Preaching Without A Voice

National Sermon Writers Guild Strike Leave Preachers With Nothing To Preach

Far be it for me to ever point a finger at anyone for their shortcomings. Ok, Ok, so that is just what I do. On any account, I happened across a rather interesting story today. Seem the National Sermon Writer's Guild decided to go on strike, and now hundreds of preachers across the nation are left with nothing to preach on Sunday.

Ok, after I picked myself up off of the floor from laughing so hard, I regained my composure and begin to write this entry.

Let us consider what a preacher is. A preacher is a purveyor of the word of God. The preacher takes the word of God and puts it into terms that everyone can understand. Like the lovable mother Penguin, the preacher consumes the word and regurgitates it into the spirits of his or her flock thus creating a feeling of satisfaction based solely on the word of God. The preacher should be able to take the Bible and make the scripture come to life without the need for an outline. Seems to me that what a lot of preachers should be doing is not what they are doing.

It is one thing for a preacher to have a pre-written sermon that he or she created, but to have a union write the scriptures which they preach is an affront to the blessings of God. Did Jesus stand on the top of the mountain while he waited for Simon Peter to write his sermon?

We wonder about the spiritual state of America, why it has become so challenged over the course of the past 30 years. The answer is right here before us. many of the people who preach the word do not know enough about the word to be able to deliver it without a road map. That is a dog gone shame if you ask me. Heck, it is a dog gone shame even if you don't ask me.

The pastor of my church, Restoration Anointed Ministries, is by far one of the most learned men of God that I know. Even though he prepares his lesson (he writes his own), more often than not, he ends up bringing the word directly out of the Bible. His is the gift of interpretation , and what a mighty gift it is. He does not need a plan, all he needs is the Bible, and with that he will make Moses, Daniel, David, Saul, he will make the entire Bible speak in ministry to everyone within earshot. That is how a good preacher delivers the word of God. Good preachers do not sit in their offices the night before wondering if they will repeat the pre-written sermon from the week prior.

You know, some pre-written sermons are entertaining; however, when it gets to the point where the congregation knows the sermon word for word, then we have a problem. I mean really, how many times can we listen to "And Lo, Them Bones Were Dry!" After a while, the flock begins to wonder if the preacher is really preaching, or if he is just merely reading.

I don't know about you, but I get enough reading during the course of the week. I go to church to hear the preacher bring a word from God. I am sure God is not sitting in Heaven telling the preacher "Pull April 2nd 2005, that was a good one."

In my humble opinion, a preacher should be able to preach regardless of the situation. That preacher should be able to bring the word directly from the Bible. Perhaps this is the difference between those who paid a Seminary, and those who were honestly called by God.