Day 179: 6/29/11- Extemporaneous Preaching for the Feast of St. Peter & St. Paul

Day 179: 6/29/11
New Thing: Extemporaneous Preaching for the Feast of St. Peter & St. Paul
Inspiration: The Feast of St. Peter & St. Paul
Cost: $0
Time: About 15 minuets                 
Bottom Line: Can I get a witness?!

Preach It!

Reflection: Today is the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. On this day we celebrate the deaths of these two Apostles. Here is a description of this Holy Day from James Kiefer:

The Confession of Peter ("Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God") is commemorated on 18 January, and the Conversion of Paul (on the approach to Damascus) a week later on 25 January. On 29 June we commemorate the martyrdoms of both apostles. The Scriptures do not record the deaths of Peter or Paul, or indeed any of the Apostles except for James the son of Zebedee (Acts 12:2), but they are clearly anticipated, and from an early date it has been said that they were martyred at Rome at the command of the Emperor Nero, and buried there. As a Roman citizen, Paul would probably have been beheaded with a sword. It is said of Peter that he was crucified head downward. The present Church of St Peter in Rome replaces earlier churches built on the same site going back to the time of the Emperor Constantine, in whose reign a church was built there on what was believed to be the burial site of Peter. Excavations under the church suggest that the belief is older than Constantine.

 One of the things that these men had in common was the ability to preach amazing sermons under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In fact we just heard about Peter's most famous sermon on Pentecost when he was moved by the Spirit to preach in such a way that caused the conversion of thousands of people. There is even a line from the famous spiritual "There Is a Balm in Gilead" which goes: "If you cannot preach like Peter/if you cannot preach like Paul/Just tell the love of Jesus/and say He died for all"

Their gift of preaching the Gospel relying on the Spirit is very inspirational. So, today I decided to honor them both in the Eucharist that we celebrated by trying a style of preaching that I have rarely experimented with--extemporaneous preaching. Here is a nice description of the style from Wikipedia:

Extemporaneous preaching is a style of preaching that was popular in the late 19th century among Baptist, Methodist, Unitarian, and some Presbyterians preachers. The style is not to be confused with impromptu preaching; it involves much preparation. One prepares by dwelling on the subject continually and thus has something to say when the time comes. On the other hand, it is distinct from memorized preaching. Proponents claim that the importance of preaching demands it be extemporaneous. Extemporaneous preaching includes both preaching with no written preparation as well as brief notes for the purpose of ordering points. The disadvantages of such a style is the trade-off of precision for emotional emphasis.

As I mentioned, this is not a style that I employ often. I feel much more at home writing my sermons out and having a prepared text in from of me. I find it helpful for delivery and for adding detail that I might otherwise forget to add while preaching "on my feet." However, there is something to be said about letting the Holy Spirit move through you in a trusting way, and I think that all preachers need to at least try this style out from time-to-time. 

Peter giving the Good Word.

I began the preparation for this sermon by doing all the research that I would normally do. After all, extemporaneous preaching is not an excuse for not doing your homework. In fact, I probably did a little more then I normally would to make sure I had things in my mind for referral. Then I prayed over it and made a few bullet points to help form a frame work to hang the sermon on in my head. During the service leading up to the sermon, I found myself paying attention to the readings very carefully to make sure that there was nothing that I had missed and prayed for guidance in the words God would have me use. The experience was interesting, and I would say that what came out of my mouth was certainly serviceable. I know I was able to make more eye contact then normal. However, I also felt like my pacing was off a little since I didn't have the pages to see how far along I was. All-in-all, I was thankful for the opportunity and will be trying alto more of this style during the Wednesday service in weeks to come.

Almighty God, whose blessed apostles Peter and Paul glorified you by their martyrdom: Grant that your Church, instructed by their teaching and example, and knit together in unity by your Spirit, may ever stand firm upon the one foundation, which is Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.