OK, so the image above doesn’t quite accurately portray how I preach. However, several people have asked me what preaching looks like at Little Flowers Community, so I thought I would give you a little glimpse into my process (though I suspect it is far less interesting than some might believe).
I write my sermon notes using Scrivener, which I also use for several other writing projects. I do not write my sermon out in full. I write the outline in point form, only reading directly for quotes and Scriptures. This allows for the necessary flexibility our approach requires (more on that later). I typically spend several days in study, prayer, discussion with others, etc. to shape the content and direction of the message.
I generally set out the entire “order of service,” which begins with our shared meal, followed by some singing (usually) and prayer. Before I begin to share, we read three Scriptures: an Old Testament text, a Gospel reading and something from the Epistles. People volunteer to read these, generally ending up from very different translations. I try to choose a text that speaks to the theme of the message, though sometimes I will use the lectionary text for that Sunday.
Unlike the traditional sermon, where I would give a direct teaching for a length of time, our approach is shaped by the Anabaptist conviction that the community of faith is the primary context in which we read the Bible and discern and apply its implications for discipleship. Therefore, my role is also to facilitate that process of community discernment. However, I do still utilize my teaching/preaching gift, sometimes more directly than others. It is still important that I bring the pastoral giftings God has uniquely given me to this process.
A significant part of my facilitation role is to ask generative questions. This is not as easy as many people think. Questions need to be simple enough for very different people to understand, while still requiring people to push into the deeper implications of what we are discussing. One way I do this is to intentionally include questions that touch on (what we call) the 3 H’s: Head, Heart and Hands. In other words, I ask questions that challenge our understanding and push us to deeper knowledge; I ask questions that help us discover God’s heart and how our own emotional responses are critical to faithfulness (i.e., the lack of contrition when repenting is a very telling reality in our churches today); and I ask questions that require us to consider the necessary changes to living into God’s truth with our lives in tangible ways.
