This month’s preaching article continues a series that gives readers a taste of several different aspects of preaching. Articles discuss preaching’s purpose (why we preach), content (what we say), form (how we arrange what we say), context (where and to whom we preach), and the person of the preacher (the preacher’s relationships with his listeners and with God and his Word). Today, a little about the context of preaching.

Should a preacher change his preaching based on where he is and to whom he is preaching? Well, no and yes.

Should a preacher change his message to scratch the itching ears in front of him (2 Timothy 4:3)? No! The message we preach is unchanging. The law convicts all, no matter where or in what era of history they may live. The gospel is for all, and people “from every nation, tribe, people, and language” (Revelation 7:9) are saved by the same good news about Jesus. We recognize also that when the Bible itself indicates that a norm or principle is universal, we are not authorized to set it aside, even though many may find it anachronistic or out-of-touch. No, the Word endures from age to age.

But should a preacher consider where and to whom he is preaching when he preaches that unchanging Word? Yes! We see Jesus preaching a consistent message that is for all, calling people to acknowledge their sin and to believe that the kingdom of God has come near—the Son of God has taken flesh for the life of the world. Yet we see him also speaking at one time with parables (e.g., throughout Matthew 13) and at another time predicting his death and resurrection in clear language (e.g., Matthew 16:21). Paul is the classic example of a preacher who took his preaching situation into account as he crafted his messages. To be sure, Paul always had Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, at the center of his preaching. But in a Jewish synagogue he arrived at his gospel proclamation by way of the Hebrew Scriptures (e.g., Acts 17:1-3), while in Athens he chose the route of the natural knowledge of God—still to arrive at the same resurrection destination (Acts 17:16-31).

To ancient rhetoricians, the concept was known as decorum: adapting the style of speaking to the subject matter and setting of the speech. To pastors, it’s just common sense. They know that they can’t take the sermon written with applications for the brothers at a pastors’ conference on Tuesday and preach it unchanged to their members on Sunday. Pastors who have served in different congregations realize that the illustrations and applications they used in their first parish often don’t land in the same way when they preach them in their second. Preaching a devotion to the Pre-K class is different than preaching the same truths to all ages on Sunday morning. No, the Word does not change. No, the truths that human hearts need to hear do not change. But people change over time and from one place to another. And so the preacher, with love for the unchanging Word and love for his ever-changing listeners, preaches differently, depending on his context.

How does a preacher get to know his context? He gets to know the people he preaches to. Before he speaks to them, he listens to his listeners.

One helpful resource I’ve recently encountered is Preaching as Local Theology and Folk Art by Leonora Tubbs Tisdale. In this book, Tisdale provides preachers with some detailed, scholarly rationale for preachers to get to know their listeners better. To this end, she offers some guidance for “exegeting the congregation.” Preachers learn to exegete biblical texts. She encourages them to exegete the people they preach to as well.

How does a preacher exegete the congregation? Drawing on many sources, Tisdale offers numerous suggestions. Allow me to highlight just one section of the book, “Seven Symbols for Congregational Exegesis.”¹ Here “symbol” has a broad meaning; a symbol could be a thing, a story, a person—anything that has significance for a congregation and discloses some aspect of who the congregation is.

Now, what follows is a long list. In no way am I implying that a preacher should check all these boxes before every sermon! And there’s this: in the regular routine of congregational ministry, a pastor already learns many things on this list. So, an intentional process for learning these things might not always be necessary. Nevertheless, I think Tisdale’s list could be helpful.

To exegete his congregation, a preacher can utilize . . .

1. Stories and Interviews. What are the stories that people in the congregation like to share? Which stories are retold frequently? These stories can tell a pastor a lot about his congregation. Beyond the stories he hears, the pastor can also intentionally interview people in the congregation. When he does, he should try to get a broad cross-section of the church’s membership: female and male, new and longtime members, younger and older, etc.
2. Archival Materials. This could include a wide range of things. Old bulletins in a filing cabinet may reveal interesting things about a congregation’s identity. (Or they may not; it may be time for a filing cabinet purge!) Meeting minutes from important times in a church’s history, financial records, statistics, pictorial directories—not all of these will be revelatory, but some might be.
3. Demographics. Pastors have a sense of what their church membership is demographically, but occasionally a more intentional look may be helpful. A preacher may get more concrete data on what a typical member of his congregation is like—or he may discover that there really is no such thing as a typical member. He may see how diverse his congregation is or isn’t. He may obtain a more accurate picture of how many in each age group are usually listening to him preach.
4. Architecture and Visual Arts. Picture a century-old, neo-gothic church building now surrounded by modern, urban office buildings. The architecture of that church and its surroundings may be related to how the congregation sees itself and its mission. Or picture a church just built. The church members likely provided input about the design; why did they design it the way they did? Do features like a large gathering area, a steeple, or a beautiful baptismal font reveal anything about the congregation’s priorities?
5. Rituals. How does a congregation mark time throughout the year? Does it observe the Christian church year or some other calendar? Which services does a congregation hold annually? This could be holiday services in the church year, or it could be an annual mission festival, a service in the park, or a service related to something else on the calendar. What about services like funerals, weddings, baptisms, and confirmations? Are there treasured practices connected with these special events?
6. Events and Activities. The activities a congregation chooses to devote the most time and energy to can reveal something about its personality. Which events are these and why? Are any activities or events controversial? Which activities are church members the proudest of? Which events are similar to those offered by others in the community, and which are unique?
7. People. Here Tisdale refers to what she calls “sages” in a congregation, those respected for their wisdom, kindness, clear-headedness, or other qualities. Some have called them influencers within a congregation. By listening to them, a preacher can learn valuable things about those he’s preaching to. However, there are also people on the margins of a congregation, who aren’t at the center of every decision or activity. A preacher may learn just as much by seeking them out and listening to their point of view.

Again, this is a long list and therefore not research a preacher can do every week. But is there one thing on this list that you could try, in some measure, in the coming month? The goal is to honor the never-changing Word by knowing better the ever-changing group of people to which we preach it. By learning the context in which they preach, preachers show love to their listeners.

This article in Devote Yourself was contributed by the team that previously created and distributed Preach the Word. View past preaching-related articles at worship.welsrc.net/downloads-worship/preach-the-word.

¹ Leonora Tubbs Tisdale, Preaching as Local Theology and Folk Art (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1997), 64-77.