Here I Stand

From time to time, I hear from some that my preaching and teaching is too liberal and that it doesn’t reflect the views of some in the congregation. Others have said that I’ve been rather conservative and the message doesn’t seem prophetic enough. Every now and then someone will ask, sometimes seriously and other times playfully, pastor, why don’t you tell us what you’re really thinking. So it is the dilemma of serious preaching today – where do you draw the line when dealing with a message of the gospel that seems to speak to the marginal, the rejected, the powerless, the forgotten and the folks nobody else wants for their friends. The art of good preaching is being able to say something to everyone each and every week. Sometimes I feel I do this well, while other times it feels shallow and empty. I am, of course, my own worst critic. 

Let me tell you what guides my preaching and teaching. There are three scriptures that guide my sermon preparation and are the lenses in which I filter my message.  The first lens comes from the prophet Micah, “…O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8.  A second scripture comes from Jesus’ first sermon. The gospel of Luke says it best, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” Luke 4:18. A little further Jesus rolls up the scroll and says, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” Luke 4:22. The final lens in which I preach the good news comes from the gospel of Matthew, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” Matthew 28:19-20. 

These are the scriptures which challenge me each week as I prepare to preach, to teach, and to proclaim the good news. The prophet Micah is like the North Star, the scripture that brings teaching and living together – an important part of the integrity of preaching. Jesus’ words in his first sermon gives me the vision to see what is possible.  When good preaching, good mission, and good ministry happen – lives are changed and that is the test of good preaching and Christian leadership. And, finally, Matthew describes for me the urgency of sharing the good news in this age and in the age to come. Each passage gives me the guidance and excitement to do what I do and why I continue in this ministry – the one I have been called to follow before I knew God. 

As I babble on about preaching and teaching, it seems that there should be a response to the observations that many have made about my preaching. Here would be my answer: I do not preach from either a liberal or a conservative perspective. Rather my preaching is biblical and depending upon your own personal understanding I may be too liberal, too conservative, or not transparent enough. This is not to suggest that my interpretation of scripture is anymore correct, orthodox, or meaningful than your way of understanding scripture. It is just my perspective and the embodiment of what I sincerely believe. My guide and my principles for preaching and teaching are bound by the scriptures – especially as they relate to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. As Martin Luther so famously said, “Here I stand, I can do no other. So help me God” and so it is true with me too.