Preach the Word

Abstract

"During my first term at Regent's Park College, the Revd Harry Weatherley came to give the Stephen Winward lectures. They proved to be both interesting and stimulating. The most memorable phrase which I remember from those sessions was one concerning the communication of the Christian message. Commenting upon our television age and our post - literary society, Harry Weatherley suggested that people no longer think propositionally, but pictorially. While much of our preaching is attempting to communicate ideas and propositions, most people today think, rather, in terms of pictures. This fascinating thought set off a chain of thinking concerning how best to communicate the Christian gospel. If Harry Weatherley's observation is correct then the task of preaching faces severe difficulties. Do we need to find alternative ways of presenting the gospel using visual aids? Has the thirty minute sermon had its day? Is preaching obsolete? lt was while thinking along these lines, however, that with the help of some Old Testament study and some wider reading, I came to an important realisation. Preaching is not simply communication. lt is proclamation. When a person gets up to preach a sermon she/he is not simply passing on some thoughts about God and the Christian life. Essentially and primarily, preaching means to proclaim the word of God"