Preaching God’s word is more interesting that anything a preacher concoct themselves. It also frees us from the anxiety of having to attempt to guess what the hearers want to hear and focus instead with assurance on what God wants to say.
To be forced by Scripture to be servants of the demanding Word, rather than servile to our congregations, is true pastoral freedom. We are free to speak not out of personal preference, existential concern, or desperation to preserve intramural relationships, but rather to offer what we have received in our encounter with Scripture. The text hoists pastors out of the mire wherein congregations sequester us, demonstrating that “we don’t preach about ourselves” (2 Cor 4:5) but rather what we have been told to preach, obedient to the voice on the Mount of Transfiguration, “This is my Son whom I dearly love; I am very pleased with him. Listen to him!” (Matt 17:5)
I’m sure that’s the reason many preachers testify that they are less constrained while preaching than in any other act of ministry.Preachers Dare, Will Willimon, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2020, pg 69.
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