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Why preaching is hard–and churches still want it

There’s an old canard about a seasoned preacher who was asked, brightly, “What are you preaching on this Sunday, sir?”

The fellow sighed and said, “God loves you, of course.”

It’s more true than we’d like to think. There is really only one essential message for most churches–and including Christian churches as well as other faiths. As a preacher in progressive churches who likes to push the envelope, I found stories, poems, alternative texts, and even new music to augment the basic message. (Though the new music was risky and often upset the incumbents somewhat.)

To be sure, a preacher will work the variations. God loves you, so act right, you fool. If God loves you, God probably loves everyone else, so maybe you should too. And even if you don’t believe in God, a community of faith falls back on saying “But we love you–because God told us.”

I’m curious what others would say. Many people don’t even bother with listening to sermons; for others, the sermon still remains the interesting part, as the preacher wraps all the interest they can around the central truth found in most major faiths. And wonders if it will ever fully take…

But we keep singing, hoping the song will catch on.

Peace.