11.10.05



The Rev. J. Russell Taylor

Ford lecturer focuses on preaching

The Rev. J. Russell Taylor, the featured speaker for this year's Ford Lectures at Erskine Theological Seminary, addressed the issues of connecting with congregations with preaching and the components involved in an effective sermon.

Taylor, director of the Office of Congregational Development of the S.C. Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, spoke Wednesday and Thursday at the seminary's Bowie Chapel.

Wednesday, he talked about getting connected to a small congregation and how to preach to that connection.

Thursday, Taylor addressed the "nuts and bolts" of preaching.

"The effectiveness of a sermon has a lot to do with the character of the preacher," he said.

Taylor said there is debate about where the sermon should be placed during the corporate worship experience.

Limiting himself to discussion of United Methodist Church practices, the area of context Taylor felt in a position to talk about, he said there are many United Methodist churches that place the sermon early in the worship program.

"The problem I have with it is there's no place for people to respond in a personal way to the Word," Taylor said. "Very rarely do we hear sermons that call for a response."

He said when the Word is proclaimed, people need to be able to be given an chance to respond to God's leading, whether it is in a place of need or His call on their life.

"That is why we preach," Taylor said.

There are numerous ways to approach a sermon from a construction and content standpoint as well as format, he said.

Among the most popular formats is the sermon series, used by many preachers to get three or four sermons interconnected to one overall theme.

Taylor said the foundation of every sermon must be the scriptural text.

"Once you decide what the sermon text will be, you need to decide how the text speaks to you," he said. "It has to speak to you before you can expect it to speak to others."

Sermons need to have one primary theme, Taylor said.           

"You can't preach every Sunday about systematic theology and church history," he said. "You have to begin with the one truth you believe God is revealing to you."

Once a preacher decides on the message and its primary theme, then it is time to come up with a way to illustrate or illuminate that message for people.

Storytelling is one way to go about it, Taylor said.

Storytelling in teaching and preaching comes from the Master himself, according to Taylor.

"Storytelling is an art form and is the way Jesus taught," Taylor said. "It's important to learn how to tell stories so you can tell God's story."

He said there are many types of preaching styles and encouraged students to "never attempt to be someone other than yourself."

Taylor concluded his talk with a sermon based on Jesus' parable about the prodigal son.           

The father in that parable revealed God's true nature – quick to forgive, anxious to love and eager to reconcile, Taylor said.

That gracious spirit is needed in the church, in our homes and in society today, he said.

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