Preach the Word – Preaching to Current Culture

Themes in Current Homiletical Theory

Preaching to Current Culture

Timothy Keller passed away in May 2023 after battling cancer. I was first notified of his death only days before my graduation from Westminster in Philadelphia—the very place where Keller studied and later taught as a professor. In an email to the student body, the seminary president recounted his life and ministry, which impacted not only his own Presbyterian circles, but the American church at large. As Christianity Today sums up on the back cover of his bestseller, “Keller will be remembered as a pioneer of the new urban Christians.”¹ And that he is. Whatever one makes of his theology and ministry, there is no denying that Keller, preaching from his pulpit in the heart of Manhattan, had this way of preaching to our current culture unlike anyone of our generation.

Keller often speaks about “contextualization.” In fact, he devotes four chapters to “gospel contextualization” in his magnum opus on urban ministry.² Some may hear “contextualization” and dismiss it as yet one more example of giving people “what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Ti 4:3). To this Keller forcefully objects. Instead, contextualization means “giving people the Bible’s answers, which they may not at all want to hear, to questions about life that people in their particular time and place are asking, in language and forms they can comprehend, and through appeals and arguments with force they can feel, even if they reject them.”³ While Keller is widely known as an apologist and urban missiologist, he is also a homiletician in his own right. His book Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism is unique in homiletics in that it is a distillation of Keller’s analysis of secularism (heavily indebted to the philosopher Charles Taylor) applied to preaching. Keller is at his finest in chapters 4–5 on preaching to secular culture. There he shows how preachers can engage the identity narrative of the sovereign self, the society narrative of absolute negative freedom, the morality/justice narrative of self-authorizing morality, and the history and rationality narratives of science as the secular hope.⁴

Prophetic Preaching

The homiletical historian Hughes Oliphant Old lists “prophetic preaching” as one of five major genres of preaching.⁵ Prophetic preaching is not to be confused with the same name in genre-specific preaching. Here prophetic preaching speaks about how “God often has a particular word for a particular time and a particular place.”⁶ Like the Hebrew preacher Jeremiah in ancient Jerusalem, the medieval preacher Girolamo Savonarola in Renaissance Italy, or the modern preacher Earl Palmer in Berkeley, California,⁷ prophetic preachers have the audacity to wade into the most pressing cultural issues of their day and bring a specific Word to that specific time and place.

Contextualized preaching does not mean giving people what their itching ears want to hear.

Because prophetic preaching is shaped by a specific time and place, it would be helpful to share my own ministry setting. Ann Arbor is dominated by medicine and academia. When I was called to Redeemer, I was also called to campus ministry at the University of Michigan, which is informally called one of America’s top three “public Ivies” (along with UCLA and Cal—Berkeley) for its academic prestige. For the past six years, Ann Arbor has been ranked the most educated city in America, in part due to the highest percentage of college-educated adults.⁸ I still remember meeting a Taiwanese man with a PhD from Cambridge (who was a post-doctoral research fellow) at church, sitting down for coffee with a Harvard Medical School graduate, and meeting multiple university professors in casual conversation. Being in Ann Arbor involves constantly shifting between rigorous academics and lightning-rod social issues. For example, my preschool-aged children have already been exposed to downtown protesting for human rights in Iran and to LGBTQ+ at the local library. Around Ann Arbor one finds lawn signs supporting Planned Parenthood, Black Lives Matter, public power,⁹ and many other values enshrined in the phrase, “In this house we believe …” Ann Arbor is a city where no Republicans even attempt to run for local office and is located in the most progressive county in a reliably Democratic state for the last thirty years.¹⁰ I quickly realized I would need to grow as a preacher for my preaching to impact all this—marriage equality, transgenderism, feminism, environmentalism, scientific progress, RBG, BLM, DEI, tolerance, racial minorities, and immigration. It’s impossible to step foot onto a university campus on Wednesday evening and not step foot into the pulpit on Sunday morning without having current culture in mind.

Now certainly, it would be naïve—and pastorally irresponsible—to insinuate that my exact homiletical approach in Ann Arbor should be replicated across the nation. However, cities and universities have a disproportionate effect on culture because they are the centers from which people and message emanate. So my setting highlights these cultural aspects that are impacting America at large:

1. Increased knowledge: Your setting may not have the Hatcher Graduate Library,¹¹ but everyone does have the Internet. Because of Google, Wikipedia, or YouTube, everyone can be a self-proclaimed theological expert. No longer can a preacher assume someone will accept his preaching as gospel truth. Instead, a hearer might think, “That’s your view. I’ll search online and find ten people who disagree with you.”
2. Rise of secularism: Your setting may not be filled with Millennial and Gen Z “Nones,” but secularism has been a pervasive trend for the past thirty years.¹² Twentieth-century American preaching had the luxury of assuming most people would have a belief in God and a basic agreement on Christian values. No longer can a preacher assume that someone will agree with what we preach. Instead, a hearer might think, “That’s what institutional religion has always said, but we know that’s no longer the case.”
3. Rise of diversity: Your setting may not have international university students, but with changing demographics it will be increasingly difficult for American Christianity (historically, predominately white) to stay in a status-quo comfort zone of monocultural ministry. No longer can a preacher assume he can avoid things like discrimination or racial tension. Instead, a hearer might think, “Why isn’t this church more diverse?”
4. Distrust of institutional authority: Your setting may not have many atheists or agnostics, but trust of societal institutions is at historic lows. After the church’s sexual abuse scandals, many lump the church in with racist police departments, a politicized Supreme Court, or greedy big business. No longer can a preacher assume people will trust him. Instead, a hearer might think, “You are the problem.”

Because of this, we need to ask, “Is our preaching giving some people answers to questions they are not even asking?” The days when preachers could skim the text and quickly present long-held religious views for ready acceptance have long since passed. Going forward, I’m convinced we need to double-down on robust biblical exposition, so that we not only proclaim what we believe but, more importantly, why we believe it—and that paired with a humble, perceptive analysis of secular culture.

Basic Features of Preaching to Current Culture

To go back to the genre of prophetic preaching, preaching that dares to wade into the most pressing issues of its day inevitably touches on what is perceived to be politics. The traditional wisdom has been, “Politics has no place in the pulpit.” And there is good research to support that. Already fifteen years ago, David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons found that one major reason young people were disaffiliating from the church was that it was too political. After the rise of the Religious Right (and their willingness to post their conservative views online), “The conclusion is that millions of young people in their twenties and thirties, including many young Christians, are growing impatient with and feeling disconnected from the political activism of many in the church.”¹³

Yet my experience has led me to wonder if the opposite danger is more prevalent among us. Preachers are so concerned about being perceived as overly political they don’t want to touch social issues with a ten-foot pole. I have spoken to numerous college students who have longed to have a sophisticated, respectful conversation about gay marriage, transgenderism, racism, postmodernism, or atheism, but no one in their church ever addressed those topics (especially from the pulpit). If we don’t, we really are confirming secular privatization theories.¹⁴ What’s more, whether it’s fair or unfair, many (especially in Gen Z) then think, “You either are ignorant, or you don’t care.”

To state it differently, the pressing issues of our day—abortion, gay marriage, women’s rights, multiculturalism, racism, and so forth—are those political issues, moral issues, or religious issues? Yes! They are life issues, and life involves politics, morality, and religion. Religion is not merely a belief in a transcendent God or afterlife; it is a “narrative identity” that impacts how one lives life.¹⁵ Christian preaching is bold enough to say the gospel impacts all of life. Historically, Christian preaching has done an excellent job of showing how the gospel impacts consciences burdened by sin, souls troubled on a deathbed, or families living at home. Christian preaching also needs to show how the gospel impacts racial tension, police brutality, gender dysphoria, abortion, and environmentalism. We cannot reduce preaching into only the message about salvation. So to state it provocatively, politics does belong in the pulpit—provided you understand exactly what I am saying (and not saying). Political advocacy has no place in the pulpit. One-sided political oversimplifications have no place in the pulpit. Political commentary devoid of biblical exposition and gospel motivation has no place in the pulpit. But relevant preaching cannot avoid current cultural issues. Being apolitical can’t mean we don’t care about such things. We need to find a way to preach about politics without being political about it.

The gospel impacts all of life.

I need to warn you: preaching to current culture is like playing with fire. Prophetic preaching is a nuanced aspect of homiletical theory and a sensitive aspect of pastoral practice. If a preacher has the audacity to explicitly mention our culture’s most pressing issues from the pulpit, those sermons will either be the most impactful sermons people will remember for years to come, or they will cause people to leave the church. So that sermons hopefully are the former and not the latter, here are some practical tips:

• Don’t be dismissive toward secularists. Christianity and secularism may have different epistemologies, but deriding secularists as “lost” and “immoral” will get you nowhere. Instead, affirm the aspects of civic righteousness within secularism that benefit society.
• Directly mention social issues. Don’t fall into thinking you can discuss this only in Bible study or personal conversations. If you say nothing from the pulpit, you probably will be perceived as ignorant, uncaring, or unapproachable. I have explicitly mentioned George Floyd, DEI, and Roe v. Wade from the pulpit, and this has opened up conversations elsewhere.
• Be sensitive to the complexity of social issues. These issues have many sides, factors, and considerations. If there is any time for the pastor to practice, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood,”¹⁶ it is here. A preacher needs to be out in the community—ordering a latté from a hipster barista, walking into LGBTQ-friendly stores, or talking to racial minorities—before he steps into the pulpit. Then the hallmarks of ethical dialogue, empathy and confirmation, will shine through in his sermon.¹⁷ My goal is to so respectfully represent others that if a gay man or feminist woman would be listening, he or she would say, “That’s exactly what I believe, and that’s exactly why I believe it.”
• Pay very careful attention to your language. I proofread these sermons three or four times—and often have someone else read them over ahead of time too. You must be extremely cognizant of the connotations of your words. The ideal of a tactful, articulate preacher who has an apt word to say needs to shine through.
• Mention political figures respectfully. I have explicitly mentioned President Biden, President Trump, President Obama, and President Bush from the pulpit in various ways. I refer to them by title and last name, and never in a derogatory way.
• Always provide two examples. If all your examples tend to be conservative, it’s no surprise so many young people feel progressives have no place in the church—and then leave. Make sure your examples are representative of both sides.
• No one will ever be able to tell how I vote. It’s that simple.¹⁸

We need to find a way to preach about politics without being political about it.

To illustrate, here is how I opened my sermon on Romans 13:1-7 (Proper 24A) with the theme, “Where Did Pleasant Politics Go?”

There are certain days when we wade into such controversial waters that what we are about to talk about might just ruffle your feathers, might just boil your emotions, might just erupt into controversy. Today we’re talking about politics. The last few years have provided countless examples of vitriol and chaos, when the two polarized sides have become so demeaning toward each other that it feels like an all-out war. Supreme Court nominations, COVID mandates, election fraud narratives, Black Lives Matter, critical race theory, diversity initiatives—and the list could go on. I know full well there are different feelings, beliefs, and experiences just among the people in this room right now. Some of you may have run across comments online that characterize Democrats as spawns of Satan who need to be opposed as much as the devil himself. Some of you may have run across comments online that characterize Republicans as misogynistic, homophobic, unenlightened ignoramuses from the Middle Ages. Some of you may have had conversations with friends that erupted into argumentative debates that you’re barely on speaking terms anymore. Some of you may have had conversations with coworkers that have revealed you were so far apart on the political spectrum you had no idea how to find any common ground at all. Some of you are so sick and tired of it that you just want to bury your head under a pillow, put the earmuffs on, and ignore everything that comes out of Washington D.C. To sum it up, in the last few years, politics has seemed to be anything but pleasant.

Preaching to current culture is like playing with fire.

A preacher certainly could utilize a topical series, but I have found numerous opportunities to preach to current culture within the lectionary.¹⁹

A Future Vision

When I first arrived in Ann Arbor, I made a point of meeting my neighbors. On one side of my church lives a university lecturer, and on the other live two gay men. I have a cordial relationship with both, I’ve been in both their homes, and I’ve invited both to church. Once I was inside the home of my friendly gay neighbors, and it came out his impression of our church came from an ELCA woman pastor, who said we were quite conservative. In that moment, I was surrounded by numerous controversial social issues. I said something like, “I can’t speak for every church. But at my church, we don’t focus on politics. We focus on Jesus.” To which he said, “We need more of that.” That is my vision for our synod’s future. I long for our gay neighbors to say, “We need more of that.” I long for us to fearlessly walk right into our culture’s most controversial issues, and like the prophetic preachers of old, clearly proclaim the gospel of Jesus that shines over all.

Written by Jacob Haag

Rev. Dr. Haag serves at Redeemer Lutheran Church, Ann Arbor, MI. His doctorate is from Westminster Theological Seminary with research in New Testament and preaching. His research project was entitled “Evangelical Exhortation: Paraenesis in the Epistles as Rhetorical Model for Preaching Sanctification.” He also serves on the Michigan District Commission on Worship.

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¹ Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism (New York: Riverhead, 2008).
² Timothy Keller, Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012), 89-134.
³ Keller, Center Church, 89 (emphasis original).
⁴ Timothy Keller, Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism (New York: Viking, 2015), 133-155.
⁵ Hughes Oliphant Old, The Biblical Period, vol. 1 of The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1998), 8.
⁶ Old, The Biblical Period, 16.
⁷ See Old, The Biblical Period, 74-84; The Medieval Church, vol. 3, 567-604; Our Own Time, vol. 7, 96-112.
⁸ CBS News, “Ann Arbor named most educated city in US, according to WalletHub,” 18 July 2023, accessed from www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/ann-arbor-named-most-educated-city-in-us.
⁹ Public power refers to a local government disconnecting from utility companies to provide 100% renewable energy to all.
¹⁰ CNN, “Michigan Election Results and Maps,” 3 November 2020, accessed from cnn.com/election/2020/results/state/michigan.
¹¹ A claim to fame of the University of Michigan papyrology department is the important NT manuscript P46 that is housed (and sometimes displayed) at its graduate library.
¹² See Ryan P. Burge, The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2021).
¹³ David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons, UnChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity … and Why It Matters (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2007), 155-156.
¹⁴ Secularization theories state that, as society becomes more advanced, there is less need for religion. In pluralistic, modern society, religion can no longer be the normative narrative in the public sphere but becomes relegated to individuals’ private beliefs.
¹⁵ Keller, Reason for God, 16.
¹⁶ I will be forever indebted to Prof. Mark Paustian for instilling in me this principle of communication (originally from Stephen Covey)—and its profound implications for ministry.
¹⁷ “Confirmation” here refers to graciously receiving a person as a valued and unique individual, without necessarily agreeing with their views. The most impactful sermon I’ve heard on current culture was Mike Novotny’s “Gay and God” series (accessible at timeofgrace.org). He openly mentioned he interviewed the president of the local Rainbow Coalition to help prepare his sermons. While that might not be practical for every preacher, it does illustrate the warm graciousness afforded to others about which I am speaking.
¹⁸ See Michael Berg’s presentation, “Signals Not to Send”: welsworshipconference.net/conference-materials. ED.
¹⁹ See more example sermons online at worship.welsrc.net/download-worship/preach-the-word-volume-28/.

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The last newsletter…

This is the last issue of Preach the Word. Coming later this fall, WELS Congregational Services will offer a new e-mail newsletter called Devote Yourself, which will focus on providing ministers of the Word with helpful articles and practical approaches to teaching, preaching, and leading worship. Subscribe today at welscongregationalservices.net/subscribe-devote-yourself.

 

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