Preaching Dangerously...Continued from page 6
Another image that I see in my own mind is that I am going into the preaching moment with a quiver full of arrows, any one of which might be legitimate on this occasion. I am going to decide?based on what I hope is the work of the Spirit in combination with the text and my own intuition?which are the most important arrows. That varies from service to service.
On occasion the three sermons on a Sunday morning may be roughly similar, or some say if they came to all three services they would seem like I preached three different sermons. They are all in the same text, all in the same essential context, but how they are illustrated?why I use certain arrows in certain services as opposed to others?is just a matter of dependence on God’s Spirit’s nudging and the freedom to feel like this is okay.
PREACHING: It sounds very extemporaneous.
LABBERTON: It is extemporaneous. I always get a little nervous if by “extemporaneous” people mean unintentional, unplanned, spontaneous, slightly chaotic, a little “ADD.” I am hoping that is not true of my preaching. But if extemporaneous means living, dynamic, unfolding, flexible, I hope those are all true.
PREACHING: Do you go into the pulpit with at least an introduction in mind of what you are going to do?
LABBERTON: I do, but it frequently changes. I definitely have an introduction and I definitely have in mind a starting point, but I also find in the course of worship an idea or connection will suddenly become apparent to me out of the singing or prayers or something else that has occurred earlier in the service. I will hold onto that and I will decide in those moments just prior to starting the sermon whether I am going to do that or not.
It feels like it fits the way God made me. It fits the settings in which I typically preach. There is a lot of uncertainty about it until the moment when it is happening.
PREACHING: It sounds like the dangerous act of preaching!
LABBERTON: I just think one of the most important gifts a preacher can give the congregation is really humility before God and before the word ? to be willing to put as much as possible of ourselves on the line and into the Word.