Proclaimer Blog
What if…?
So, here's a thought. What if our introductions and illustrations were not a function of the message but rather of the congregation? It's long intrigued me that some of the great puritan preachers could get away with no introduction whatsoever. Why? Were they that good as preachers? No. But their congregations were eager and hungry. This was brought home to me as two of us here discussed a sermon we'd heard. Hardly any introduction. Hardly any illustrations. But it all worked and was well received.
We think that we need good and engaging introductions to let those listening know why they ought to listen. That's going to be true in many congregations. Don't give up on good introductions just yet! But a hungry, eager congregation: do they really need that five minute story which loosely links to the heart of the message? Quite possibly not.
And illustrations are always good for illustrating hard things. But we also use illustrations as pause points and breathing space. Again, imagine an eager and hungry congregation. Do they really need this second kind of illustration? I'm not sure they do.
Of course, all congregations are different. And we're preaching into different contexts. But increasingly, people are coming to church because they want to, not because they ought to, and so we should not be surprised to see the nature of congregations changing. In which case, I gently ask, might our introductions and illustrations not be quite as necessary as they once were….?