There’s one pair of words I see in more email subject lines than any others: preaching and politics. “I love our church,” someone might write, “but I wish our pastor would stop bringing politics into the pulpit.” Then there’s the pastoral ache: “I preached on compassion and how easily we disregard the poor, and four people accused me of ‘getting political.’”
There’s no denying the challenge of preaching the gospel—in concrete ways that connect with everyday realities—to an America divided by party. Many people derive their moral meaning from politics, and it’s no surprise that they can get offended when they are sitting in the pew absorbing a different moral order. People have come to see practically anything they disagree about through the lens of political ideology or party. And since scripture speaks to the moral dimension of so many political realities, almost anything uttered from the pulpit can be interpreted politically. Feeding hungry people has political implications; so does housing the unhoused. Complete disengagement from the world of politics is not an option for Christian living or faithful preaching.
As I’ve thought about all the well-intentioned sermons I’ve heard (or delivered) in the last decade, I’m convinced that the political rub for some hearers relates to the manner and method by which preachers craft their sermons. For preachers who are as convinced as I am that Jesus was adamant about care for vulnerable people, I have a few modest proposals to offer regarding preaching method.
