains and spouses at a Christmas dinner gathering—in other words, to present the most familiar theme of the New Testament to an array of clergy families in a way that would keep their attention and have meaning. It was like being asked to give a description of the universe with three examples in 25 words or less!

Looking for inspiration, I began scanning materials. I ran across a sermon by Frederick B. Speakman entitled "The Sequel to Bethlehem." In this sermon Jesse Benhadad, the old Bethlehem inn keeper, tells—in vivid retrospect—of the night Christ was born. Well, I thought, this has definite possibilities! So, borrowing my wife's red-and-white-striped caftan and using a sheet as a sash, a rope as a belt, a simple cloth with a headband as a headpiece, and a theatrical beard to add realism, I became Jesse the innkeeper.

At the end of the presentation (I didn't think of it as a sermon at the time), one of the chaplains came up to me with tears shining in his eyes and said, "I've heard that story all my life, but tonight I was there! I was part of what happened, and it hit me as never before. Please come to my chapel to morrow and give this sermon for both worship services."

I was hesitant to do so because I thought it might be too "theatrical" and not really a sermon for a worship service. He insisted and I gave in, and the next day I preached to 400 or more Army basic trainees in two separate services. Those young men had been running, doing push-ups, and generally working hard all week. They tended to experience immediate and massive drowsiness upon sit ting down. Keeping them awake was a challenge of major proportion. But they listened intently to Jesse! They paid attention!

The experience moved me even more than it did them. Here I was, telling the age-old story of Christ's birth, and they were involved with the sermon, listening to the good news with interest shining in their eyes—not with the glazed look of "Oh, yeah, I've heard this one a thou sand times before . . . ho-hum."

Since then, I have been a variety of biblical people, among them the centurion; Daniel; Joseph with the many-colored coat; Lazarus; one of the Wise Men who traveled to Bethlehem after studying the Old Testament prophecies; Jonah; Solomon—the wise guy who be came a wise man; and the soldier of Ephesians 6 (using modern military gear to illustrate the Christian armor).

I have seen first-person preaching change how people listen to sermons. I have seen it provide them a banquet from the Word in a way that penetrates the ho-hum exteriors many wear to worship. I've learned that first-person dramatic monologues are a powerful vehicle for the delivery of life-changing truths.

Studying for and delivering first-person sermons has touched me person ally as well. It has deepened my under standing of Scripture and how God works with people. As well as changing my preaching, it has fed my soul.

I believe first-person sermons can work for you, too.

"Who, me? I am Ethan, the father of Mary Magdalene. I used to hide the fact that she was my daughter. We were so ashamed of her and what she had be come. We wanted to disown her. But then she met Jesus and ..." 

To Preach a first-person sermon

You need only a few props to make
the character real. You can have a
costume made (McCall's pattern number
2066 for biblical characters can be
modified to suit many different person
alities), or you can rent one from a
costume shop, theatrical company, or
school drama department.

Use your imagination to weave re
ality from parts of narrative stories in
Scripture. For example, you might
think of the Father's Day sermon that
Ethan, the father of Mary Magdalene,
would give.

Visualize his joy at the birth of his
darling baby daughter; his pride as she
grows into her teens--a beautiful girl;
his heartbreak as she descends into sin
and rebellion; his pain and anguish as
he sees her destroying herself in pros
titution; his absolute joy when she
meets Jesus, and experiences His grace
and life-changing restoring power!

Was Mary'a father's name"Ethan?,
Does it really matter? We have no
idea who he was, but we know what
he must have gone through. His story
reveals the power of God, and that is
the good news we want to communi
cate.*

Bibliographical help

There is a wealth of printed mate
rial on biblical personalities. A few
books that I have found usable are:
Herbert Lockyer's All the Men of the
Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
1958) and All The Women of the Bible
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1967);
William Barclay's The Master's Men
(Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1976);
Paul Gibbs' Crossroads of the Cross
(Washington, . D.-G.: Review and
Herald Pub. Assn.,1969), David and
His Mighty Men (Washington, D.C.:
Review, and Herald ,Pub. Assn.,
1970), and Men Come Alive
(Washington, D.:Review and Herald
Pub. Assn., 1967); Arthur L. Bietz's
When God Met Men (Mountain
View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub.
Assn., 1966); F.E.J. Harder's Giants
of Faith (Washington, D.C.: Review
and Herald Pub. Assn., 1961); Leslie
Hardinge's These Watched Him Die
(Washington, D.C.: Review and
Herald Pub. Assn., 1966); Donald R.
Brown's I Was There (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan Pub. House, 1972); and
George M. Alexander's Handbook of
Biblical Personalities (New York:
Harper and Row, 1981).

You can develop a fascinating first-person
sermon by outlining Chapter 76,
"Judas," in Ellen White's Desire of
Ages (Mountain View, Calif: Pacific
Press Pub. Assn., 1940).

                                                              

* To avoid misunderstandings and possible
offense, in such a sermon you might want to
indicate that while the sermon conveys biblical truths,
the narrative comes from your imagination and not the Bible.--Editors.

 

 

The advantages of first-person preaching

First-person preaching offers
many advantages. Here are just a
few:

1. Because the content is basically
a story, it is easy to give, to follow,
and to remember. It captures the at
tention, interest, and imagination of
your congregation.

2. Because it is a story, con
gregants of all ages can and will fol
low it, so there is no need to have a
children's story that may or may not
fit with the sermon.

3. The emotional involvement
brought about as the biblical charac
ter speaks of his experience allows,
invites, even compels the congrega
tion to consider their relationship to
the topic.

4. The first-person sermon adds
variety to the worship service and to
the preaching schedule.

5. It models how people may
experience the Bible in an entirely
different modality. As they read
Scripture they can put themselves
in the place of a principal
character in the story--seeing the
events through the eyes of a
participant.

6. First-person sermons are fun to
preach!

Richard O. Stenbakken serves as chaplain of the Fourth Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado. This article is adapted from one that appeared in Praxis, Fall 1987. Used by permission.

January 1991

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