18 February 2025
Christians love to hear God speak. We sit alone and read the Bible. But, rightly, and frequently, we gather in groups large and small, and we gladly recognise that someone is going to help us all engage with the written Word of God.
What word might you use for that person? On a roster, they might be a small group leader or the preacher. We might comment that we like their teaching. More vividly, we might describe their actions as proclamation. The role might regularly be performed by someone we call a minister or a pastor. In the Bible, the Word might be spoken by a prophet or a wisdom teacher, and it might be explained by a priest.
I wonder if different church cultures, different historical periods, and different personalities might mean that we accent one or another of these roles. I think our ministry of the Word might benefit from thinking of ourselves as artisans, craftspeople, and tradespeople who draw on many roles and functions as we seek to bring God’s life-giving Word into all aspects of our lives.
There are some valuable discussions of this sort of thing in works on preaching and practical theology. Richard Osmer has helpfully proposed that ministry involves the heuristic task of asking what is happening, perhaps a little like a priest listening to a troubled person. It involves discerning why something is happening like a sage. It means naming what should be happening and declaring it like a prophet.
The manner of doing all this can be informed by the way Jesus functioned as a king who came as a servant.[1] Trygve David Johnson has traced the way the preacher has been identified as a teacher and a herald and proposes that today’s culture is well served by the preacher working as a liturgical artist.[2]
Kyle Strobel discusses the ways a preacher is a shepherd, helping people navigate the presence of God. In another of his metaphors, the preacher is a tour guide, pointing out the marvellous works of God.[3]
I wonder if you know what role you instinctively take on when you preach? Your personality preferences will be at play. You will be expressing the influence of the Christian tradition that formed and forms you. It would be good to take this list of ten roles and ask someone which ones they experience when you bring the Word to them. With some feedback and encouragement from others, it would be great to try something new.
Student
A minister of the Word is first a student, savouring the privilege of giving sustained attention to words, sentences and text. They explore how the whole canon places the passage in the grand portrait of God and his ways. We all want to bring content that is truthful and captures the profundity of Scripture, and all of this takes attentiveness and time.
Teacher
The treasures one learns through study then need to be communicated with clarity, and in a way that engages people and keeps them listening. It’s notable that the Apostle Paul wanted the content of the gospel to be entrusted to people who were qualified and able to teach. Christian faith rests on truths about God and his actions in the world. The truth needs teachers.
Pastor
With the careful attention of a detective, or a counsellor, those who teach the word will listen to people and be constantly seeking to appreciate the depths of their lived experience. Pastors listen with humility, kindness and curiosity. They will always be seeking connections between their careful listening to Scripture and their equally careful listening to people.
Sage
Like Solomon writing about reptiles or composing songs, a sage applies wisdom, drawing from theology, the social sciences, and the arts. The sage is hungry to understand the world. You will find them with magnifying glasses looking at ants. They will read history and listen to podcasts from journalists, psychologists and sociologists. You might find them at the movies and watching netball. They will want to know what behaviours and systems make for the best farms, factories, and families.
Herald
Picture someone standing in a town square with a declaration from a king. Imagine them wondering how people will respond to news of an invasion, or a rise of taxes, or the proclamation of a holiday. I have listed the herald as a critical role to capture the weighty responsibility of conveying a message that the minister of the Word did not invent. A faithful herald submits to and declares what their master said. In a way, it can give them confidence. They are not sharing their own opinions or desires.
Prophet
The prophetic role calls for courage and self-involvement, as the preacher speaks truth even when it is uncomfortable. Biblical prophets model this role as they interpret the times they live in, name injustice, confront sin, and point people toward God’s hopeful vision for the world. Prophets might use poetry or prose or even their own bodies to convey the truth. They don’t hold back from applying the Word to life here and now.
Literary Artist
A communicator of Scripture might decide it’s time to be a literary artist especially when they realise the need to get past people’s defences. Like Nathan or Jesus, they might imagine parables or use riddles to draw people in. Like the Psalmists, they might use imagery to capture people’s emotions and stimulate faithful imagination. Artists know that humans process and respond to more than concepts and propositions. Artists can move the emotions and disrupt the status quo.
Servant
A servant turns aside from seeking attention or admiration and gets on with what is best for others. A whole lot of decisions about amplification, use of visuals, length of sermons, and choices around language will arise from a desire to serve. The tone of one’s communication of God’s word should be shaped by a servant heart. It’s always worth asking: how is my Bible teaching a humble act of love?
Tour Guide
Like a tour guide, the preacher helps people see the marvellous works of God throughout Scripture and history. God’s people believe that God is at work in the world and sometimes it’s helpful for someone to point that out. As people see that what God says and what is actually happening correspond, they can gain a sense that they have already been transported into the new creation, and they are part of something new.
Fellow Worshipper
Finally, a preacher is a fellow worshipper, standing among the congregation as one who also receives the Word. A good sermon will be an invitation to everyone to gladly and reverently kneel in the presence of God. The gospel draws us into the loving concern of a Father who clothes us in his Son and fills us with his Spirit. When we encounter this God in his word, we are drawn to the family table and invited to speak. God speaks. We listen. We speak our praise, our thanks, our confessions and our longings. While preaching might seem like one person is talking and everyone else is listening, in our hearts we can be worshipping together.
Kirk Patston
Director of the SMBC Centre for Preaching and Pastoral Ministry
[1] Richard Osmer, Practical Theology: An Introduction. Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 2008.
[2] Trygve David Johnson, The Preacher as Liturgical Artist: Metaphor, Identity, and the Vicarious Humanity of Christ. Eugene: Cascade, 2014.
[3] Kyle Strobel, “Preaching Doctrine: Part 2", Kyle’s Formation Substack, 5 Aug 2024. Kyle Strobel, “Preacher as Tour guide", Kyle’s Formation Substack, 22 Apr, 2024.
If you'd like to hear more from Kyle Strobel, join us for the SMBC Preaching Conference – 19-20 March 2025. Kyle will be bringing us a lecture, followed by a live Q&A link up with him from the Bible Institute of Los Angeles.
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