An ecclesiology of preaching.

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost--Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Series B

Midway through my sixth year as a seminary professor, it occurs to me that the vast majority of the people I talk to, let alone preach to, are "churched." And, more than "churched," they are "church leaders," people for whom the gospel is a full-time occupation. This reality shapes my ecclesiology of preaching.

As I see it, the true "preachers" who bring the gospel to the world are the baptized. The baptized have the opportunity to proclaim Jesus Christ to people with whom the pastor does not have a relationship and in places where the pastor cannot gain entry. The pastor standing in a pulpit preaches in ways that both empower the baptized to "preach sermons of their own" in the world and model how they might do it. The baptized might never utter a word; their proclamation might occur through attitude and action. Or the baptized might have the opportunity to speak--in a relationship or at a meeting or on the playground or across the back fence--and the preacher might very well provide the baptized with words that find their way into that proclamation.

In this ecclesiology of preaching, the preaching professor, who trains the pastors who will preach to the baptized so that the baptized can preach to the world, is far removed from the utterance that actually changes lives, or makes disciples, or proclaims the nearness of the Reign of God. This realization has two implications for my ministry. First, this realization drives me out of the classroom and into the pulpit. More than a preaching professor (a professor who teaches preaching), I am a preaching professor (a professor who spends most Sundays preaching).

Second, this realization drives me out of the seminary and into the city in search of conversation with those whose acquaintance with Christ is less than full-time. This is a challenging quest. Even in the rich diversity of Hyde Park, most of the people I know who are not Christian are people of deep if not profound faith. So it is hard for me to find conversations with people for whom God does not matter. Perhaps someday Thrivent will give me a grant to spend a sabbatical being "unchurched" (smile). In the meantime, I seek out conversation with those who are in conversation with people who do not know and do not care about Jesus.

When I was a parish pastor, I liked to visit parishioners at work. I would meet them for lunch, learn a bit about their job, and ask about the challenges and joys of being a Christian as they did it. I learned a lot! These days, I like to talk with pastors who spend lots of time "in the world." Perhaps that's why I am especially pleased to welcome Pastor Terry Graunke, the Mission Developer of St. Matthew Lutheran Mission in Central Point, Oregon, to contribute to Preaching Helps once again. As I have learned from my friend Dr. Melinda Wagner, who serves in Portland, Oregon is the most unchurched state in the Union, and this reality challenges many of our assumptions and cherished convictions about ministry and preaching. As one blessed to be surrounded by people on fire for the gospel, I am grateful for the perspective and reality check that workers from a northwest corner of God's U.S. vineyard can provide.

The theme that emerges in these pages is how the community of the baptized is to be "different" from the world. I found three short answers. There is a threshold to cross when we come into church, a border to cross between cultural metanarratives and values and the scriptural narrative and the way of discipleship. In some places the threshold is high; other faith communities are trying to sand it down. But we cannot pretend that the threshold does not exist. If the threshold is too high, it will keep people out. But the only way to completely eliminate it is to domesticate the gospel.

Second, to be different is to live differently. Terry invites us to ponder obedience as an evangelism strategy, using our tongues to set the world on fire with God's Word. It bears repeating that we do not live differently in order to be saved. We live differently because we are saved, because we are baptized. In this kind of preaching, the gospel empowers people to live differently by appealing to the person God in Christ has made them and invites them to be. Rather than talking of what we should or must do, there is talk of what God is doing and of what we get to share in. And there is instruction on how Christians live.

Third, communities of the baptized are patient. Because we trust in God's promise, we do not lose heart or give up when results are slow in coming. We are vigilant for the smallest indication of God's Reign coming near to our lives, our congregations, and our communities. We do not overlook or discount or dismiss these graces. We are aware that, while God may have created the world in seven days, it may take the Spirit a lifetime to bring a loved one to faith. And so we give God the time God needs.

Rather than spending the summer planning what we will do come fall, perhaps we might preach about who we are as the community of the baptized. Certainly, that conversation will include crossing the church's threshold to seek out and learn from those we know as "unchurched."

Craig A. Satterlee, Editor