Pastoring God's People
For all those who have been commissioned to
pastoral roles of all kinds.
Six Kinds of Preachers
By Ryan Ahlgrim
A few years ago a gentle college student followed me around for a summer, learning some of the ins and outs of pastoral ministry. He was required to preach at least two sermons, but he approached the task with great hesitancy. It wasn’t that he was afraid to speak in public; rather, he objected to the spiritual presumption that seems to stand behind all preaching. “What authority do I have to tell them what they ought to do or believe?” he asked.
Good question. If we believe we have such authority, how should we exercise it? Should a sermon be directive or nondirective, an exegesis or a narrative, a lesson or a proclamation? Should we say, “In my opinion,” or “Thus says the Lord”?
Although some storytellers may offer a "moral" at the end, it is really up to the listeners to interpret the meanings of the story and draw connections to their lives.
It depends what kind of preacher one is. I discern six kinds of preachers, each with different assumptions about preaching authority and the use of the Bible. My list is not exhaustive, nor does any one preacher fit neatly in just one type. But it may help us explore questions of authority.
Teachers. The authority of these preachers comes from training in theology and the study of the Bible. They are experts, presenting biblical or theological information that is supported by scholarship. For them, the goal of preaching is primarily to educate, and so the sermon is usually an exposition of a biblical passage or theme. The initial focus is on the original meaning of the text, but the teacher also draws some parallels to our present context in order to provide guidance for today’s believers. The teacher does not claim superior spiritual experience or knowledge of God’s will—except as revealed in his or her careful study of the Bible.
These preachers, in my experience, are the most common in the Mennonite church and are the natural outcome of a seminary education. Their approach to spirituality is cognitive. One learns about God rather than meeting God. Their approach resembles that used by the scribes of Jesus’ day, rather than the approach that we see in Jesus and the apostles (e.g., Mark 1:22; Acts 2:12-18; 1 Cor. 14:24-25).
Storytellers. The storyteller’s authority is subtle, and shared with the listeners. Authority rests in the stories themselves, so the stories are unleashed to do their own inspiring work, leading the congregation into a spiritual experience. This may be accomplished by reciting the biblical stories or creatively retelling them or telling non-biblical stories that support the themes of the Bible.
Although some storytellers may offer a “moral” at the end, it is really up to the listeners to interpret the meanings of the story and draw connections to their lives. The storyteller approach respects the authority that is in each of us, and recognizes that spiritual maturity must come through our own effort, exploration, and discovery. But stories can be notoriously ambiguous, capable of being misinterpreted in ways that run contrary to what either the storyteller or the biblical author intended. And when the storyteller is using non-biblical stories, they may not be as true to the spirit and character of the biblical witness as the storyteller assumes.
Counselors. Counselors locate authority in their ability to psychologize Scripture. Their goal in preaching is to help their hearers with their personal growth, relationships, self-esteem, and life decisions. Their sermons are relevant and engaging, often using case studies or diagrams. Exposition of Scripture is limited to its psychological and practical usefulness, while the historical and literary meanings of the text recede into the background. This often leaves the counselor captive to fads and individualism, blind to the larger dimensions of Christian existence.
Conservative Prophets. These preachers believe that each verse of Scripture is the authoritative Word of God and that these verses can be easily understood and applied to our current context. They believe that if one simply repeats or restates a verse of Scripture, one is speaking directly for God. As a result, they are able to proclaim without a doubt what the will of God is for us today, usually in terms of personal, traditional morality. Conservative prophets revive the biblical experience of hearing a proclamation from God. But one may also question whether the Bible can be as easily applied to our context as they think, or whether proof-texting is the best way to understand the Word of God.
Liberal Prophets. Like their conservative counterparts, liberal prophets claim to speak for God. But rather than identifying the Word of God with each Bible verse, they find authority in the overarching, timeless principles of Scripture (often understood to be radical love and justice). Hence, their preaching challenges our institutional blindness, and emphasizes social reforms and the expansion of human rights. But sometimes their quest for the spirit of the Bible causes them to ignore too much of the letter and to discount the value of tradition.
Evangelists. Unlike the prophets, evangelists do not focus so much on ethical issues as on the listener’s spiritual commitment and growth in God. Authority derives from the preacher’s own experience of God’s transforming reality, in harmony with the biblical witness. The goal of the evangelists’ preaching is to facilitate a similar divine encounter for the listeners. Scripture serves as an existential launch pad, not as a cognitive lesson. The evangelist dares to make pronouncements in God’s name that change the listener’s spiritual condition (for instance, “You are forgiven!”).
Based on my own reading of the New Testament, Jesus and the apostles were primarily evangelists, with storytelling and prophetic approaches in complementary roles. Teachers developed later, and counselors even later. I would urge more preachers to explore the approach of the evangelist, thus continuing in the spirit and authority of what Jesus and the apostles began.
—Ryan Ahlgrim is pastor of First Mennonite Church, Indianapolis,
and the author of Not as the Scribes: Jesus as a Model for Prophetic
Preaching (Herald Press, 2002)
—Keith Harder is Co-director of the Office of Ministerial Leadership for Mennonite Church USA.