We know one when we hear one, right?
We listen to a sermon and can identify it as a “prophetic” sermon. Or a “teaching” sermon. Or a sermon offered in an “authentic” voice.
But what are we picking up on?
What clues are we stringing together to identify it as such?
More importantly, how do we craft sermons so they perform the function in the tone we intend?
There are three steps to crafting sermons in a certain genre or tone.
1. Define the sermon type
Often we have an idea about what a preaching term means, but if can’t define the term in one sentence—if we over-explain the concept by rambling down winding paths and rabbit trails—then our sermon may well do the same.
One of the best places to clarify definitions regarding all aspects of sermons is John McClure’s Preaching Words: 144 Key Terms in Homiletics.
For example, McClure defines “prophetic preaching” as:
“An imaginative reappropriation of traditional narratives and symbols for the purpose of critiquing a dangerous and unjust present situation and providing an alternative vision of God’s future” (p. 117).
McClure reminds us that Walter Brueggemann locates the prophetic imagination in God’s freedom to create something new in spite of the way things are.
In addition, McClure notes, African American prophetic preaching identifies the listener in the biblical narrative so they move with biblical characters from suffering to liberation and lament to hope.
McClure suggests preachers bear in mind that prophetic preaching moves from…to. Prophetic preaching cannot only be against the powers that be but must offer a vision of the Promised Land so we know the grace of God that is possible.
Once we’re clear on the definition, we can use the key components to organize our sermon ideas.
For a prophetic sermon, for instance, you might start with these questions:
In what way does your sermon critique a dangerous and unjust present situation?
How does it provide an alternative vision of God’s future?
What traditional narratives or symbols are reapplied to see the biblical text describing your own day, troubles, and possibilities?
2. Steep yourself in that type of sermon
Steeping ourselves in a type of sermon by reading, watching, listening, and discussing them is one of the best ways to get the sound and feel of them into our bones.
The more we understand and steep ourselves in sermons of a particular genre, style, or tone, the more we’ll be able to apply specific craft techniques and rhetorical strategies to our own.
For example, here are two prophetic sermons I commend to you.
The first is by the spiritual director at Backstory Preaching, the Rev’d Mike Marsh, who is the priest at the Episcopal Church in Uvalde, TX. You can read “Uvalde Weeps: A Sermon on Jeremiah 31:15-17” on his blog. Offered after the mass murders in Uvalde last week, the sermon is beautiful, heart-wrenching, and real—without trite platitudes or church words. Marsh suggests (as Brueggemann encourages) that something new, something loving, can be born even from this suffering, even as the suffering continues.
Consider also a sermon by William Barber, II (offered on Jan. 21, 2021) on the text about repairers of the breach from Isaiah 58. Here, Dr. Barber relates the breach described in the biblical text with the breach between the rich and poor that creates two Americas instead of “one nation, under God, indivisible,” as the American pledge describes us. It’s an apt example of McClure’s consideration of African American prophetic preaching that deftly relates the listener to the biblical narrative.
Discussing sermons like these with colleagues helps us unpack not only what is said, but how the preacher makes their point, and why the point matters to their listeners.
How did they use their voice through the sermon—in volume, pacing, and tone—to reinforce the content?
Which literary or rhetorical devices—alliteration, metaphor, parallelism, repetition, simile, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, etc—drew the listener in and underscored the appeal to logic, emotion, or ethics? (When you listen to the most revered orators of our time, you will find these everywhere! Pick a single sermon of MLK’s and see how many you can identify).
What about the preacher’s affect or gestures or pulpit presence enhances the sermon’s message?
Asking questions like “What did you hear,” “How did it make you feel,” “What did the preacher do to invoke those feelings,” and “What is God’s vision into which we are invited” can get the conversation started.
3. Apply relevant craft techniques to your own sermons
Once we understand what made certain sermons successful, we can translate their style and techniques through our own voice and into our own context.
Use the definition to organize the main message and content—the what—of your sermon.
In the case of a prophetic sermon, consider a dangerous or unjust situation your community faces directly, or one that your neighbors face. What is God’s vision for that situation that ought to be overturned? It’s probably easier to focus on what we are mutually against, like gun violence, than it is to discern and describe the vision of the alternative. Applying McClure’s definition of prophetic preaching gives us a check and balance to ensure our sermon includes what we as God’s people are for as much as what we are against. What is the biblical narrative and your listeners’ place in it that can be reimagined for their context?
Then choose one or two rhetorical strategies to experiment with in your delivery.
Will you play with your volume to keep your listeners’ attention? Weave an extended metaphor throughout to unlock more and more nuance in your main point? Might you work toward more lyricism in your words, using occasional alliteration or parallelism or repetition to elevate the writing style?
We all have inherent strengths and areas of potential growth.
Bringing intention to the purpose of our sermon and applying these three steps will help us preach Good News as effectively as we are capable of on a given Sunday.
Define, Steep, and Apply in The Collective/+
Want to do all this but aren’t sure how?
We’re offering a Summer Sermon Series in The Collective and Collective+ to do exactly what we defined above!
Over three live sessions, we’ll listen to and discuss three sermons of different genres—looking at what makes them so effective.
Led by Backstory Preaching Mentor and retired homiletics professor, the Rev’d Dr. Melinda Quivik, we’ll gather online for an hour to watch a sermon, define the craft elements at work, and apply it to our own preaching.
To join us, enroll in The Collective/+ during our FLASH open enrollment—extended through Thursday, 6/2!
Don’t miss out on this great summer series that will improve your own sermon craft. And then take advantage of the many resources available, including the opportunity to deepen your spirituality with reflection sessions offered by the Rev’d Mike Marsh.