Bedhead Theology

One of the greatest struggles for preachers today is preaching that transcends time. Yes, difficulties abound in preaching. There is difficulty contextualizing for a modern audience, the opaqueness of seeking to meet the congregation’s needs, and even struggles in captivating the fleeting attention spans of modern audiences. Nevertheless, pride is one of the greatest perils preachers face in the pulpit. This struggle is two-fold. First, let me address the obvious. The tendency to conflate the greatness of God’s Word with our oratory genius is a common temptation among all preachers. As far as I can tell, this has been that way since the beginning. John the Baptist asserted, “He must increase; I must decrease” (John 3:30). He was acutely aware that he must exalt Christ above all else. This necessity has followed the church throughout history. Gregory the Great (540-604) astutely drew attention to the source of the problem. He wrote, “Since it is often the case that when a sermon is deli...