Next-Wave Ezine > church & culture

The Cowardly Preacher?
By bob hyatt

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"If you are a coward by nature, don't worry. We can still use you. You can get down behind the biblical text. You can peek out from behind the text saying, 'I don't know if I would say this, but I do think the text does.'"- Walter Brueggemann (as quoted by Will Willimon)

This has been a go-to concept for me. The longer I have been doing this preaching thing, the more I see in the text that is at odds with modern sensibilities---things so outsized and seemingly indefensible... commands to kill, commonly accepted actions declared as heinous sin (seafood anyone?), descriptions of awful, awful actions held up as praiseworthy (Psalm 137)...So many texts I’d just rather not preach.

The preacher has two ready choices: either declare it as 'The Word of God which Must Be Accepted Without Question!', or hemm and haw, apologizing for the text, explaining it away into irrelevance.

The first option leads to rabid fundamentalism, particularly as it often gives no alternative, no interpretive method for sifting the timeless from the time-bound. If the Word says it, we do it. End of discussion. No, you can't ask a question about it... I said "End of Discussion!" And beyond just the kooky externals that inevitably work their way into the life of a community that lives this way (NO! Of course women can't wear pants to church! The Old Testament forbids it!), something happens inside. Questions are stifled, left unasked (at least out loud), doubt is seen as a sign of lacking true relationship with God and with the text ("You just don't value God's Word!"). And eventually people are divided into two groups: The fully accepting who stay, and the doubters and questioners who leave. This last group, in their leaving, often leave Church and God completely, thinking that if that's what it's all about, then I want none of it.

The other option, explaining the text away into irrelevance leads to the kind of bloodless religiosity that rarely does anyone any good. Church takes on a social function, the Bible is patronizingly accepted as a necessary inconvenience... any religious book would do, this just happens to be ours... and because they are bound together in the same Book, in the losing of the difficult parts we necessarily lose all the rest- the power of God's Word and the Gospel itself.

But there's a third option, one which I use as necessary... and although I've titled this "the Cowardly Pastor" and Brueggemann's quote does nothing to counter the notion, I tend to think that approaching the text this way, especially in our preaching, is actually a courageous choice.

It's courageous because what we are saying to our community is: "I don't understand this. I have wrestled with this all week. I have read commentary after commentary and none of the 'answers' offered satisfy. There's no getting around this... this is a hard text." And if any of you have ever preached, you know that the last thing you want to stand before the people and say is "I don't know."

But between asking the community to accept blindly and asking them to disregard casually lies the third option, asking them to wrestle.

This begins when we ourselves wrestle with the text. When we walk shakingly up to a passage that threatens to shipwreck us, to do us in and we stand before it, determined not to give way. Like Jacob wrestling with God, we approach these most frightening texts and say "I will not let you go until you bless me" and we wrestle, as individuals and as a community with the words that we know hold truth and meaning for us, a blessing for us, a communication from God Himself, if only we could understand them.

And so we wrestle. As a community we say, "We know this doesn't sound good, and we're not particularly sure that we really get this..." and we pray, and we ask, and we discuss... and we don't back away. Perhaps understanding comes quickly. Perhaps it comes after many months. Perhaps it never does. But we keep on wrestling.

And we keep on wrestling, because we want, we need to hear from God...and we know that God does not always speak things which we will like, nor does He always speak things which we will easily understand... but He never speaks things which are unnecessary. We refuse to write off His Word. God speaks to us for reasons, His own reasons, reasons which may not be readily apparent, but reasons.

And so we neither say "We just accept it, la la la!" and to hell with those who can't quit manage that mental trick, nor do we say "Well, no matter... let's just move on…"

As preachers, we can stand and say, "No, I wouldn't have said it that way myself, but the text certainly does say it. Now, what will we do with it?"

And then we wrestle.

Bob Hyatt is husband to Amy, father to Jack and lead pastor to the evergreen community in Portland, OR. He is also in the beginning stages of launching the nextChurch network, dedicated to encouraging church planting through encouraging church planters.

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RECENT COMMENTS

No should preach without wrestling with the text. But wrestling with the understanding that the text is right and our hearts are wrong, God is good and our wicked hearts are callous is key.

Numbers 15 32-36 is a great example A Sabbathbreaker Executed 32 While the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man z gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. 33 And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation. 34 a They put him in custody, because it had not been made clear what should be done to him. 35 And the Lord said to Moses, b “The man shall be put to death; all the congregation shall c stone him with stones outside the camp.” 36 And all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, as the Lord commanded Moses.

I could not read on in Numbers when I came to this text. How could the graceful God who had given up heaven to come and die for my sins and impart His righteousness to me, call for the brutal stoning to death of this guy? He picked up sticks!! After much desperate prayer and re-reading of this text time and again, God spoke the good news to me...He said "You don't understand my holiness Justin. Your heart is SO callous to sin! The rebellious nature within you wants to excuse that man's sin. He deserved death just as you deserve death one million times over. That's how far your heart is from mine and how far Jesus' blood brings you when it allows you into my presence. You are MUCH worse than you could've ever imagined, and the grace and power of Jesus' death and resurrection are MUCH greater than you could've ever dreamed!". Hallelujah! Amen!

Posted by justin | Posted at 10/30/2008 4:43 PM

If you can't explain Psalms 137 how do you explain the LORD Jesus talking more about hell than any other person in the bible? Hell is a real place and God will condemn all who reject His Son to hell. I tire of preachers making God out like man when it is offense to do so! Mamby pamby Christianity ushers people into hell comfortably.

Posted by Jason | Posted at 07/21/2008 5:57 PM

Wow. That Robert guy is so loving. That's just what I want to be as a Christian and a pastor and an encourager of other pastors. Excellent example. (Please read the sarcasm throughout)

Thanks, Bob, for being honest. Please continue to wrestle with the text of Scripture.

Posted by Jeremiah Johnson | Posted at 10/25/2006 3:07 PM

"No, I wouldn't have said it that way myself, but the text certainly does say it. Now, what will we do with it?"

Quit appolozing for the Gospel!

And one more thing, get off the pulpit, PLEASE!

You are the offence, not the Gospel!

Posted by Robert Cain | Posted at 10/23/2006 10:34 PM