How Do Pastors Know What Needs To Be Preached?

I was reading from Barbara Brown Taylor’s book, When God Is Silent, again this morning.   Brown was sharing with a friend that she was “not sure people even listened to sermons  anymore.”  

Her friend’s reply was very intriguing.  “I do think people are trying to listen and that preaching does matter.  In fact, I think the vast majority of people are sitting in the pew with parched lips.  They are so thirsty that they have lost their ability to listen, to speak or to think.  But one big gulp of Gatorade is not the answer….it requires a series of sips much like a parched field requires a series of gentle rains.”(85-86)

Since I have often felt that my sermons fall shout of meaning to those who come to listen. This little conversation, between friends, started my mine to wondering.

I wondered, what if we pastors stood up one Sunday morning and said: 

“Help me to understand what you really want to know about God.?”   

“Or tell me what you need to hear this morning.”  

“Or tell me what I could say that would be relevant to your faith journey.” 

My cousin said to me years ago, “Preachers get up there and assume we know what you are talking about.  When in truth we don’t know." Her comments gave me tons to think about.

The truth is she is absolutely correct.  Any pastor who cares about the integrity, of daring to preach God’s truth, spend a great deal of time studying before putting the pencil to the paper.  We have read commentary on the scripture we are using. We do word studies from the Greek and Hebrew.  We pray, we study some more, and finally try to get relevant examples; to help our congregation relate to what we say. 

That is all well and good.  However, in our attempt to keep it simple, we often messy up the message by assuming that those listening have done an equal amount of preparation.  

                  

Not so.

Brown writes in the first Chapter, of this little treasure of information, exactly what I am referring to: 

“However well you have prepared, there is nothing like that moment of silence before you begin (to preach), when you look out at all those faces and wonder if you are about to waste their time.”(p. 5)

                                                           

BAM!

So the question is, how can any pastor know what you need unless you tell them?  

It is just like in any-other -relationship; there needs to be a two way discussion on any important topic.  We are not called to cut a hole in the top of people’s heads and pour in information that will make them know.

I just thought of the habit, I wrote about the other day, that I have developed in my preaching and Bible Study classes about asking questions.  

Maybe this decision, to question instead of alway telling, was a God thing.  

Maybe is was my way of getting the people, I served with, to ask their own questions. 

Because, lets be honest.  It is a well known — long standing expectation of a pastor — that they "know it all."  And in-turn we are now suppose to enlighten the people as to the God we all believe in.

                                                               

Hello?

Yes, we have been schooled in theology for four or five years.  That is very true.  But we are not mind readers.  We can’t  just assume to know what you are wanting to hear.

We need your input.

So when your pastor asks you the questions; don't be afraid to answer. That way we can all sip the Word together.  A little at a time.