The
process of assembling this 20th anniversary issue of Preaching
has been an enjoyable yet challenging process. It’s been fun to dig back
through many of the 120 past issues we’ve produced since 1985 — to
read the old interviews, sermons, and articles. I’ve even read through
some of my old Back Page Pulpit columns, which is an experience just as humbling
as going back and reading some of your earliest sermons. (I’ve burned my
beginning sermons, just to be sure there’s no danger of them doing any
further damage.)
Putting this issue
together has been a bit like stumbling across an old scrapbook. As you flip
through the pages, lots of memories tumble out that spark laughs, tears, and
maybe a cringe or two. It’s also got me thinking about the past two decades
of editing Preaching, and all the
things I’ve learned. (The list of things I haven’t learned is too
big for one column; that one would fill a collection of hefty volumes.) So please
allow me the liberty of sharing some observations about things that 20 years
in this editor’s chair have taught me:
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• The great
preachers — past and present — didn’t get that way through a
driving desire to be known as “great.” That adjective is attached
to preachers with a compulsion to communicate God’s Word effectively. They
have invested the time and energy to develop their craft. They have spent time
in reading and study. (For example, I’ve yet to come across a great preacher
who isn’t also a voracious reader; strong preachers just have a curiosity
that makes them want to read and learn more.) Great preachers have never been
obsessed with adhering to some artificial homiletical model created by others;
their commitment to effective communication has led them to find the style that
best suits the gifts God has given them.
The great preachers
aren’t those who seek greatness. For a great preacher, the goal is not
the accolades of the crowds; it is the applause of nail-scarred hands. There
are some who draw crowds today but whose names will be lost a generation from
now. There are others who may be overlooked today, but whose work will continue
to produce fruit many years after they are gone. God knows, and that’s
enough.
• Preaching
is being affected by the reality that more and more people are attending a growing
number of megachurches scattered across the suburbs of America. As a result,
the 800-or-so senior pastors of those congregations are increasingly identified
as the pastoral models of our era. In fact, a handful of those pastors and churches
have become “virtual denominations” through their offerings of curriculum
and conferences, worship resources, congregational tools and more. Ask a random
group of pastors who today’s “top preachers” are, and at least
eight of the first ten names listed are likely drawn from this group.