Soon other men joined Francis in his life of apostolic wandering for the Gospel and the majority of them were ordinary Christians not clergy from the hierarchal structures of the medieval church. In fact, the preaching ministry of Francis and his subsequent following which eventually encompassed thousands of people from peasants, to nobles, to priests, and bishops could best be described as charismatic and spirit driven. Francis had no project, no purpose statement, and no formal training in homiletics but rather his preaching came from his dramatic relationship with the Savior.
A Lifestyle Preacher
Advertisement
Numerous stories abound about Francis and his understanding of what we might call lifestyle evangelism today. A particular famous one involves when Francis asked one of the younger members of his brotherhood if he would like to go into town to preach. The young friar was very eager and quickly agreed to come with Francis. Francis and the young friar spent all day walking through the marketplaces, side streets, and even the fields. Finally, as the sun was beginning to set Francis and his young companion returned to where they began. The day’s journey was now done. The young friar looked very disappointed and finally said “I thought we were going to preach today?” and Francis replied, “My son, we have preached. We were preaching while we were walking. We were seen by many and our behavior was closely watched. It is of no use to walk anywhere to preach unless we preach everywhere as we walk!” Perhaps the most famous quote of Francis is, “Preach the Gospel everywhere, and if necessary, use words.” Francis understood that a preacher wasn’t merely a person who said some words out of the Bible from time to time. Rather, a preacher was someone who lived out the words of the Bible everyday and in every aspect of his life. Francis and his followers, sought to follow Jesus, and dedicate themselves to poverty, to works of care and compassion for the poor, and the preaching of the Word. What made Francis so appealing to the Europe of his time was more than his poetic style as a preacher but that his life was a poem for God. Modern day preachers would benefit to ponder Francis’ success not on the merit of his sermon outlines but rather the context he provided for every one of his sermons, which was his very own life fully dedicated to Christ.
______________
Kevin Goodrich OP is a traveling teacher on Christian spirituality and the author of the book Cell Phone Spirituality: What your cell phone can teach you about life and God.