Everything else about worship is being revised. Is it time to rethink the sermon?
Clad in faded jeans, paisley shirt, and sandals, Doug Pagitt doesnt look much like a preacher. At least, not the ones I grew up with in rural Georgia. But Pagitt, thirty-something pastor of Solomons Porch in Minneapolis, is on the vanguard of an effort to help todays emerging, largely unchurched culture connect with the gospel.
At last February’s Emergent Convention, a gathering of alternative church leaders in San Diego, Pagitt bluntly told 1,100 of us that preaching is broken.
Pagitts unscripted words made a deep impression on me. As pastor of a traditional, small-town congregation, preaching is a big part of my life. Its an art, something I enjoy, something I feel deeply called to. Preaching broken?
I needed to know more. So I arranged to interview Pagitt and other leaders of the emerging church movement, most of whom come out of an evangelical background that values preaching. Is preaching really broken? If so, whats the answer? Powerpoint?
Read the whole article and see what Fred Craddock’s initial response is. It’s a crack-up.
Telling Stories, Asking Questions, Learning Lessons