Narrative Preaching

There has been lots of buzz of late concerning the power of narrative preaching to connect with postmodern people who crave, enjoy, and are moved by a good story, or narrative. Of course, narrative preaching is not new. Some homileticians, including Fred Craddock and Eugene Lowry, have been talking about the power of narrative sermons for more than three decades. However, the presumably more practical and relevant 3-5 point linear sermons have monopolized the preaching scene since the rise of Post-Enlightenment Modernity. Point by point linear sermons can be effective but, despite their promise of practical relevance, this sermonic form has become quite predictable. And, as preachers and listeners alike will confess, predictability can crash a sermon before it even takes flight. Perhaps another sermonic form is needed to captivate, inspire, and even surprise listeners.

The parables Jesus preached had a knack for inspiring and surprising listeners. Furthermore, the parables did not always tie up loose ends in the name of practical relevance. Jesus’ parables were structured by a narrative, not linear, logic. This is not to say that the only sermon that will honor the name of Christ is the narrative sermon; but we can conclude that if Jesus, the master preacher, employed narrative elements in his sermons, there has got to be wisdom in utilizing this form.

What a Narrative Sermon Is Not…
So, what is a narrative sermon anyway? I’m glad you asked. Let me first describe what it is not. A narrative sermon is not merely a few video clips thrown together to support the points the preacher is sharing. It is not the stringing together of a few personal stories from the preacher’s life to convey a handful of propositional points. Making points and then illustrating them with a variety of personal stories, though not homiletically diabolical, does not a narrative sermon make. No matter how many little narratives are placed within these sermons, they still incorporate an overall linear logic.

Even if the genre of the main preaching text is narrative the sermonic form may itself be more linear than narrative. Summarizing the story about a biblical character, say Moses, through linear points (i.e., Moses Prays with Passion, Moses Obeys with Passion, Moses Leads with Passion) forces a narrative text into a linear sermon that robs both the text and the sermon of their power.

Sermons with a linear logic flow from the introduction to point one (proposition, exposition, illustration, and application) to point two (proposition, exposition, illustration, and application) to point three (proposition, exposition, illustration, and application) to the conclusion. This form made good sense for a Modern world that, thanks to scientific empiricism, sought to dissect and explain the sum of the whole by reducing it to parts, or points. The desire to know, master, explain, and simplify a biblical text drove the homiletic machine.

What a Narrative Sermon Is…
The structure and goal of a narrative sermon is quite different. The narrative structure is not built with points but with the elements of a good story. Setting, character development, problem, plot, climax, and resolution make for a good story and, I would add, an excellent narrative sermon. The difference between the two sermonic forms is striking:

Linear Logic Sermons
Introduction
Point 1 (explain/illustrate/apply)
Point 2 (explain/illustrate/apply)
Point 3 (explain/illustrate/apply)
Conclusion (or more points)

Narrative Logic Sermons
Setting/Character Development
Problem
Plot
Climax
Resolution

The preaching landscape, especially in the West, has changed. People shaped by postmodernity tend to crave inspiration more than information, and experience over knowledge. This is not to suggest that postmodern people do not want to be well-informed; most do indeed. However, the people in our world and church must first be inspired before they even care to be informed concerning Christ and His kingdom.

Narrative has been the most successful mode of communication for inspiring people across cultures and centuries. Simply put, story speaks to us in a manner that inspires movement toward an encounter with God. The Bible, in its canonical form, really is a unified meta-narrative that tells the redemptive story of God’s saving love for the world. Perhaps this is the reason why the Bible is the number one selling, cross-cultural book ever.

While I have incorporated various sermonic forms in my preaching over the years, the narrative expository preaching of a single biblical passage has impacted my own faith development significantly, not to mention what it might have done for those who have heard those sermons preached. While linear sermons are a necessary and helpful form for communicating didactic information, narrative sermons seem most-suited for transformational inspiration. The church will always need informative teaching but my preaching “gut” tells me that the narrative form has a better track record for opening up the door of didactic desire.

© 2010
Lenny Luchetti
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

My Last Weekend as Pastor of SWC

This past weekend Amy, the kids, and I had to say goodbye to a congregation we have come to love intensely. Going through three emotional services, an all-church farewell picnic, and a men's breakfast has wiped me out completely. I hate saying goodbye, especially to someone I really like; I really like (and love) this Stroudsburg Wesleyan Church family.

Swc, we have experienced the beauty, adventure, challenge, and mystery called the local church. I believed in the power and potential of a local church to transform communities in Jesus' name, but now I'm absolutely convinced of it! Journeying with you has been and always will be one of the highlights of my life.

If you would like to listen to my final message to SWC at our weekend services, grab some tissues and click on the following link:

Message: Packing Up

Diversity: Sociological, Political, or Theological

As I think about the jouney of the church I'm privileged to lead, I rejoice in how diverse we've become. We have many different ethnic and socio-economic groups represented in our church. We have, by God's grace, become a church for all people, although those who don't want us to be a church for all people tend not to stay with us for too long. In any given pew, you may find a white homeless person sitting next to a young black professional couple on one side and a single hispanic college student on the other side. This is a delight to me!

We talk about diversity a lot, but not with political or sociological jargon. Instead, we frame the diversity issue theologically, since that's what concerns us most. Before I show my theological cards, let me see yours. What would you say to someone who asks, What theological rationale do you have to support your preference for an ethnically, generationally, and socio-economically diverse church?

I can't wait to see your thoughts on this!

My New Mission...

This weekend at Stroudsburg Wesleyan Church (SWC), I announced that I would be leaving them to tackle a new mission for which they and God have prepared me. Telling a church family I love that God was calling me to another place of ministry was one of the most difficult things I have had to do in my entire life. I would rather box a Mike Tyson in his prime or walk on hot coals than do what I had to do this weekend at our services. The full text of my announcement to SWC is below. Or, if you would like to listen to the announcement (about 10 minutes), please click on the following link:
http://www.stroudsburgwesleyan.org/index.php?page=audio_sermons2&audio_id=109


My New Mission:

We have been exploring the lordship of Jesus Christ today and I need to share with you where the lordship of Christ is leading me and my family. About a decade ago I said to Amy, “I would love to invest my life in encouraging and equipping pastors sometime down the road, when I’m old and grey and have something significant to offer.” Over the past few years God has given me multiple opportunities to teach or preach to pastors and I have thoroughly enjoyed those experiences.

Back in August, Wesley Seminary on the campus of Indiana Wesleyan University was established. This is the first seminary of the Wesleyan denomination. The seminary administration began the process of building their faculty for this exciting new endeavor. Because I wanted in on what God was going to do through this new mission of equipping pastors, I filled out an online application, hoping only that I might get an opportunity to be an adjunct professor and teach maybe a course or two each year. The dean emailed me a day later and asked if I would be willing to serve full-time. I was not ready for that question but, after some prayer, decided to explore this full-time possibility. I flew to Indiana for an interview in January and after they conducted a few other interviews, the seminary officially offered me the Christian Ministries faculty position in March. After much prayer, discussion, and the processing of many different emotions, Amy and I have accepted this opportunity to invest our lives in those who are investing their lives in local churches.

Let me explain why we accepted this new vocation. We have a million reasons to stay at Stroudsburg Wesleyan Church (SWC). Amy and I love you; we really do. I cannot imagine any pastor feeling a greater bond with his/her church than I feel with you. You are more than just a church or a job- you are family to us! I have so much fun serving God with you. I shouldn’t even get paid for this. After last weekend’s Easter services, I kept telling people I would do this for free (though I secretly hoped the board wouldn’t find out and cut my pay in half).

I love the team of lay leaders and pastors with whom I get to serve the purposes of Christ. They are some of the best people I have ever known. On days when I may have been tempted to believe that the God-sized dream for SWC was too big even for God, these lay leaders and pastors found ways to lift me up and remind me that with God all things are possible. I cannot imagine there being another church out there like SWC, a church where all kinds of people are treated as equally loved creations of God, a church that exists not to be a country club for saints but a hospital for sinners like me in need of some grace and hope, a church where our common human predicament and our common quest for Christ binds us together despite our diversity of skin tones, socio-economic levels, and ages. While I could list a million reasons to stay at this church that fits me so well, the most compelling reason for me to go, and it’s really the only reason I need, is because I believe that God is calling me to take the lessons you have taught me about the potential and purpose of the local church to the seminary in order to train, encourage, and inspire pastors.

One of the things that excites most me about my future vocation is that I get to look pastors in the eyes, pastors who are perhaps discouraged and leading struggling churches, and tell them that the local church really is the main instrument through which God builds his kingdom by transforming lives. I can tell them that with God all things are possible, that God can take the infighting in your church and turn it into energy to impact the community, that God can take an insular holy huddle and turn it into a force of love that cares as much for the people outside the church as it does for the people inside the church. I can tell pastors that when God shows up among a group of people yielded to him in love that absolutely anything is possible. I would have said this to pastors 7 years ago because I believed it, but as a result of my journey with you I can now say it with absolute conviction because I have experienced the wonderful, beautiful adventure called the local church.

Frankly, it’s your fault that I even have this opportunity to invest my ministry in pastors. Because of your daring faith in God and your willingness to courageously follow him, we are the fastest growing Wesleyan church out of the 75 in our district. We are also part of the 1% of churches in America whose growth is primarily among people who were not going to church anywhere else. We are becoming increasingly multi-ethnic, which is something that so few churches are able to navigate. But I love how diverse we are and how our oneness in Christ shines through our different strokes; and I’m convinced God loves it too! Of course, the radical hospitality, worship vibrancy, and missional vitality that constitutes our DNA will continue to guide us long after my departure.

The dream for SWC may have been birthed initially in my heart, but you and I know full well that the realization of the dream is much more attributable to God’s presence here than my presence here. And God is not going anywhere! I’m confident that God will be in attendance even after I’m gone. He won’t be sleeping in or shopping around for a new church. The stuff we’re experiencing at SWC is not because of who the pastor is, but because of who God is. If the culture of SWC continues to be one marked by deep dependence on God coupled with a courageous commitment to follow God wherever he leads us, it won’t make a difference what pastor comes or goes because the presence and power of God will be upon you and He is all you need. The good news for you is, after you release me to the new mission that you and God have prepared me for, God will still be at SWC and so will you. Therefore the dream continues, the momentum continues, the vision “to become a prayerful, diverse, community-involved church family whose passionate purpose is to help seekers become servants of God” goes on! The sad news for me is that I won’t be here to be a part of the great work God is still looking to do, but you and God will be here. And this is good!

There is no getting around it. We love you and will miss you immensely. You have been aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents to our kids. They think they have the biggest family in the world. You have prayed for us and loved us. You have given me one of the greatest privileges one person can give to another- you have let me be your pastor. And this has honored me more than you could possibly know. Not many pastors are able to say to their congregations what I am about to say to you; I have more faith in God because I have journeyed with you; I have more optimism about the potential of the local church to transform the community in which she resides because I have journeyed with you; and while no one really “gets” the Trinity, I think I’m beginning to understand how the church is called to reflect the intimacy and intentionality of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit because I have journeyed with you. Thank you so, so much for all the lessons you have taught me, lessons that have equipped me to go and equip pastors.

There are several informational items I want to communicate concerning the transition. First, you are stuck with me until July. Second, our District Superintendent, Dr. Wood, will be meeting with our board this week to begin the search for a new Lead Pastor. He is a man of great wisdom, who is as excited about what God is doing in our church as we are. He will provide significant guidance. Third, there is solid leadership in place at SWC. We have a pastoral team and board who will continue to provide excellent leadership and care to the church. You will not be leaderless during the search for a new Lead Pastor.

Please pray for the Pastoral Search Committee. Pray that they will be able to discern the pastor God is raising up “for such a time as this” and that they will not settle for anyone less than God’s best for this great church. Pray for me, Amy, Zach, Lia, and Sam, that God will mend the broken heart we will surely experience when we leave a familiar church family we love for a new adventure. Pray that the mission of SWC and the mission of Wesley Seminary would build the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.

Jesus Christ is Lord. Thanks be to God.

The Purpose of the Church...in my estimation

I affirm it is difficult to pinpoint the primary purpose of the church and that the purpose of the church is more multifaceted and complex than we want it to be. But if I had to hold on to one purpose as the primary purpose of the church I would want to hold on to worship. I don't mean worship as simply singing songs and reciting creeds, but worship as a 24/7 lifestyle that comes from the recognition that God is God and I am not. The church must teach people the Who, the why, the how, and the what of worship, but ultimately disciples of Christ must realize how worthy God is of our absolute devotion and how unworthy we are of his love. When this kind of authentic worship drives deeply into the heart of a human being, they will take their growth, mission, and ministry quite seriously.

The biblical story ends with worship, with all nations, tribes, and tongues represented around the throne of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Authentic worship, though it takes on different forms, ties together the Old and New Testaments. Authentic worship opens a person to the coming of the Spirit that empowers that person toward missional engagement with the needs of the world. And remember what Jesus said to the woman at the well? "The Father seeks people who will WORSHIP him in Spirit and in truth."

True worship is where discipleship, fellowship, ministry and mission begin and end.

What do you think?

What is the Purpose of the Church?

I often find myself wrestling with this question lately. It is part of my personality to want to streamline, simplify, and focus beyond the details to the big picture priorities. I realize that the Church cannot be put into a small box with a singular purpose. Rick Warren, despite what you might think of him or his theology, has helped many people recognize that the Church consists of at least 5 primary purposes- Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, Mission (outside the church), and Ministry (in the church).

But, if we had the chance to ask Jesus what he feels is the most important purpose of the Church, how do you think he would respond? What biblical insights support your conclusion? I will give my thoughts after I hear from a few of you.

Attractional vs. Missional

This debate between attractional churches and missional churches is already getting old. However, I think the debate can be healthy in stretching us to see the value of both points of view. Attractional model churches tend to put lots of resources (energy, money, people, space) into the weekend worship services in hopes of "attracting" growing numbers of people to their dazzling services. Missional model churches, mostly in reaction to the attractional model, tend to put lots of resources (energy, money, people, space) into more missional aims like a food pantry, homeless shelter, recovery groups, community service projects, etc. While decisions will surface that force churches to decide whether they will be missional or attractional, I'm not sure why churches can't be both in most cases.

I would describe the church I presently serve as a primarily missional church. We put lots of our resources into serving the neediest people in our community. When we're faced with the choice of upgrading our audio/visual set-up for the worship service or paying someone's electric bill so their kids won't freeze, we go with the latter. Oddly enough, this missional mindset has actually attracted people to our weekend services. You see, missional is attractional. A church that goes after attracting people may neglect mission to those people, but if mission is put first it will inevitably attract people into the church community.

What am I saying? I'm saying that if a church makes mission to the community its passionate priority, that church will attract more and more people to its weekend services. And, those weekend services should be engaging enough to connect those people to Christ when they attend. The church I serve has nearly doubled in size in the past 18 months. People are asking us what our secret is. My answer? First, God has decided to show up in a profound way among us. Second, we are always finding creative ways to go out missionally to our community and meet the real needs of real people in the name of the real Jesus. Thus, our weekend services continue to attract a growing number of people.

What do you think? Can a church be both missional and attractional?