NPC# 7: Will Willimon- Keeping Preaching Fresh

We live in a time when everyone wants something new. Preachers are no longer guardians of traditions, but guardians of the new. This is “new” and different for the church, it was not always s this way.

Maybe we don’t need to reinvent the church every generation.

Preaching has moved from evocational (new feelings about old stories) to informational (new facts and stories).

“Progressive Christianity” is the dying gasp of modernity. Those who are progressives Christians claim to be at the climax of history in a way that is egocentric. “This is the best time to be alive,” they say. But you never hear about “progress” in art. Art is never created exnihilo. It comes from something, somewhere. Art loves the past in the right way in order to bring it into the future. The church needs to push against the worlds comfortableness with time.

Preaching is about the Trinity. It is not about us, but about the God we could not stand. Even with all of God’s oddities, his warped sense of humors and weirdness. Preaching requires us to be patient with God. Preaching depends on God (whether he sounds up or not). We need to find ways to keep falling in love with the material (the Bible). Preachers need to just keep repeating ourselves. Repetition, repetition, repetition. Fight the need to be interesting. There is a word for new and innovative when it comes to the Bible, “Heresy.” Most mistakes happen to a preacher when they are trying to be heard. We have to allow the Spirit to work through our offering of time, prayer and study. It is God’s job to gain a hearing, it is our job to keep speaking.

Our need is not for more homiletical techniques, but our need is for a more interesting God to talk about. (this is charge against us preachers, not God.)

Every sermon is a experiment. Preaching is theological issue before it is a homiletical issues. Will God do what he has promised to do?

Preaching is fresh because of Jesus. We get to work with the living, breathing Lord! Scripture is so “bubbly” and Jesus is so unprincipled. We need to keep Jesus as odd as his is. If you are not talking about Jesus why are people listening to you?

Bonheoffer said, “ Our job is to make the risen Christ walk.”