Issue 08 Preaching and ComedyBlog | The power of passionate preaching
The power of passionate preaching
Author: Andy PeckPost Date: 13.09.16
When I arrived on my first summer placement of ministerial training, 22 years ago, my supervisor listened to my practice sermon. He was underwhelmed. Apparently I lacked passion. So he sent me off to listen to the sermons of Dr Martin Luther King, as an exemplar of passionate preaching that stirs the heart and the head and helped to change the world. Too many preachers lack passion; too many leave their congregations unmoved. But what exactly is passionate preaching? Why does passionate preaching matter? Most importantly, how might preachers preach more passionately? What is passionate preaching? It might be helpful to begin by indicating that passionate preaching is not a euphemism for preaching loudly or being overly energetic. It neither requires sweaty brows, nor extemporary preaching. Passionate preaching is the capacity to communicate urgency, to convey emotion, to challenge hearts. Passionate preaching occurs when we preach as though the subject of the sermon actually matters.
