Preaching, or “Speaching”?

Apprising Ministries has a post describing Doug Pagitt’s view of preaching. Among other things, Pagitt describes preaching and says:

…you stand up and give a speech that was created in isolation, is meant to be offered to the most broad cross-section of people possible and delivered from your sole perspective, it seems to me that you are giving a speech.

Pagitt then points out that he is unable “to separate that type of preaching from making a speech,” except by saying that somehow, preaching is worse than speech-making.

Here’s the only problem…

What he has described is not preaching.

1. A sermon is not “created in isolation.”
A sermon is created by a minister of the Word, but he draws on the power of the Holy Spirit. (Not to mention commentaries written by hopefully godly men who have preceded him…)

2. A sermon is not “meant to be offered to the most broad cross-section of people possible.”
A sermon is meant to be offered to the church, which is comprised of believers gathered together to worship, praise, and learn about our Father in heaven. There are probably some parts added in for the unsaved (hopefully, those parts can be referred to as “The Gospel”), but there is definitely a specific target (the church). Even if we point out that “the saved” and “the unsaved” by definition include “everybody,” we still can’t say that it’s “the most broad cross-section of people possible” because the “targeting” of the sermon is still directed at two (and only two) very specific groups or roles – the saved and the unsaved. It’s not directed at a hundred different marketing demographic groups, despite the trends of the church in the past 40 years-ish. You’re not preaching to the “twenty-somethings” or “the boomers” or “young marrieds” or “professionals,” you’re preaching to the Body of Christ.

3. A sermon is not “delivered from your sole perspective.”
If it is, then Pagitt is right – that’s a speech. And if you’re a pastor delivering such a “speech,” then repent with fear and trembling, because what you are supposed to be doing is preaching the Word, in season and out of season. Not your perspective. You are to be giving the sense from trust committed to the ministers is guarded.

But what can I say, that’s my prayer for everyone…