So much is said about how a pastor should preach.  So many thoughts have been poured onto paper, and now onto blog pages, offering insights as to the right techniques, the right methods, the right interpretations...  Don't get me wrong there has been a need for much of this, and in fact I would imagine it has had a positive impact on the "quality" of preaching in many churches.  However, I wonder if we aren't missing something in our discussion of preaching. 

Having been a pastor for the last several years I can understand the validity of books, blog debates and conferences revolving around the concept of preaching, and why they have been met with great interest.  Although, while I am sure there are many positive reasons for such interest, I also have no doubt that the interest at times has been born out of fear.  It seems that regardless of tradition or denomination preaching is seen as important, namely "good" preaching-whatever is meant by that.  There is a fear that as a pastor I am not correctly interpreting the text, powerfully impacting those listening, creatively crafting my message and on and on and on. 

In the age of celebrity within the church pastors no longer only have to worry about the in-house critiques and comments of parishioners, but are now compared to so and so.  The shadows of great expositors, charismatic communicators and witty preachers have been cast long and wide.  I will never forget a conversation I had with a woman on an airplane about preaching.  As so often happens I had struck up a conversation with the woman next to me, which evolved into a discussion of course about what "I did".  Eventually, my vocation led us to talk about church life.  She had come out of the Catholic church (more culturally than in practice) and was attending a large non-denominational church-quite a shift.  I will never forget her response to a question I posed about her experience at the church.  She told me that she loved the preaching, to which she added that one pastor in particular was just "so funny."  She went on to compare his wit and candor to other preachers she had heard.  At the time, I noticed in myself, beneath the veneer of criticism about "consumer Christianity," a sense of anxiety about whether or not I could compare to this guy or whether people found me witty and humorous.  In a similar vain, I think it would be interesting to know how many pastors listen to other preachers' sermons online.  Often the comment is made that such inquiry into the words of others leads to plagiarism as pastors scour to uncover something to say that will be powerful, interesting, etc.  However, I would imagine that many times pastors listen to their fellow man, not simply to steal, but more fundamentally because of fear and insecurity.  As they listen they are comparing their performance, much like an Olympic skater watching his competitor on the jumbo tron before he steps onto the ice. 

So, through a series of posts I want to explore a different side of the preaching discussion.  I want to get at some of the things I have already talked about.  I want to explore the fear and anxiety that comes up for pastors in preaching.  I want to explore the temptations that pastors often succumb to because of fears and anxieties... 

Part 2: To be Original; Part 3: To be Masterful;