“Christ stands with those who gather in his name (Matt. 18:2) and prays for all believers (John 17:20-26), and the Holy Spirit helps them in their weaknesses (Rom. 8:26), actively creating spiritual apprehension (1 Thess. 1:5). “The preach­ing ...dynamic, found in God, and driven by God, returns to God as individuals and communities are transformed — all within the grace of the Triune God.”¹⁵ Instead of preachers “doing their own thing” exhort­ing listeners “to do their thing,” (to re-quote Torrance), preachers participate within God’s double-movement empowering.

Worship — This model expresses well, (though it inevitably oversimplifies), the foundational trinitarian theology that underlies worship and preaching. Once preachers embrace this, they can no longer consider their task apart from worship, nor can worship leaders see their role apart from preaching. Rather than both “doing their own thing” — reinforcing the tragic separation of preaching from worship (that I described in part two) — they belong together within the dynamics of the triune God’s gracious enabling. The more we see worship as participation, the more we value preaching as worship.

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Recent worship literature is full of Trinitarian implications, as its writers often seem far more insightful about the nature of God’s double-movement of grace than in much preaching literature. While space cannot be given here, many of the themes developed in worship studies should be examined by preachers, such as “worship as gift” (G. Welton Gaddy),¹⁶ community formation (Tod Bolsinger),¹⁷ shaping by Scripture (Russell Mitman),¹⁸ eschatologi­cal framework (Kevin Navarro),¹⁹ “narra­tive engagement” (Cornelius Plantinga)²⁰ and worship and spirituality (Don Saliers)²¹. At every point the preacher is involved with preaching as worship.

A TRINITARIAN PREACHING DEFINITION

These convictions about participating with the Trinity profoundly impact how we look at preaching. We need to define it more thoughtfully.

Christian preaching is a personally involved participatory and embodied form of graced activity that is the Triune God’s gift to the church. This is not subject to human mastery and control, but as an expression of doxological speech is grate­fully received and offered back to God through the praise and thanksgiving of the Christian community at worship.²²

Consider these carefully crafted words by Michael Pasquarello. “Personally involved” stresses engagement of heart, soul, strength and mind (Luke 10:27), of preacher and hearers. In Romans 12:1 “offer bodies” involves giving over the whole of ourselves, while “spiritual” can be translated “reason­able” to emphasize the engagement of mind and heart. Thomas Troeger sums up wor­ship as: “All of us for all of God.”²³ “Participatory” resonates with the double-movement as God’s three persons actively interact with believers, sharing fellowship with the mutual indwelling of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is God’s DNA building the church and kingdom.

“Embodied form of graced activity”further describes the nature of worship as expressed in the lives of ordinary people, living out their responsibilities as a new community that is entirely of God’s making. “That is the Triune God’s gift to the church” highlights how grace comes as gift. Utterly undeserving, we belong together as brothers and sisters only by God’s will (John 1:12).

Rather than see itself as a special kind of public speaking “subject to human mastery and control,” preaching is “an expression of doxological speech” offered to praise God’s glory (doxa), because its ultimate purpose is to bring glory to the Father. “Gratefully received and offered back to God through the praise and thanksgiving of the Christian community at worship” echoes how God’s grace both gives and receives in our worship. It is all of Him, in three persons, from beginning to end.

Preachers need to think as Trinitarians. Instead of solely preaching about God’s power, they need to preach with God’s power; instead of solely focusing on Christ’s past action, they should join in His continuing mediation; instead of solely calling for human response to Christ, they must invite also responses with Him, by the Holy Spirit. And this is true for worship leaders too — not only should they enable worship to God, but worship with God.

Worship is “the gift of participation through the Spirit in the incarnate Son’s communion with the Father.”24 This makes all the difference in the world to how we preach, pray, worship, read Scripture, and journey together through the Christian life. Our preaching is not just about God, it is with God.