By John D. Duncan
The art of reading to improve your preaching calls for a creative imagination. Creativity involves painting pictures in the sermon. Warren Wiersbe quotes George Buttrick: "Many a promising sermon stultified because it was woven of concepts rather than of pictures ...."7
Reading produces pictures that can often be transferred both to the study of scripture and to the sermon. Creativity assists the preacher in painting pictures with words so people understand the good news of Jesus as opposed to airmailing concepts to your hearers which they do not understand.
Preaching Gives You a Story to Tell
When you read you will find that your preaching improves. Reading gives you a story to tell as you share the Gospel story. Not long ago in a sermon from Romans I spoke of the salvation which gives peace. I addressed the fact that the life we live because Christ has saved us brings peace, God's peace. Tuesdays with Morrie was written by Mitch Albom. Morrie is the old professor near death. Mitch is the thirty-something writer on the way to making it in life. His life is restless. Mitch visits Morrie on thirteen Tuesdays before Morrie dies. Morrie is in his last days (Note how the story involves both young and old and a truth applied to life.).
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Mitch visits on the thirteenth Tuesday, and Morrie shares his experience of the night before. Morrie shares how he feels he is ready to cross a bridge to whatever is next. He insightfully shares: "That's what we're all looking for. A certain peace with the idea of dying. If we know, in the end, that we can ultimately have that peace with dying, then we can really do the hard thing." [Mitch responds] "Which is?" [Morrie] "Make peace with living."8
The story concluded my sermon, with an invitation to make peace with living through the Peace that is Jesus Christ.
Reading improves your preaching. And you might just find that reading sets your preaching off in a new, fresh direction. Who knows where your preaching might lead and where it might take you? Or in the immortal words of Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!
1Sven Birkerts, The Gutenberg Elegies (New York: Fawcett Columbine, 1994), 215.
2Eugene Peterson, Under the Unpredictable Plant (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1992), 22.
3Fred B. Craddock. As One Without Authority (Enid, Oklahoma: Philips University Press, 1974), 81.
4Eugene Peterson, Subversive Spirituality (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1994), 186.
5Ibid., 185.
6Ibid., 186.
7Warren Wiersbe, "Preaching & Teaching with Imagination (Wheaton, Illinois: Victor Books, 1994), 14.
8Mitch Alhom, Tuesdays with Morrie (New York: Doubleday, 1997), 173.