Sent to the Scriptures: A Humble Vision of Preaching

Preaching is often criticized as arrogant, condescending, and ego-driven communication. Yet biblical preaching is the opposite. The preacher is not a self-appointed authority dispensing personal opinions, but a servant commissioned by the congregation to seek God’s Word on their behalf. With humility and reverence, the preacher goes to the text, wrestles with it, prays over it, and returns to report what God has said. This vision protects the preacher from pride and reframes the pulpit not as a platform for ego, but as a sacred trust under the authority of Scripture.

When I arrived at seminary, I had a major problem understanding the task of preaching. Throughout my professional career as a writer, there were certain flaws in style that were considered especially amateurish, undisciplined, and ineffective. Being called out for one of these basic-level criticisms would be mortifying. One of the worst things an editor could say about a piece of writing was that it was "preaching."

The Cultural Suspicion of “Preaching”

Preaching is the term for what happens when the writer takes on the air of the know-it-all.
A preacher stands high above the audience.
A preacher shows so little respect for that audience that he or she claims the right to tell them not only what is true (whether opinion or not) but how to act and what to think.
A preacher's ego gets in the way of, and often overwhelms, the message.
Preaching is the level of discourse that parents often take with small children, and it is not an effective way of communicating even with them.

So here I walk into a seminary where preaching is considered not only a good thing, but the crown jewel of a pastor's existence. I hear that preaching is a great responsibility and a privilege. It is the unique task to which a pastor is called and the primary way in which we are to witness to the message of the Gospel.

This posed a huge dilemma for me. My time in the pulpit is my best chance to communicate the message of the Gospel. Yet I know that preaching is not a great form of communication.

The Biblical Vision of the Preacher

The way out of this dilemma came to me in a quotation from a book in Dr. Martinson's Pastoral Care class at Luther Seminary. It has stuck with me, even though I cannot remember which book it came from or even quote it exactly. The gist of it was: "The preacher is the person whom the congregation sends to the Scriptures on its behalf to see if God has a word to speak to them this week."

Now there is a task and a role that I can handle in good conscience. As the preacher, I am not the know-it-all, ladling wisdom from my vast pitcher of knowledge into the empty heads of those sitting before me.

All I am doing is giving the report that these people staring at me have assigned me to give. They have asked me to go to the lectionary readings this week on their behalf. They have entrusted me with the task of wrestling with and pondering those words, to open myself to the power of the spirit to see what God might be saying through those words to these people in this time and place.

The sermon is the result of my struggle to carry out that task. Nothing more, nothing less.

This understanding of the task of the preacher gives me the perspective and the humility I need in order to have a chance at delivering a timely message in an effective way.

Editor's Note: What's your perspective on preaching as you prepare to head into the pulpit every Sunday?

Scriptures: 1 Peter 4:11, 2 Timothy 4:2, Ezra 7:10, Hebrews 4:12, James 4:6

Nathan Aaseng (website: WorkingPreacher.org)

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Nathan Aaseng serves as pastor at St. John's Lutheran Church in Eau Claire, WI. He has had more than 170 books published, sacred and secular, for readers from 8 to adult. His latest work is The Five Realms, an epic fantasy based on 1 Corinthians 1:27.