Thoughts on preachers...

I've been around preachers all my life. Most of my exposure has been to the ones in churches. No doubt, preachers exist in about any context you can imagine.

I work in the church, and have sometimes been called a preacher. Sometimes, I shudder at that. I like to think of it as teaching, not preaching. I think it's because "preaching" (as a verb) has a negative connotation in my head (and to several people I know). It's one thing to PREACH at someone and quite another to invite a person into a conversation. It's one thing to declare TRUTH and another to discover it. I would like to think of my role in the church as one that helps to facilitate a conversation rather than create a monologue where one simply approves/ hates the content. Maybe my definition needs work...

Now, several "preachers" may read the above and immediately try to "preach" or "parent" me into thinking a different way. That's really not needed (or desired by anyone, btw). I think most of us humans are sick of being "preached" to and desire honest dialogue (even if it is a teaching format). We need relationships. We need the back and forth.

I was reading about one of the "preachers" in the Bible, John. Apparently, he was the first Baptist (pause for apathetic courtesy laugh). Pay attention to what the Bible says about him and his job in Mark 1:

1-3 The good news of Jesus Christ—the Message!—begins here, following to the letter the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
Watch closely: I'm sending my preacher ahead of you; He'll make the road smooth for you. Thunder in the desert! Prepare for God's arrival! Make the road smooth and straight!
4-6 John the Baptizer appeared in the wild, preaching a baptism of life-change that leads to forgiveness of sins. People thronged to him from Judea and Jerusalem and, as they confessed their sins, were baptized by him in the Jordan River into a changed life. John wore a camel-hair habit, tied at the waist with a leather belt. He ate locusts and wild field honey.

 Here's what I picked up on his preaching:

1. SOUND: His preaching was classified as thunder in the desert. Noticeable. Audible.
2. TEXTURED: His preaching went ahead of Jesus: in other words, he set the scene. He told of the coming GOOD NEWS. His job was to make the road smooth and straight for the coming of Christ. Smooth and straight. Easy to follow. Clear.
3. VISUAL: his message and appearance was out in "the wild." What does that mean? His preaching was out there for everyone. He had a "go to" mentality. (He also wore a "habit" much like that of the definition of the dress of the nun) Accessible. Seen. Obvious. Appearance Matters. Not Overdressed (yeah, IMHO). 
4. FOCUSED: He preached life-change that leads to forgiveness. Wait, I thought forgiveness was the change? There's some mystery, here. Jesus is coming to bring forgiveness. However, there's this big prelude indicating that being prepared is a part of life change. Mysterious. Powerful. Focused. Clear.
5. CAPTIVATING: People "thronged" to him. He baptized them. He created the back and forth context. There's a big difference between being functional and being captivating. It's called design integration, or story generation. The artists of the world love this. Design. Interactive. Conversation. Story. Next Step.

Bottom line: there's power to his preaching. This isn't an exhaustive definition of preaching. It isn't even necessarily a working model for all preachers to follow. BUT, it is compelling, isn't it? There's some truth here.

Whether you "preach" (internal cringe) or you have heard preachers, I think these points are especially interesting. I not only notice what John does, but what he doesn't do...

...that's another post.