Self-Disclosure In Preaching : An Interview With Bob Russell, John Claypool, Barry Black, And Dieter Zander
I recall when you interviewed me about using humorous stories.1 Using personal stories that are funny leads to another concern. If the story might possibly make some people uncomfortable, don’t use it. Even though it’s funny, people see through the lines. They can tell when you are just telling a story because you want to be funny. Sometimes I tell a personal story and it’s funny, and I have two or three more lines and it’s still funny. But I have to decide if going ahead with those three or four lines really helps the sermon, or if I am just throwing in those lines to get a laugh. If I have made the point, it is time to go on. Dealing with your motives helps you remember that it’s not so much what you say; it’s who you are. I am not a comedian. I am a preacher.
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Claypool: The temptation is, “Am I doing this to get them to think certain things of me? Am I trying to enhance my reputation or earn their favor?” In my Beecher lectures, I built on C.S. Lewis’ distinction between “need-love” and “gift-love.” Put simply, need-love refers to giving to another with the expectation of getting something in return, while “gift-love” is giving something to another simply for the sake of giving it. The concept is so basic, and yet I have to constantly go back and ask myself, “In which category of motivation is the telling of this story?”
Henlee Barnette, my ethics professor in seminary, taught me that motive and consequence are the two canons of moral decision-making. And so in the case of self-disclosure in preaching, I must always ask myself, “Why am I doing this and what likely will happen if I do it?” I always try to measure what will be the consequence on a given question. It’s certainly easier to do this when you have been with a congregation for some time and have become one of the family. You know them and they know you.
Black: Like many preachers, I have a wife who is a very constructive critic! There have been a few times in my ministry when I probably had too many points in the message where there was self-disclosure. She would call that to my attention and also at times question my motivation regarding some stories. “Did you just tell that because it is funny and you knew it would get a laugh?” Or, “Did you tell that because it would make you look like a hero, even though you couched it in self-deprecating words?”
So, I have had to question whether my motives have been pristine. Am I really trying to illuminate the passage and help people with the application of the particular pericope? Or am I trying to lift Barry Black?
Preaching: Have you ever used a self-disclosive account in a sermon and then later questioned whether it was appropriate or necessary? If so, can you recount the story and your reflections on using it?