A Fresh Word

I think I've blogged about this before, but since I'm at a conference on preaching, and the subject has come up, I've been thinking about it again. What is the deal with people putting written or recorded sermons on websites? I can see some advantages to doing this, and I think I've mentioned the advantages and disadvantages of web-based ministry before.

This week, though, I've been thinking about Moses and the Israelites. They were wandering around in the desert for 40 years, and they were hungry. God gave them manna, with certain stipulations. Manna, literally "what is it?", brings to mind the image of instant potato flakes. The thing that intrigues me about manna is that it was only good for that day. Some of the Israelites tried to save it, to store it, because they were afraid that there wouldn't be enough...but the saved manna spoiled. In order for the manna to be beneficial, it had to be fresh.

Others may disagree with my thoughts about preaching, but I believe that God gives us a particular word for a particular time and place in a congregation's life. While people can listen in online days, weeks, months, or years later, or read a sermon in print, it is not the same. God's word comes for the people gathered together in the context of worshipping God. The word captured in print or in recording, even moments after the worship experience, is no longer fresh. While people can feast on it as they drive around with their iPods plugged in, or read it in the comfort of their bed before taking their nightly rest, the word is, if not spoiled, stale. It loses some of its power and meaning when it is revisited.

The same argument could be said for the cycle of preaching and pastoral ministry. I've heard pastors say that they keep files of manuscripts or outlines, and when they are appointed or called to another church, they simply go back to their files, and pull out the text or outline again. How is that word fresh for those people gathered for worship? If it's truly fresh manna, it must be organic. The word can not be processed, chewed up, and spit out with a new anecdote, story, or poem, and have it be fresh.

A fresh word requires at least two ingredients on the part of the preacher. 1 - the preacher needs to be constantly in touch with God. Gathering fresh manna requires that the sermon be surrounded, on all sides, by prayer. 2 - the preacher needs to be in touch with the body of Christ. What are the needs of the faith community, and what are the needs of the community at large?

In other words, the fresh manna of preaching only comes in the shape of a cross. The preacher gathers from the vertical (God) and the horizontal (neighbors), but the gathering must take place for that day. Unless we do so, we will not have fresh manna on which to feed.