Take Up and Preach

A Primer for Interpreting Preaching Texts

Blayne A. Banting

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9781498239530
  9781498239554
• eBook ISBN:
  9781498239547
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

The foundation of a good biblical sermon is the biblical text. Take Up and Preach is a helpful guide for the preacher in how to approach a biblical text with the intention of preaching its life-giving message. Blayne Banting uses memorable images and careful instructions to aid the preacher through the process of understanding a theology of preaching, selecting and interpreting a preaching text right up to the point of producing the sermon outline. Take Up and Preach both grounds and guides the preacher in a sound method for biblical preaching, and does so with a number of practical helps to aid in the process.

1

The Preaching Sphere1

Learning how to preach is a lot like learning anything else. We wonder where to start. Should we begin with a thorough theoretical grounding in the theology of preaching? Should we simply jump right in and start preaching and learn as we experiment? There is another option. We do not need to pit theory and practice against each other. In fact, our best learning takes place when we recognize the mutual relationship between these two. Good theory makes good practice; and good practice makes good theory. Good learning embraces these two in tandem.

There is a high probability that already you have tried your hand at preaching—however primitive the sermon and small the congregation might have been. So with at least some experience under your belt, you may be motivated to learn more. To help you on this journey I will start with the more theoretical side of preaching but with the assumption that you value both theory and practice as your constant travel companions.

Reasons for a Theology of Preaching

The Complexity of Preaching

Several reasons for a theology of preaching present themselves. One is that the complexity of preaching demands it. A trial-and-error approach might be suitable for a simple task like assembling a swing set in the backyard. On the other hand, we would be less than enthusiastic if our dentist, armed with a few charts and a well-worn copy of Dentistry for Dummies, confessed that we were her first “real” patients. Optimal training for the complex world of dental surgery requires both theoretical grounding and supervised practice. The same holds true for preachers. Although we might have been offered opportunities to preach before being introduced to the theology of preaching, hopefully we were not audacious enough to consider ourselves to be seasoned preachers. Preaching is complex. It involves a mysterious collaboration of the divine and the human. It requires the skills of the theologian, the exegete, the pastor and the communicator. It demands the best efforts of a lifelong learner. So, with such significance comes the need to get grounding in the nature of the preaching task.

The Need for a Firm Foundation

As is the case for every aspect of our lives as followers of Christ, we need to hear what the Bible itself says about preaching. Our preferences may change and fads may “come in one era and out the other” but we need to know if there is a word from God on this matter. Without this foundation we are left to judge our preaching by other standards—ones that normally come from secular sources not sacred. Pragmatism normally rules the day for us as practical North Americans—if it works, then it must be right. I am not trying to establish a culture of suspicion which assumes that preachers with large congregations or prominent reputations must be guilty of compromising the truth. On the other hand, we want to recognize that the size of any preacher’s congregation or reputation is not the litmus test of faithful preaching. The Bible will supply the standards.

A Standard for Establishing Priorities in Ministry

A good theology of preaching will also help busy preachers set priorities in their ministries. Life and ministry are hectic these days and over-committed, over-worked pastors need to know where they should be spending their precious time. Again, without a proper understanding of the nature of preaching, pastors will tend to spend the most time at what delivers the most observable results in the shortest time. Preaching is a matter of lifelong stewardship, a long-term investment in God’s kingdom. Unless we determine its rightful place among the other tasks of ministry, we will not give it the priority it deserves.

A Foundation for Varied Practice

Finally, good theory is the best way to allow for varied practice. Preaching is inherently contextual and requires each preacher to adapt to the particularities of the preaching context. Good theory paves the way for such contextualization. Nothing becomes outdated quicker than pure practice. If all preachers learn is a certain way of “doing” sermon preparation, they will be lost when that method fails or is replaced. If we, however, learn the basic theology that grounds preaching, we are free to improvise as the situation warrants it. Good jazz musicians learn the craft of improvisation by first mastering the basics of music. Should preachers do any less?

The Preaching Sphere

My attempt to present a theological understanding of the preaching event will begin by trying to visualize the dynamics inherent in the process. I will use the following diagram, called the Preaching Sphere, to serve this purpose. Following our discussion of these dynamics, we will be better suited to unpack some of the theological implications that should inform our preaching.

Figure 1

This is not a novel image since many teachers and students of preaching have seen a similar one before. What I am attempting to do is depict the dynamic and multidimensional nature of preaching by using a two-dimensional diagram—not an easy task. Obviously it is impossible to capture the eternal and infinite with either our images or words, but I would like to explore what is happening beyond the tangible encounter between preacher and biblical text. I will try to minimize the reductionism inherent in this approach as we proceed.

The Big Picture

We begin with the sphere itself. A sphere is more than simply a two-dimensional circle, it is three dimensional, like a ball. The triune God is portrayed as a sphere because of our conviction that it is God’s sovereign presence and direction that surrounds the entire preaching event. Preaching is God-soaked, from first to last. It is designed, initiated, empowered and directed by him. The circle often has been used to communicate the relationship between the three persons of the triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three persons dwell in perfect harmony—what has been termed perichoresis, their relationship of mutual interpenetration. So rather than rigidly try to differentiate the involvement of each of these divine persons in separate aspects of the preaching event, I simply refer to their united essence as our triune God. A Trinitarian foundation to preaching keeps us from hijacking the process and making it dependent upon our own homiletical skills.

Within the sphere we find a three-sided conversation between the passage (the biblical text to be preached), the preacher, and the people (i.e., the gathered congregation). The biblical passage is placed at the top of the triad to indicate that this conversation incorporates the reciprocal relationship between each of the partners without going as far as demanding all three be granted equal authority (as is the case for some radical homileticians). None of these conversation partners may be ignored, however, if the preaching event is to be complete. Indeed the relational interdependence of all three is necessary for a holistic understanding of preaching. Omit the passage and you are left with a human dialogue between preacher and the congregation. Omit the people (or the congregation) and you speak the truth to the air. Leave out the preacher and you have a group Bible study (of course, there is nothing wrong with that; it simply is not the same as preaching).

The Passage and Preacher Relationship

The relationship between the passage and the preacher is a dynamic and mutual one yet we claim the biblical text has primary authority. All partners are necessary, but not all are equal. The passage—as inspired Scripture—brings its influence to bear upon the preacher as it informs, makes demands, or gives comfort depending upon the message of the text. That influence is not without its tensions, however. The biblical passage was not first addressed to the contemporary preacher but to another audience in another place and time. So while the preacher may sense some form of identification with the situation of that original audience, there is also a certain dissonance introduced by the fact that the preacher is different in some ways (sometimes many ways) from the original recipients. It is also possible that the passage is saying something the preacher does not want to hear. Like Mark Twain once quipped, “It’s not the parts of the Bible that I don’t understand that bother me—it’s the parts I do understand!”

From the other side, the preacher brings a certain influence to bear on the passage. No preacher approaches a text without “baggage.” To claim to be free of baggage is futile and would make the preacher subhuman. These particular biases form part of the perspective each preacher brings to the text. While we try to make allowances for these biases, our limited, sinful human condition does make our understanding of the passage a bit “fuzzy.” It is not an exact science. I label the result of this relationship, “exposition.”

As these two conversation partners are encountering each other, the hovering presence and direction of the triune God is superintending the process—normally called illumination. Attributed to the work of the Holy Spirit, the ministry of illumination is what Paul was referring to when he wrote:

What we have received is not the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak...

Table of contents

• Title page
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: The Preaching Sphere
• Chapter 2: The Homiletical Bridge
• Chapter 3: Crossing the Bridge
• Chapter 4: Bridging a Discursive Text
• Chapter 5: Bridging a Poetic Text
• Chapter 6: Bridging a Narrative Text
• Postscript
• Appendix A
• Appendix B
• Bibliography