Preaching That Shapes The Body of Christ
Many preachers have experienced that moment of paralysis when they stand before a congregation looking out over a mosaic, the sea of faces of the people of God—yearning to hear Biblical truth just before the sermon.
For many pastors that view of the congregation comes with the knowledge of the overwhelming, collective pastoral need in the room: the man recently widowed, the college student home for a semester suspended for drug use, the couple barely holding their marriage together, the one who can’t find a job, the other who is trying to stay sober. The pastoral realities add up so exponentially that it is a wonder that any preacher dare speak at all.
But by God’s grace and in the mystery of the Holy Spirit, we believe the Gospel strikes to the heart of the people of God—one by one. The preacher rises to speak, as Karl Barth put it, because God has spoken and with the confidence that the gospel heals, redeems, and transforms the hearts and minds of God’s children. Listeners to the Word attest to that individual movement of the Spirit as well. “You spoke right to me,” the parishioner says to the pastor at the door as they shake hands and share the knowing look that affirms that’s how gospel proclamation is supposed to work: one soul at a time.
Such theological conviction undergirds the teaching of preaching. Whether it is an evangelistic call for the preacher to reach the lost sheep or the expectation that good preaching makes the biblical text come alive for the hearer, the focus tends to cast the listener individually. Less attention has been paid in the homiletical literature and in the pastor’s preaching life to the collective identity of those who gather week in and week out expecting to hear and experience God’s Word. An essential role of preaching in the context of congregational life is the responsibility of the preacher to attend to, to build, to shape the Body of Christ. Of course the yearning is for gospel proclamation to strike to the heart of each and every one. But by that same promise of God’s grace and the work of the Holy Spirit those individuals are nurtured in their life together and sent out collectively to the world in witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The eucharistic prayer in many traditions puts it this way: “As this bread is Christ’s body for us, send us out to be the body of Christ in the world.” Such sacramental promise applies to the Word as well: the proclaimed promise of God shaping and sending the Body of Christ into the world.
A business leader who is seeking to drive a vision, set the strategy and build a team might crave a weekly opportunity to stand before the staff members or the sales force or the regional representatives. A year’s worth of emails, webinars and phone conferences could never replace the potential of a weekly twenty minutes or so with the team there in the room with no distractions. Pastors work with elected leaders on writing mission statements, setting ministry goals, and discerning initiatives as they try to move a congregation forward. It is very difficult work that seminary graduates may not be trained to carry out. The weekly event of proclamation presents a significant opportunity to support those efforts as the preacher addresses the call of God not just to the individual, but to the gathered community. Preaching that can deepen community and shape the Body of Christ requires much thought and intentionality by the preacher.
Nurturing Body Image
A primary means by which preachers can shape a congregation’s collective identity is by exploring biblical images for the people of God. Among many biblical metaphors, the litany could include: royal priesthood, household of God, temple of the Spirit, colony of heaven, and the body of Christ. Pastors who are mindful of unique contexts and contemporary connotations understand that targeted, appropriate word choice is critical! Choosing language that labels the congregation requires intentionality. Current sociological studies might challenge a pastor who routinely refers to the congregation as a “community.” Community may be the last thing a newcomer is looking for in a congregation or the last thing a congregation is actually able to provide. Other faith leaders may be convinced that the term “church family” has little biblical support and is less compelling in light of changing definitions of “family.” Naming, encouraging, and empowering a congregation as the Body of Christ is an image that offers potential for tapping into a sacramental theology while nurturing a deeper connection between preaching and worship. Effective development of the church’s corporate self begins with attention paid to the semantics of preaching and worship.
Pastors who observe and exegete their congregations might take a step back and in each season of ministry keep a few goals in mind related to the congregation’s self-image. One can imagine a young pastor in a first call realizing that the older, small congregation has a negative view of itself. The preaching for the first year might need to build a more positive image to convince them that they do offer newcomers and the community outreach, love, and gospel promise. An experienced pastor may make the conscious decision after several years in a call that the people do pretty well caring for each other but have lacked an outward focus. An entire season of preaching life might then be geared toward the congregation’s witness to bear the mission of God outside the walls. Another pastor may have inherited a congregation that has a stuffy, cold, and unfriendly reputation in town and among other churches. It could take the leader years of intentional work to foster a sense of hospitality that reflects the embrace of Christ himself.
These macro-examples of challenging and changing body image in the Body of Christ play out in the weekly experience of preaching sermons and leading worship. Just as pastors learn to attend to the imagery of God in the pastoral prayer, they must learn to think critically about the language used as the congregation is welcomed each week, and the types of illustrations used in preaching. Hindsight is an essential discipline for preachers. When looking back at several weeks of illustrations, many preachers might find few if any stories or images that relate to a collective or church identity. Our observations and storytelling may be about an incident reflecting church values or that wise old member from years ago. Preachers should seek compelling stories about congregations in mission or individuals served by a whole group of folks or a church that risked itself in service to the gospel. Faithful preaching ought to strike not just to the heart of the individual listener, it ought to stir the soul of the Body of Christ.
Attentive pastors discern big picture themes regarding their congregation, and they address those themes as they carefully choose words, images, and illustrations. The importance of word choice affirms the sacramental nature of the pastor’s task. Language is the primary tool and words are the way we have to communicate the extraordinary promise and grace of God. Just as we dare to believe the promise that the presence of Christ is conveyed to us in the ordinary vessels of wine and bread, so we believe that God’s Spirit is at work in and through our efforts with words and images. Astute preachers can craft and shape the Body of Christ for God’s mission here and now.
