Preaching and Politics: An Interview with Adam Hamilton

Preaching: What are the things you enjoy most about preaching?

Hamilton: I will say first that I approach the pulpit with “fear and trembling,” in Kierkegaard’s words. I feel like every week I’m nervous about preaching even though I’ve been doing it now for 20-something years. I feel anxious about it before I get in the pulpit because I recognize I’m

representing God. That should, I think, make all of us a little bit afraid.

At the same time I have great delight in taking the truths of the Scripture and being able to offer them to people in ways they hadn’t thought of before, or teaching them what they haven’t known before and helping the Scriptures come alive by illustrating them well. When you stand there in the pulpit and you feel like there’s something these people really need to hear—this is a timeless truth of the Scripture—and if they would only live by this it would make all the difference. And you feel like you got that word from God, you’ve done your homework and research, and you’ve laid it out in a way that makes sense and it speaks to their intellect and to their heart and calls them to action—it’s just exhilarating. And when you get done with that and you feel like you can look out and see it in people’s eyes—God was somehow at work in that moment. Every week I pray, “God, help me disappear that they just hear from You and see from You whatever You want to say and whatever they need to hear from You.” And when that happens, it’s magic. It’s just such a joy.

Preaching: If you were talking to some young pastors about preaching or pastoral ministry and could offer one bit of advice, what would it be?

Hamilton: One of the things I’d say is that because preaching is the single-most-important thing you’re going to do in your ministry—after taking care of your soul and taking care of your family—devote enough time to it. And I think to prepare an excellent sermon, there’s no shortcut.

It just takes time. And it helps if you can outline sermons in advance or at least get a head start on your preaching, even if it’s just for the next six months. Then, if you can, dedicate a minimum of 10 hours—for me it’s 20 hours a week I’m going to spend—reading, researching, studying, praying and writing the sermon. Sometimes more than that. In some church sizes you can’t have more than 10 or 15 hours—but at least use that.

What happens is we tend to be captured by the tyranny of the urgent, so there’s a pastoral care thing or a phone call or something else that comes in or eats away at our preaching time. We can have laity help us in doing congregational care, and if we have to give up some of our preaching time, we can reclaim it at night or reclaim it the next day and reschedule appointments.

But take the time. There’s just no getting around the fact that to preach a great sermon, you’ve got to spend the time reading, studying, praying, writing your message and then reworking it until you’ve got it where it can be its most effective.