"Read my lips: No more sermons"
Mary Brown took to HuffPost Religion recently to highlight a Lilly-funded study that asked laypeople what they want out of sermons. In short, it appears we want the following:
- Spiritual leadership
- Inspiration for spiritual growth
- "Serious spiritual content about the Bible"
- An impact on our lives
Oh, so that's all! Leaving aside the question of what we want vs. what we might need--and assuming an expansive definition of "spiritual"--this seems a pretty reasonable list of criteria for a good sermon. The difficulty, of course, is in how to preach in a way that effectively accomplishes all this--and, as Brown notes, how to find the preparation time.
What's more helpful than this summary of the study's findings is Brown's own point on the subject of lay opinions about preaching:
