Many Christians practice a spiritual rule of life.
In spite of it’s constricting—or top-down sounding—name (a rule of life), it’s a beautiful, freeing practice.
In fact, several sites I visited claim that the word “rule” is based in old Latin for the word that means “trellis.”
While I was unable to substantiate that etymological connection, a trellis still provides an accurate metaphor.
A trellis provides the structure upon which a vine can grow and produce its blossoms or fruit.
A rule of life does the same thing: it provides the structure upon which we grow to produce the best fruits of the Spirit to nourish ourselves and the world.
Typical categories in a rule of life include worship, prayer, Scripture, neighborliness, practicing shalom, and stewardship.
Within those categories, the person prays about and discerns specific practices, tries them on, revises, and then settles in with their rule as a way of life.
The structure of the rule helps us align with our core values as followers of Jesus Christ so that what we believe is congruent with our choices and actions.
Developing a Preacher’s Trust
At Backstory Preaching, we encourage preachers to develop and practice a type of rule of life specific to our vocation: The Preacher’s Trust.
The Trust is akin to a rule of life in that it is a grace-filled structure upon which to grow as a child of God who happens to be called to preach.
Backstory + Preaching: The story our lives preach
We offer a structure with two overarching categories—backstory and preaching—each with five areas of practice, the details of which are discerned by the preacher.
Our lives already preach what we believe about God: who God is and what God does.
We’re perpetually telling a story about what we believe about God through our words and deeds, things done and left undone, in and out of the pulpit.
The question is, what story are we telling?
Is it the story we intend to tell?
Does it accurately reflect God’s love for us and the world?
The backstory portion of the Trust fosters alignment between what we believe and what we proclaim with our lives:
Pray
Engage Scripture
Cultivate wonder, awe, curiosity, and gratitude
Seek respite in sermon prep
Trust you’re loved—no matter what
The preaching emphases of the Trust are intended to cultivate a continual practice of a proclamation of the gospel that is worthy of people’s trust:
Craft effective sermons
Proclaim the gospel, come what may
Preach ethically
Keep learning
Be accountable
The freedom of grace-filled self-examination
The Trust provides the structure for accountability to align our beliefs and behaviors.
And when we discover that they are misaligned, then what?
Self-flagellation?
Nah. Bad idea. Most of us do too much of that already.
Rather, we rely on God’s grace while we conduct a healthy examination of conscience.
After all, what’s the worst that can happen?
Exposing the truth about ourselves which always sets us free.
Free to revisit our Trust—perhaps to revise it.
Free to adjust our lives to be more congruent with our beliefs.
Free to discover the contours of our beloved idols and release them.
Free to sink more deeply into gratitude for God’s love for us, from which we can never be separated.
It’s all grace.
Honoring our fiduciary relationship to our listeners
And why is it a “trust” rather than a “rule?”
Because a trust is a fiduciary relationship.
One party entrusts another party with assets for the purpose of benefiting others.
Preachers have a fiduciary relationship with those who listen to our sermons. We have been entrusted by our parishioners and denominations with the asset of authority.
They have sent us to the Scriptures to bring a word of God back to them.
They have given us the bully pulpit and give our words more weight about their truth and merit than they give to most others.
It is a sacred partnership.
Hence, it is our fiduciary responsibility to be as worthy of their trust as possible.
The Preacher’s Trust is intended to be public with our congregations and leaders, so they know our commitment to being a preacher and can help hold us accountable.
Developing Your Preacher’s Trust
The Preacher’s Trust is the structure for us to be transformed by God into the Good News we preach.
You can learn more about developing your own Preacher’s Trust from the final chapter of my first book, Backstory Preaching: Integrating Life, Spirituality, and Craft.
The book is also the textbook for The Mentorship, and developing a Preacher’s Trust is the ongoing exercise for participants. In consultation with their mentor, participants discern, outline, and practice their Trust throughout the year.
By the end, they have landed on their Trust as a way of life so that they grow, develop, and offer its fruits to their listeners.
In fact, here’s what one of the members of the Mentorship Class of ‘22 said about her Trust:
The development of the practices in the Preachers Trust—especially cultivating wonder curiosity and awe and designing respite into sermon prep—has not only made me a stronger, more confident preacher, it has helped make me a more solid leader, helped deepen my relationship with my family, and made me trust God’s love for me.
—Monique Ellison, Class of ‘22
Would the development of a Preacher’s Trust bring new life, freedom, and joy to your preaching life? Perhaps the Mentorship is right for you.