Why Does David Buttrick Use Of Sermonic Ideas

In the black church, the introduction is a make or break period for every preacher. It is in this moment, you can lose or gain your congregations ears. The introduction of the black preacher is under scrutiny in David Buttrick’s “Homiletic”. He offers his insight saying, “the sermon introduction should not be too long, or uncover the sermons structure prematurely.” In the black church, the preacher takes his time to set up the sermon introduction, with illustrations and stories. In chapter three, LaRue seeks to insure that American preachers are preaching with a purpose. There is nothing worse in any church than a pulpit without a purpose. Speaking from the black church, it is important that as we continue to preach, it is done with a purpose.
This day and age, many black preachers struggle against the here and now. We must no sir come to new fads and trends, that we forget the importance of “why we mount the sacred desk.” The sermon in the black church is pointless without a true purpose. There are four sources that led to sermonic ideas.
Dr. LaRue gives a clear reasoning behind the sermonic ideas. These ideas are used to spark the cognitive thought process or priming the pump. With this list of ideas, preachers should have a since of imaginative flow that will bring spark, movement and fulfilling joy to the life of their sermons. The first is using scripture. The reading of scripture is important to the life of a preacher. Scripture has so many fulfilling riches that are missed because preachers fail to spend time in the scriptures, but the scripture alone is a wonderful place to begin to seek sermonic ideas. One of the biggest down falls of preachers is that they don’t spend enough time in the scripture. It is hard to say that preaching comes from the scripture, but the preachers don’t have a firm understanding of what is found in
preaching.
Secondly, the preacher’s life experience impact his sermonic ideas drastically. Many preachers search for illustrations to enhance their sermons, looking in books and essays, but they fail to realize that their lived experience serves as a well enough material for illustrations. What a way to make a serious connection with ones lived stores and the congregations who hear them.
Thirdly, “sermonic ideas may come from the depths of despair.” It is hard to be an effective preacher when one has no deep scares. It is those moment of despair, failure, hurt and pain, one is able to probe the depths of one’s existence to make a connection with their listeners. “Gardner Taylor would often say to preachers that their preaching had no blood on it, meaning that what they preached about had little or no hint of struggle, pain, or difficulty in it.” Experience is key in preaching, one must be able to use ones deep inward feelings to make the sermon more powerful.
Finally, the ideas for sermons should come, inspired by God. After all of the work and reading has been done, one must open oneself for the divine action of God. I find this activity happening when the preacher allows for time of reflection, meditation, and listening. Listening for the still small voice of God to speak through the text, as well as the life experience. There must be some connection with the divine God. There is no words that I can offer that are powerful enough to move and save, but the words given by God almighty are powerful to save and redeem all of humanity. “Sermon preparation is a subjective exercise that varies from individual to individual. Even though there are several procedures involved in the process, each preacher must employ those procedures in a manner best suited to his or her creative energies.” The moment of sermon writing has many different methodologies, but the preacher must seek within oneself to find which one or multiple methods work for them. At some time in the preparation, the text becomes a focus on the process. So often the preaching moment becomes a mere poetry hour and the scripture becomes abandoned and the purpose of preaching is simply ignored, which is why it is important to realize that in your time of preparation we must spend a massive amount with the text alone. Once the scripture has been chosen, the preacher began with a “historical understanding of the text at hand.” This gives reveals information on the setting, occasion, purpose, authorial intent and its hearers. In the moment of exploring the text, Dr. LaRue has a three step method of imaginative thought processing. This three step process allows Dr. LaRue the opportunity to press his imagination to its wildest extremes. Giving the text a long stretch of ideas, no matter how insane they might seem. In the first stage, he calls it “initial imagination.” This phase offers his wild mind to flow and his thoughts to flow from everywhere possible. This is his moment that he allows himself to play around with the text. He says, “No preaching possibility is rendered inappropriate, and no inkling of possibility is declared beyond the pale.” In the African American preaching experience, the imagination is a pivotal part. Preachers often try to stretch the imagination of the listeners. “In the formal educational world, this step is called brainstorming, but earlier homilitians dismiss this stage as unadulterated eisegesis. Thomas Long, says he considers this step in his exegetical process, where the preacher begins to ask fruitful questions of the text.” In his book Joy Songs, Trumpet Blasts, and Hallelujah Shouts, Carlyle Fielding Stewart helps understand the unique ability of black preaching that is helpful in this stage by saying, “A hallmark of black preaching has been its ability to imaginatively take the things not said in the text and apply them to today’s context in ways which provide new insight and meaning into the biblical text and black hearers.”
I believe the object here goes beyond just questioning the text, but allows all thoughts to be investigated as faithful options of viewing the text. Allowing the creative nature of the black soul to guide the study. It almost reminds me of a jazz musician and improvisation. It is not formal or scripted, it is just a free flowing of the mind. Every note possible to music is available to be played if the sequence is thought out right. In most congregations, when reading scripture, some of the same wild ideas, questions, and concerns will be on the mind of the people. So black preachers use this stage of preparation to be ready if questions shall appear. It is clear that within this stage, it is just the preacher, the text, and the imagination given by the black experience.
The next stage is called “informed imagination”. Here Dr. LaRue spends time combing the shelves of the libraries, commentaries and online resources searching from scholarly input on the text. This stage is one of the most important in the three step process. Reading, reading, reading, and reading some more is very vital to the preaching experience. One must take the time to find a well-stocked library, and find helpful recourses to read about the text at hand. Do not take this time to limit yourself to your favorite writers or editors. Take this time to read all that you can possibly find on the text at hand. LaRue says, “I cannot stress enough the importance of reading when preparing a sermon. I read a mixture of both critical and devotional works.”
This step has been so important to my sermonic writing experience. Pre seminary, my sermon writing process never included reading any outside sources, other than reading other sermons. I would read the scriptural text a few times, and began to writing what I thought was a well written sermon. Now at the end of my seminary journey, I really understand and appreciate the experience of being able to comb the shelves of the libraries of the Eastern Cluster of Seminaries, for some of the most insightful recourses available. This experience has strengthen my sermon preparation, and has also made me a more profitable preacher. Now I feel well enough equipped to stand in any sacred space and proclaim the unsearchable riches of Gods holy writ.
In his final stage, which is called “enhanced imagination”, Dr. LaRue speaks about those ideas that come during or after the preaching moment. This stage is a wonderful skill to and experienced preacher, and can be a deep death trap to an inexperienced preacher. Here, during the sermonic experience, the preach gains insights while standing and proclaiming the word of God. Even though this stage could take the sermon to another level, LaRue advise that preachers save these new fresh ideas for and opportunity of preaching that sermon in the future.
Also, there is moment when one sits down and gathers their thoughts and begins to speak the “what if’s” and the “maybe if I would have” statement’s role through their minds. These moments are paramount for the preacher through. It is surly important that the preacher would capture these thoughts for a later time. “How man preachers have said to themselves after preaching a srmon, I think it might have gone over better had I done this or that? Self-evaluation of one’s sermon can be a good thing. This is true especially if preachers don’t use this time to simply beat upon themselves.” I would use that enhanced imagination moment as an opportunity to beat myself down and bout things I should have done, but after reading this literature, I am forever grateful of this new view at the after moment.
There are four powerful questions that Dr. LaRue ask before his sermon writing beings. First he ask, “Are the scriptures taking the lead in the shape and development of the sermon?” This question forces the preacher to understand that the text must be the central point of the sermon. Has the text been the most important piece in the sermon? If not, the preacher must go back and reevaluate ones ideas, making sure that the text has a clear opportunity to breathe. Most times the text is covered by some wild idea that the preacher carried into the text, before the text was look at or read.
Secondly he ask, “Is there a clearly defined controlling thought from this sermon?” This question presses for the preacher to have a focus for the sermon. The sermon focus should be like a military sniper, not a machine gun gunner sergeant. There should be an aim of a single important point that is derived from the text itself. Many points could come from that one main focus, but one must develop one target to hit. It should be like threading the eye of a needle. One does not want to be stuck with a can of marbles, if dropped, ones points would be scattered all over the place. Ask yourself, is there a focus that is in control throughout the sermon?
Thirdly, one must ask “Is the sermon lucid and clear enough to be followed with the listening ear? Sermons are not verbal essays but rather oral performances in real time that are meant to be heard.” One must spend time carefully crafting the sermon in a way that it is audible to the ears of the listener. Sentences should be short and compact that they are easier to speak, as well as digestible to the ears. “Long, drawn-out sentences are a no-no, for they constitute noise in the communication channel when people are trying to follow the argument of the sermon with their ears.”
Often time, I believe that the majority of my Lutheran contemporaries struggle in this area. Many times sitting in Christ Chapel, I left wondering was it a sermon that I was listening to a formal exegetical essay. Yes, the exegesis is important to the sermonic experience, but it should not be allowed to dominate the sermonic moment. One should be able to surgically thread those exegetical nuggets into the sermon so that all listeners will be able to grasp and understand. The preaching moment is not an opportunity to showcase how much knowledge learned in seminary, but caring for the lives and souls of Gods people. It is not about the amount of words or the level of words that one can speak, but about allowing listeners the ability to grasp what is heard.
The fourth and final question is, “What does the sermon cause the listener to want to do?” In the preparation for the preaching moment, one must be sure to have some type call for action from the congregation.
Thinking of a single idea of what should members be called to do after hearing from the preacher. “Sermons should inform, encourage, inspire, teach, admonish, implore, edify, or so forth, but they urge us toward some sort of action.” I believe that if there is not a call to do something after the sermon, then it is troublesome to call it a sermon. So there must be some focus placed on the listeners’ reaction after hearing from the preacher, who is empowered to speak with the power of the Holy
Spirit.
Many sermons become flat because there is just a string of words that does not invite listeners to take part in Gods reconciliation among the world. One most really spend time in the chair dealing with what is wrong, to develop a call for hears to participate in. In “Teaching Preaching,” Cannon presents an argument that I believe serves helpful to this point. One must have a proposition to every sermon. “It is the very heart of a sermon. If you ain’t got no proposition, then you ain’t got no sermon, neither.” The proposition is somewhat the problem the preacher sees the text addresses, and from this the preacher should be open for the call of the Spirit for the congregation to do.
I believe there comes a time when all preachers fall into a deadly downward spiral and sermon ideas seem to be nowhere to be found. On reads and reads some more, and the sermon ideas seem not to flow. Feels like there has been some sort of drought in the land. Dr. LaRue once asked Brooklyn preacher Gardner Taylor what he did when after his exegesis and other preparations the sermon just wouldn’t seem to come together. In his awesome wisdom, Taylor pointed to a window in his study facing toward the east and said, “I’ve seen the sun come up many a morning sitting at my study table.” I believe Taylor was implying the importance of time, study and inspiration. It must be a burning desire to spend time at the study table, even if it calls for us to stay up all night. “If more of us were willing to toil at our study tables until we, to, could see the sunrise, I’m convinced we’d have even better preaching today.”
As an African American preacher, there is a strong skill about preaching without notes. Even though it is not a must do in the context, many preachers strive to not rely on notes, allowing them to focus on the actions of the listeners. Dr. LaRue offers some insight on the matter: