Essay on "Preaching"

Essay 4 pages (1230 words) Sources: 1

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Preaching

The Role of Preaching in Forming Communities

Part and parcel to belief in and prescription to the words of the Christian bible is the commitment to share this revelation with others. Indeed, Christians are commanded to spread the word of God and the narrative of Jesus Christ to their fellow man through the act of preaching. This is the action which is at the center of the Knowles (2008) text entitled We Preach Not Ourselves: Paul on Proclamation. Using Paul the Apostle's gospels and epistles as its basis, the text by Holmes offers an exhaustive discussion on the implications of Paul's thoughts and actions on our own call to evangelical preaching. The discussion here considers that said preaching may take on a number of forms but that each method revolves on the use of loving, compassionate and empathetic engagement of others.

Before proceeding to a more detailed discussion on the ways in which the scriptures are typically proliferated through preaching, it is appropriate to consider some of the prerogatives which underlie the Christian responsibility to prosteletyze. In many ways, the command to preach the gospels descends from the critical role played by the prophets in the early spread of the faith. According to Longman (2007), the prophets were essential to helping Christianity transition from a small regional phenomenon to its current place among the most influential world religions. To this point, Longman (2007), states that "the prophetic role in public evangelism grew from the Old Testament prophecies of an outpouring of the Spirit. Prophets are consistently valued highly among the churchly 'offices' or roles, and prophecy is rated chief and most prized among the gifts. The New Testament-era church was more dependent on the prophetic gift for giving it direction (Acts 13 and 15)." (Longman, 1)

Indeed, this role was critical because it allowed those in possession of a fuller understanding of the scriptures to spread this gospel to populations lacking in literacy or in full understanding of the scripture's spiritual and practical implications. As the text by Holmes shows, preaching of the scriptures would help to create a semblance of community around an evolving Christian ideology. So is this impetus expressed by Paul's own works as a preacher. There is a sense in our reading that, in fact, Paul's greatest virtue as a preacher was his capacity to make the congregation feel a sense of inclusion and relatability. Indeed, Knowles finds that "this is, in part, what makes Paul's correspondence seem so accessible to later audiences, who hear themselves addressed by such words. The phenomenon is not limited to instances of exhortation or ethical instruction: because Paul directs his words to a specific audience, subsequent readers and hearers find themselves engaged by and invited to answer the apostle's epistolary rhetoric." (Knowles, p. 22)

This participatory involvement is especially critical both in the early spread of Christianity and in the continuing proliferation of the Word today. Indeed, this sense of being 'invited to answer' is especially important if members of a congregation are to take this message and consequently share it with others. This directs our attention to the importance of making the scriptures relatable to the individual and collective experiences of those assembled. If it is our responsibility as Christians to make certain that others ultimately receive the scriptural gospel, than preaching may be seen as the chief avenue through which to fulfill this responsibility. Today, it is availability of these scriptures which makes the spread of faith possible. Where prophets and apostles were assigned this specialized role particularly because they were handpicked by God, the accessibility of the scriptures makes evangelism a path accessible to all who desire it. In this regard,… READ MORE

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