Why Preaching Matters

1.     People need to find a sense of inspiration and excitement for the life of God or church activities will become rigid, stale and fragmented.

2.     People need to find the connection between ancient text and liturgies and their own life experience.

3.     Good preachers develop a bond of love with their hearers.  When there is a well developed climate of pastoral trust and love, people have the space to change.

4.     Because of the experience of being a pastor, the preacher is able to uniquely unite the word with the pastoral realities of the hearers.

5.     Often the best sermons come when we are preaching to ourselves:  our questions, our doubts, our fears, our hopes, our longings.  People see authenticity in our wrestling.

6.     Preaching reveals the heart and inner life of the preacher and enables a privileged personal bond between the congregation and their leader.

7.     Personhood is at the center of our theology:  the person of Christ, the personal nature of God and the importance of personal conversion and sanctification.  The unique and individual personhood of the preacher can be a help in connecting people to these personal truths.

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©2008 Ronald C. Ferris