You know how it works.
It’s when we’re not thinking about our sermon that we receive the best insights about it.
Here’s how it often goes.
We read the text and something doesn’t make sense.
We form a question that asks in essence, "How can this be?”
We read commentaries, journal, and pray about it, but the answer eludes us.
We turn our attention to other things, and the question temporarily lies dormant.
Later, when we’re not thinking about the question, we notice a line in a book, or hear an unrelated comment, or see something while we’re out for a walk and suddenly…an epiphany! The insight is given, the confusion is clarified, and our sermon “arrives.”
This pattern is so common and reliable that at Backstory Preaching, we advocate baking in that dormant contemplatio time as an intentional aspect of sermon prep, like this:
Read the text
Form some questions about it.
Then, for several hours or overnight, let it rest in contemplatio.
Study the text and attempt to answer your questions and begin to ask the Spirit what the sermon message might be.
Then, for several hours or overnight, let it rest.
More often than not, the answer is presented because our hearts and minds are primed to receive it.
Paradoxically, not engaging in sermon prep is the most efficient way to go about it.
Imagine, then, what could happen if we applied this process of asking questions and letting them rest in contemplatio all the time?
What solutions might we be offered regarding our congregations, the Church, and the world if we asked our most important questions—and then let them rest?
Learning from a Nobel-Winning Physicist: “Twelve Favorite problems”
Richard Feynman (1918-1988) was the 1965 co-winner of the Nobel Prize winner in Physics. Later, he introduced the world to quantum computing and nanotechnology, and is considered to be among the greatest physicists of all time.
In other words, he was one smart cookie.
He attributed some of his “genius” to a simple process of carrying in his mind and heart—at all times and in all places—a finite number of his most important questions.
Feynman called them his Twelve Favorite Problems.
He wrote in a letter to a former student:
You have to keep a dozen of your favorite problems constantly present in your mind, although by and large they will lay in a dormant state. Every time you hear a new trick or a new result, test it against each of your twelve problems to see whether it helps. Every once in a while, there will be a hit, and people will say, ‘How did he do it? He must be a genius!*
Perhaps Feynman was showing us that when we invite the Spirit and prime our hearts and minds by carrying our Twelve Favorite Problems with us all the time, we can all be geniuses!
Discover Your Twelve Favorite Questions
Feynman referred to his twelve “faves” as problems, but I prefer “questions.”
Questions strike me as being open-ended as the Spirit leads us ever onward into more truth, rather than a problem which feels somewhat adversarial with a specific end.
There are no right or wrong twelve questions, no “size” of question that makes it worthy, and no requirements for categories.
However, Feynman suggests your questions capture your imagination and passion, adding:
The worthwhile problems are the ones you can really solve or help solve, the ones you can really contribute something to. […] No problem is too small or too trivial if we can really do something about it.*
To get started, finish the questions below regarding God, Church, Humanity, Relationships, or Self. (The suggestions beneath each question are simply examples.)
How can I…?
…preach a gospel about the dignity of every human being that people will hear?
…share the gospel outside the walls of the Church?
How might we…?
…eradicate homelessness in my lifetime?
…make protecting the Earth the cool thing to do?
…become a closer family who loves, supports, and trusts each other?
How can my church…?
…wake up to Christian nationalism?
…welcome the lonely?
…move out to the neighborhood?
How can I help others to…?
…empathize with those who live in danger because of the color of their skin or gender identity?
How does X relate to Y?
How does God’s desire for us to be connected relate to those who get disconnected from others because of dementia or mental illness?
How do I…?
…keep my self healthy in body, mind, and spirit when I don’t feel like acting healthy?
…become an artisanal bread baker?
What does it look like to…?
…love my enemy like myself?
…preach the gospel, no matter what?
What would be possible if…?
…we refused to take sides?
…all people were encouraged to use their gifts in every level and position of the Church and in government?
What do I want with…?
…the gift of time I’ve been given today?
…my words?
What would happen if…?
…a new form of stewardship economics replaced capitalism?
…our system of justice were truly just for all people, equally?
Carry Your Twelve Favorite Questions
Like a love poem, set your twelve questions “as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm” (Song of Songs 8.6). Keep them ever in front of you.
Add them to your computer desktop picture.
Print, frame, and hang them on your bedroom and office walls.
Pray them and hold them in the light of Christ.
Memorize them.
Share your questions with others. Post them on your Facebook page, or ask one of your questions the next time you’re in conversation with colleagues or family.
The more we have them in front of us, the more likely we will recognize a partner in a book, movie, conversation, podcast, article, or chance encounter who is offering a gift from the Spirit that speaks to one of our questions.
Respond to Your Twelve Favorite Questions
As we gather the nuggets of inspiration that are handed to us, we need a place to store those tidbits.
Create sacred digital and physical folders, one for each question.
Each time you capture a phrase, link, or “eureka!” moment, add it to your file and be astonished at how it grows.
Apply the Answers to Your Twelve Favorite Questions
You don’t have to know how you will use the information you gather; that’s part of the fun.
When the time and project are right, you’ll have the information and insights you need—and others will think you’re a genius!
The answers might get applied to sermons, church newsletters, or Christian ed.
They might get applied to a denominational talk, the creation of a course, or perhaps a book.
They might become the seeds for a movement or paradigm shift that you can’t imagine.
Or they might become the catalyst to a conversion of your own heart and perspectives.
Collective/+ Enrollment is open through Thursday
Being in community with other questioners is a prime means of growing, sharing, and learning.
The Collective/+ is a sacred community where you can share your questions and receive the support of colleagues.
We also practice contemplatio, structuring our weekly sermon prep in a way that facilitates time and space for the big questions.
How might a community of preachers inspire your preaching and ministry?