Oral Preparation for Preaching

Around the turn of this century "oral methods" became a trend in mission. The ideas of Marshall McLuhan had finally hit the evangelical sub-culture, and leaders in the church began to realize that most people do not learn best when listening to messages that were written to be read. (Note: I would argue that no one learns best this way.) This gap in understanding was addressed by creating a category called "primary oral learners", which incorporated something like 5.9 billion of the world's population.

Jesting aside, the ideas proposed by these leaders were valuable. They proposed a variety of ways to present scriptural truths that increased comprehension and understanding. Stories, songs, skits, and other "primarily oral" methods became the latest and greatest tools for world evangelization. These methodologies bore some fruit, and I even incorporated some into my own teaching sessions. (For example, I would tell a specific story from the Old and New Testaments when trying to convey a point about worship.)

These days I think a lot about preaching since I have to do it every Sunday. My preaching professor last semester, Chuck Campbell, taught us that an orally-delivered sermon should also be prepared orally. Alas, the default mode for most sermon preparation is to write out a manuscript as if the preacher were preparing an essay. Chuck shared a great chapter from the book Preaching for Today by Clyde Fant: "Out of the Gutenberg Galaxy." Fant proposes a method in which the preacher reads the scripture text out loud several times and then talks about it, forming the sermon conversationally. The resulting outline that goes into the pulpit is simply a list of topic sentences, and the sermon is discussed more than read.

I always like books that reinforce my own ideas and practices. I've never felt comfortable preparing manuscripts, and I don't like giving up eye contact to look down and read while preaching. I will continue to prepare my sermons orally. I think my congregations appreciate it.