by Claudia Windal

Created on: September 14, 2008

I am a priest who preaches regularly. In order to reach the vast majority of a congregation, it is essential to be eclectic in stories, examples, vocabulary, and presentation. I preach from the midst of the congregation. This presents no problems for the congregation hearing me since I have a booming voice and probably share my sermon with the Lutheran Church a couple of blocks away!

One who preaches the Good News must be real. I cannot attempt to be a biblical scholar when I do not believe myself to be one. Although there are preachers who delve into the depths of scripture and share this with their congregations, I often wonder what those in the pews really take home with them. Effective preaching requires knowing the congregation and being resourceful in bringing the message of the day to them.

Many of the scripture readings use imagery that is not fully understood by 21st century people. Several months ago, I found myself preaching on "Good Shepherd" Sunday. I read a bit about sheep and laughed that we might ever refer to ourselves as sheep. I shared this with the congregation, we agreed that we could embrace the essence of the gospel and get a good laugh out of the example of sheep. Shared experience brings the congregation together and the message "home."

Absolutely essential to effective preaching is to avoid using only words that PhD's in theology would understand. Our congregations are composed of young and old, educated and not so educated, strong in their faith and confused about concepts of the faith. If we begin to target only one group of listeners, we will lose the majority. When this happens often enough, the majority will begin to turn out even the sermons directed at them.

One needs to truly know members of a congregation before initiating this technique: bring listeners into the sermon. I had a parishioner who assisted me in understanding legal documents. On Pentecost, I mentioned how those documents were like hearing something spoken in tongues, and that George had acted much like the Holy Spirit in enlightening me and my understanding.

I try to use examples that are understood by young and old alike. Children can easily feel left out. I am not a big fan of children's sermons preceding the "adult" sermon since this causes a division which does not seem necessary to create.

Most of all, effective preaching means sincerity. It demands a humility and attitude that says, I struggle with some of this too, let's share it and see if we can't get a good grasp of what Jesus has directed us to do.

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