The ultimate practical measure of good preaching is what the preacher and the listener take away from the sermon. By precept and example, good preachers give voice to Scripture and to beliefs linking the past to the present and the future of the listener. This prophetic touch requires knowledge of the subject matter and the courage, wisdom, and judgment to express convictions about the biblical values as they impinge on the life of the person in the pew.
Yet good preaching involves more than the technique of dispensing information. If the preacher learns nothing new and personally challenging from his sermon, and the parishioners learn nothing new and challenging when they worship, what has been accomplished?
Two concerns about good preaching should, therefore, remain paramount: Who listens? and What happens to them when they do? Facts alone do not change behavior. Preaching is more than mere information. Good preaching should be measured, not by what the pastor does in the pulpit, but by the long-term response of the listener.
Models of preaching style
Various models of preaching style and the characteristics of "good," "popular," "effective" preachers have been the subject of study for some time.
The spellbinder model reveals a common stereotype that good preachers are charismatic spellbinders who arouse listeners. Such a motivating influence is, of course, very helpful insofar as it generates enthusiasm for worthwhile subject matter as long as it is not just an ego trip for the preacher.
"Preacher as artist" model. The artist model is a wordsmith who usually reads, often well, from a manuscript. Being proclaimed an artist, however, does not free preachers from observing the more stringent criteria of what happens to the listener. Some preachers are likely to say, "I did a good job preaching today; anything my listeners learned is up to them."
"The muscles of the mind" model. The goal of the classic theory of preaching is to exercise the muscle of the mind by simply loading on the listener a vast array of intellectually oriented facts either to be repeated in some form (e.g., as a Bible study lesson for someone else), or memorized as a hedge against some crisis in the future.
The "pious Pete" model. When you talk to Pete at the picnic, he is warm and personable. What a shock to hear him in the pulpit, where he assumes an unctuous, stained-glass, other-worldly tone, and you would like to say, "Pete, please be yourself. Don't try to sound like you think a minister should sound."
"Man of experience" model. The man of experience seems to want you to know he's been there and done just about everything. Name-dropping is common and, if he stays more than two years, the congregation gets to hear his assortment of stories more than once.
"I was a teenage werewolf" model. The "werewolf" is the former rock musician, gang member, drug user, sex addict, rebellious, long-haired youth with a nose ring and a fried egg over his left ear, now turned preacher. He can't seem to separate himself from his seamy, eccentric, or sordid past. He is famous for his conversion story, which often overshadows his treatment of the gospel story.
New questions, new paradigm
Today the questions have changed for the leader and the preacher. We study followers. Who follows leaders and why do they? Again, a valid appraisal of preaching must be anchored in what happens to the individual listener, because in essence, preaching is the interaction between two persons, the preacher and the listener, regardless of the size of the crowd.
Fortunately, the accumulated wisdom about good preaching, going back many centuries (starting with John Chrysostom), confirms that certain things preachers do make a significant difference in their long-term impact on listeners: (1) good preachers select and organize worthwhile sermon material; (2) they lead listeners to encode and integrate this material into their personal lives; (3) they ensure respect for the mode of the study of the Bible, history, and other disciplines cognate to the sermon material; (4) they sustain intellectual curiosity by stimulating critical thinking; and (5) they promote faith and learning as the twin values most needed by the serious listener.
The moment of homiletic truth occurs when a listener or preacher grasps the meaning of an important idea and makes a personal connection; all else in preaching is a means to the end of such insight and carry-over understanding. The substantive information in the sermon must have carry over value—something worth knowing in its own right or believing because it leads to further learning and strengthening of faith. Neither the preacher nor the listener can anticipate in any detail the times or occasions when such retrieval of insight or information will occur. However, meaningful information must be there in order for it to be utilized. For example, understanding God's gracious response to Abraham's intercession (Genesis 18) will give a listener-petitioner particular confidence to address the Lord in a moment of need or as a consistent way of life.
Much has been made of the heed to memorize Scripture. To be sure, memorizing meaningful material and repeating meaningful information can be helpful. Rote memory, on the other hand, has little carry-over value in itself. If a "memory verse" is to provide long-term help, it must identify with a life experience or resonate with a felt need. The Bible passages that have meant the most to me are those that have challenged or nurtured my personal journey.
Along with this, a person's system of internalized values serves as a binder for the retention of facts, concepts, and procedures. Motivation or the personal need to know is the energy that drives us to see the importance of biblical information and spiritual insight.
From abstract to concrete
The most powerful intellectual force in preaching is the ability to derive and apply abstract ideas. In Plato's Republic, philosophers were kings because they were the ones most capable of freeing themselves from the constraining environment of the sensory world. Most of what we as preachers deal with in our spiritual lives is embedded in abstract concepts: conversion, new birth, forgiveness, Holy Spirit, acceptance, Jesus as Lord and Saviour, and church community, to name just a few. Preachers must take these abstract ideas and gently help listeners turn them into concrete realities that can change their lives. Billy Graham does this effectively in his altar calls.
In the end, the essence of good preaching has a lot more to do with integrity and personhood than with preaching style and techniques. Any preacher is more than the techniques to which he or she subscribes. Every preacher has a style which, in reality, is a consistent display of the character and values of the preacher. Many facets contribute to the preacher's identity: everything from affection for parents, to allegiance to the Ford Motor Company; from a dislike of dogs, to the impact of the media on his or her life (by the age of 18, the average American teenager has spent 11,000 hours in the classroom; 22,000 hours watching TV; finished 13,000 school lessons; and watched 750,000 commercials). All these and untold other variables affect who we are and, inevitably, what goes into our sermons and how those sermons are received.
Finally, when the congregation perceives that its preacher enjoys their company, enjoys the Lord's company and to a degree understands and enjoys his or her own company, that preacher is on the way toward the essence of good preaching and to being a change agent in the lives of those who listen.
This article is the second in a series of three.
