I Stand Here Testifying: Applying Paul's Use Of Autobiography To Our Preaching
In his narratio, then, Paul declares his justifying motive-a heavenly call to preach repentance and forgiveness. His motive for preaching is identical to that of Peter. Paul could not be "disobedient to the vision from heaven" (26:19). Rather, he must follow the example of the fisherman disciple to "obey God rather than men" (5:29). In doing so, Paul fulfills the heavenly decree that is the basis for his argument to Agrippa.
Paul is clear on his motive for using autobiography in his sermons. We should be every bit as clear on why we might share personal accounts in our messages.
The Preacher's Motive: A Heavenly Gift
Advertisement
Of paramount importance when considering a self-disclosure is discerning your motivation for sharing it. In his Lyman Beecher Lectures, John Claypool notes how C.S. Lewis distinguished between "need-love" and "gift-love."4 Need-love is giving that is self-serving; it is born of an emptiness that reaches out to any agency that might fill that void. The giving is "circular," that is, something of value going out from subject to
object with the goal of bringing something back from the object to the subject. In preaching, imagine the pastor setting in motion an arc from himself to the listeners in the hope that the listeners will send a reciprocating arc back to him. Contained in that returning arc would be messages of approval, empathy, admiration, or even worship from the congregants. The pastor's motive here is self-serving; he is offering his message in an attempt to get something for himself.
An alternative to need-love is gift-love. The goal of gift-love is to share of itself rather than take for itself. The goal is transferring something of value not from object back to subject, but rather from subject to object. Here the image is a singular arc, moving from subject to object without expectation of return. In the case of the pastor, she is offering her message for the sake of the listeners, not for the purpose of filling her own needs.
Discerning preachers can identify personal stories that might suggest more interest in themselves than in their hearers. Healthy reflection can help prevent employing stories that might reveal one of the following motives:
Heroism
Out of his extensive study of storytellers who specialize in personal experience stories, S. K. Stahl divides tellers into two categories: "self-oriented" and "other-oriented." The "self-oriented" tellers weave narratives "that build upon their own self-images and emphasize their own actions as either humorous or exemplary." The "other-oriented" tellers "underplay their personal role in the story" and emphasize the story's content.5 When considering a self-disclosive story in a sermon, you might find yourself torn between these two categories.
What do you do if you are interested in using a story that paints you in a favorable light? In this case, you must build a strong case for justifying a "hero" story. Does the story truly benefit the listeners more than yourself? Sometimes being a hero cannot be avoided because of the story's content. However, always being the hero appears self-serving and not having the congregants' best interests at heart. Gift-love calls for stories that do not highlight the good to be found in you. As Bryan Chappel puts it, "The only one you can poke fun at is yourself, and the only one you should not pat on the back is yourself."6 Here John the Baptizer, who pointed selflessly to the Messiah, serves as our model. John disclosed that The One Coming was greater than he. Pulpit autobiographies must function in a way that the listeners must increase while you must decrease.