2022 is over, but the year behind us offers rich insights to nourish the year ahead.
At Backstory Preaching we routinely practice a simple “examen” on just about everything we offer by asking three simple questions:
What went well?
What challenged or surprised you?
What might you do differently going forward?
This reflection is rooted in the tradition of a spiritual “examen,” an ancient process where one lays before God—and in the presence of a spiritual director, confessor, or simply one’s journal—a humble look at one’s thoughts and deeds, those done and left undone.
Examen is intended to be a cleansing experience when, trusting in God’s compassion, mercy, and encouragement, we get curious about our experiences and change course as needed.
In these early days of 2023, we invite you to apply this practice to three areas that together form the preaching life: process, craft, and spirituality.
This “three-legged stool” of preaching allows us to preach with all that we have and all that we are, by God’s grace.
In honest assessment, we lay bare before God the ways the Spirit is flowing through us with ease, identify stumbling blocks, and with the Spirit’s help, lay out a plan to shift.
How to Prepare for Your Examen
To prepare for your examen, follow these steps.
Step 1: Schedule time
Set aside an hour, a morning, or a day of retreat. Have available your calendar, sermons, and a journal. Begin with prayer.
Step 2: Review Your Calendar
Review your calendar from the last year, paying attention to when you prepared your sermons.
Step 3: Review Your Sermons
Review your sermons from the past year.
Which sermons stand out, and for what reason?
List the topics you preached about and the books of the Bible that supplied the focus texts.
Which resources did you rely on to develop your sermons: books, podcasts, websites, or study groups?
What examples or stories did you lift up in your sermons?
Step 4: Review Your Experience of Preaching
Review your journal (if you kept one), or scan your memories of preaching.
How did you feel about your preaching?
Where was God in the process?
What brought you joy? What didn’t?
With preparation complete, we’re ready to lay before God the three components of our preaching life.
Reflect on Your Preaching Process
The process of preaching is the way you craft your sermons: the routines, habits, and systems you employ to birth a sermon.
In an examen on sermon prep process, you might consider:
When you prepped: the days of the week and times of the day
How long you prepped: how long did it take to craft a sermon
Where did you prep: in which location(s) do you prepare sermons?
Which resources did you use? Are they adequate? Out of date? Do they offer a diversity of perspectives and experiences?
How developed and reliable is your process? Can you count on a system to guide the process from first reading of the text to proclamation topost-preaching review?
How do you warm up your body to preach?
How did you plan? Did you look ahead at an entire liturgical season (or more) at a time to see the narrative preaching arc? Or collect and gather resources to prepare to preach on a theme? Or put together a sermon series?
An Examen on Process
In 2022, what worked?
In 2022, what challenged or surprised you?
In 2023, what might you do differently?
Reflect on Your Preaching Craft
The craft of preaching involves the thinking/writing/oratory skills we employ to deliver a sermon development: from the illustrations we select to the order in which we organize our sermon components to all the stylistic choices we make in storytelling, language, and delivery.
We continually improve our composing and communication “chops” in order to offer our message as clearly and compellingly as possible.
In an examen of preaching craft, you might consider:
Which sermons you received positive feedback about: what made them successful? What did you people note about them?
Which sermons fell flat: can you identify where they lost momentum, focus, or impact?
Which sermons you most enjoyed preaching: why?
How many sermon forms you used to organize your sermons
Which sermon intros seemed to capture your audience’s attention
Which sermon conclusions felt most satisfying (to you and your audience)
In what ways did you intentionally learn about or engage rhetorical strategies, literary devices, emulation of preaching techniques in sermons you admire, storytelling, etc.?
An Examen on Craft
In 2022, what worked?
In 2022, what surprised or challenged you?
In 2023, what might you do differently going forward?
If craft is an area you’d like to grow in 2023, you might consider:
Listening to sermons by preachers you admire, readily available on the internet
Reading books about sermon crafting, or related disciplines like writing and giving speeches
Seeking out and applying useful feedback on your sermons
Regularly reviewing past sermons you’ve offered
Developing specific skills, like storytelling; the use of imagery; or the application of different sermon forms
Preaching on books of the bible you don’t usually explore
Learning how to revise and self-edit your drafts before preaching
Including the wisdom from non-dominant members of society
Reflect on the Spirituality of Your Preaching Life
The spirituality of preaching is the connection to God that fuels our study and proclamation.
More so, the spirituality of our preaching continually connects us to our why.
Why do we preach at all? Why do we even care about the gospel, let alone want to share it with others? What do we believe? Who is God for us and with us?
To conduct an examen on the spirituality of preaching, consider these questions:
Do you intentionally connect with God in your sermon prep through prayer or other means?
Do your sermons come from your belief about God and how God is acting in Scripture and in you?
Does sermon prep offer respite and bring joy?
What is your prayer life like? Is it active and regular? Or inactive and episodic?
With whom are you accountable about your prayer life?
Are you enjoying Scripture apart from using it to meet deadlines in sermon prep and Christian ed.?
Are there preaching topics you avoid out of fear about the reaction? Are you taking these fears to God?
Are you cultivating wonder, awe, curiosity, and gratitude?
Do you preach from an abiding conviction that you are deeply cherished by God?
An Examen on Spirituality
In 2022, what worked?
In 2022, what surprised or challenged you?
In 2023, what might you do differently going forward?
Conclude your Examen With Gratitude
For all that worked well, give God thanks.
What will you be intentional about repeating in the future?
For all that surprised or challenged you, give God thanks.
Some surprises and challenges were probably welcome; others were not. What can you learn from them?
For all that you might do differently going forward, give God thanks.
Offer gratitude for revealing this wisdom to you, and ask for the will, courage, and perseverance to put it into action.
Finally, thank God for the privilege to share God’s Word, and for continually transforming you into the Good News you preach.
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