I love the writings of the 5th century preacher Augustine of Hippo. I had not been aware of his recently published work: Instructing Beginners in the Faith.
There are many things I have enjoyed in it. This little work is backed with useful advice. For example, Augustine writes with vividness concerning the importance of simplicity in preaching.
Sometimes it seems as if a preacher is more interesting in parading their superior knowledge than in making that knowledge accessible to their hearers. This of course should bring joy to the preacher, as Augustine writes:
“For (preachers) like a mother there is more enjoyment in chewing food into tiny pieces and spitting them into her little child’s mouth than in chewing and devouring larger portions herself.”
I agree with Augustine that it is possible for preachers to be so intoxicated by big theological ideas that they are not sober enough to package those ideas in a way that is easily digested by their hearers.
I guess that the way preachers learn to communicate in this way is that they keep in touch with their hearers and seek to develop a healthy teacher-learner relationship.
“When our listeners are touched by us as we speak and we are touched by them as they learn, each of us comes to dwell in the other, and they, as it were, speak to us in what they hear, while we in some way learn in them what we teach.”
There is a beautiful symmetry about this relationship. Augustine’s words remind me of what
Paul says about the prospect of visiting the Christians in Rome:
“I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong — that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.” (Romans 1:11–12)
Preacher: what are you learning from your congregation?
Preacher: how are you looking to be mutually encouraged by your congregation?
I have been grateful to learn so much from the two churches I have served as a pastor (Beresford Road Evangelical Church in Suffolk and Lancing Tabernacle in West Sussex).
Almost everything I have learned about being a Christian leader and preacher I have learned from these two congregations.
How does this learning work in practice?
It is impossible to learn from others?
It is difficult to do so with regular personal contact. This means spending time with the congregation, sharing their lives, listening to their encouragments, and taking their questions seriously.
From experience, one of the things that congregations resent is being patronised.
Preachers need to treat people with wisdom, courtesy and respect.
Congregations look for a preacher to be authentically involved with and interested in their lives. The upshot of this is that preachers see a reflection of their preaching in the lives of their hearers and this reflection feeds into the preaching.
That reminds me of the response that my friend Matthew Kim looks for from a congregation:
“That the preacher understands the Scriptures and he understands me!”
Photo by Vince Fleming on Unsplash
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