The Call to Preach

Yesterday, I told my church that we are all preachers.

Wow. If it were only that easy.

One of the key points of my sermon was that we protestants are living quite a quandary when it comes to one of our historic protestant doctrines:

We believe in the priesthood of all believers,

but we practice the priesthood of the preacher.

The scripture lesson for the day was one of our beloved Easter texts. Luke shares that Jesus has appeared to his disciples. They think he is a ghost, but he eats some fish, offers to let them see and touch his hands, feet, and side, and thereby proves he is a living being with flesh and blood. He reminds them of his own prophecy of his death and resurrection. Then he says to them repentance and forgiveness are to be proclaimed, first to Jerusalem and then to the ends of the earth. (Luke 24:36-48)

One of the ways the church has skewed from God's purest intent is the investment of the ministry of proclamation in the hands of the professional clergy. Now, speaking as a clergy person, it might seem I am shooting my own livelihood in the proverbial foot. If I am, so be it. But as a leader in the church, part of my job is to equip the saints for every good work - not to do it for them. This is where we have gone astray.

The tumultuous times of the protestant reformation were brought about not only by developments within the church itself, but also by developments in the culture at large. Many historians have noted the very invention of the printing press and the emerging ability to replicate the Bible in mass quantities made a reformation of some kind an inevitability. The very ownership and reading of the Bible had been the purveyance of the church elite. However, as the printed text of the bible became the physical property of more and more people, the power structure of the church shifted significantly as laity began to know more of the bible for themselves. People couldn't get enough.

Fast forward through history to today. I would argue that, in some ways, we are in a bit of a reverse trend. The advance and growth of the internet has proliferated so much information into our lives that we are overwhelmed with content. A typical visit to any "Christian" bookstore shows a nauseating array of "study bibles" for almost any topic, genre, or demographic imaginable (check out this frightening iteration). Delving into the content of an old, ancient book and finding a way to even discern the the message of that book is difficult enough, not to mention the challenge of relating that message to today's people. It's a tall order and one the modern church is still trying to find a way to fill.

And so, in response, much of the church has handed the ministry of the proclamation of the word back to the preacher. Only now, it is an act of exasperation on the part of the laity rather than one of control on the part of the clergy. But we still find ourselves with the same problem. We have many in the church who are only marginally involved in service or ministry with our communities. The acts of proclaiming repentance and forgiveness to the ends of the earth are most often the work of clergy and "professional" missionaries.

We live in a world that wants to make everything easy. The picture above is the now infamous "easy button" that was made popular by the Staples office supplies company. Amazon.com recently created the "Dash" (much like the easy button) that would be proliferated throughout our home so that we could order more laundry detergent, toilet paper, or Ritz crackers by the simple push of a button. I suppose now the convenience of going to your phone or computer to place your order is now simply too much to bear. It must be easier.

Unfortunately, there is nothing easy about finding a way to connect the apostolic message of repentance and forgiveness of sins offered by Jesus Christ to our current culture. If anything, it might be more difficult than ever to convince a people who want to press a button and order more fabric softener to do the hard work of building relationships with our neighbors and friends so that we might be able to share our faith. The longer I do this work, the more I realize that authentic relationships is the only way that survives the test of time and the advent of changing cultures. Getting to know people, listening to their greatest needs and concerns, and loving them through whatever challenges they have authenticates the preaching ministry of the whole body of Christ. When we offer repentance and forgiveness, we are believable.

It's not easy. But it is possible.

We are all called to preach. And so we must.