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E.P.I.C.=20 Preaching

By Leonard Sweet

Judy Garland believed = that she owed=20 it to her audiences to gives them everything she had. Just = before=20 walking out on stage, the superstitious Garland refused to = utter the=20 standard entertainment slogan, "It's time to break a leg." = Instead,=20 she'd say, "It's time to give blood." I can't think of = a better=20 definition of preaching than "giving blood." Of the three=20 traditional ways of making a living - mud, blood, and grease = -=20 preaching involves all three: the mud pies of creativity, = the blood=20 bank of living in the Word, and the grease pit of hard work = and=20 dirty hands. But of the three, giving blood is the defining=20 metaphor. The blood of Christ is the prime bearer of the = gospel's=20 message and meaning. Red is the primary color of = Christianity. To=20 appropriate what sportswriter Red Smith used to say about = writing:=20 "Preaching is easy; I just open a vein and bleed." Blood is = liquid=20 life. Preachers are homiletic hemophiliacs, hereditary = bleeders of=20 liquid life. If you've never bled, you have no material = for=20 preaching. The real questions for the 21st-century preacher = are:

Will the blood you give be ink or EPIC?=20
Will the blood you give be your blood or royal blood? =

C.S. Lewis once said that Christian writers should have = blood in=20 their veins, not ink. The same is true of the 21st-century = preacher.=20 Preachers should preach from the blood in the veins, not = from the=20 ink of words on a manuscript. Preaching has become too inky, = too=20 watery, and too bloodless. And the Christian preacher should = bleed=20 the shed blood of Christ, as preaching is ultimately God's = act=20 through the power of the Holy Spirit. A preacher sets a = table before=20 the people in which there is laid out the body and blood of = Christ=20 in bread and wine and in word and flesh. If, when you're = finished=20 preaching, you're not finished, spent, wiped out-if you = haven't died=20 a little-you haven't really preached. I once heard = Presbyterian=20 preacher Howard Edington say that if you're truly preaching, = you=20 will shorten your life a little, because every time you = preach you=20 die a little.

E.P.I.C.

A DEATH-KNELL AND A DOORBELL

The word "epic" carries a double meaning of both timeless = and=20 timely. The gospel is both. But even more, EPIC is my = acronym for=20 preaching that sounds the death-knell for pulpitcentric = Christianity=20 and rings the doorbell for preaching that is:

experiential,=20
participatory,=20
image-rich, and=20
connective.

In the once-dominant culture of the printing press, = preaching was=20 uniformly accepted as pulpit presentations that were = rational,=20 representative, word-based, and individualistic. However, = that=20 pulp-and-ink approach is rapidly losing whatever = effectiveness it=20 had. For postmodern culture, EPIC preaching leaves the = pulpit behind=20 while taking with it the contributions of modernity to the = preaching=20 enterprise. EPIC preaching is less a repudiation than an = expansion=20 of modernity: rationality expanded to embrace experience,=20 performance expanded to embrace participation, exegesis of = the Word=20 expanded to embrace exegesis of the image, and the joining = of the=20 "me" and the "we" that's the essence of connectivity. EPIC = preaching=20 is a communal experience of the Word created by = participation in an=20 image-rich narrative or sequence of stories.

EXPERIENTIAL

Modern preaching prided itself on lucid reasoning, = coherent=20 message, excellent delivery, focused structure, and = stylistic=20 elegance. No more. The days of the "pulpit prince" with = "golden=20 tonsils" and oratorical excellence are over. EPIC preaching = is=20 helping people experience God.

The postmodern consciousness involves a sea change in = human=20 cognition. "Points" no longer make points. People are = beginning to=20 think in brand new ways that are creating whole new = experiences.=20 People are moving from knowing God with the left brain to = knowing=20 God with the whole brain, from faith formation through = catechism to=20 faith formation through proverbs, metaphors, music, images,=20 imagination, and dance. People today aren't hungry for new=20 information or brilliant logic; people are hungry for fresh=20 experiences of faith and for experiences of a God who loves = them.=20 The German philosopher Hans-Georg Gadamer argues that the = difference=20 between experience and thought is the difference between = dancing and=20 talking about dancing. People today want to dance, not just = talk=20 about dancing.

Ironically, this transition is returning the preaching = craft to=20 Jesus' mode of communication. "Other rabbis want to speak so = that=20 their words can reach the sky," Kotsker Rebbe used to say; = "I want=20 to speak so that my words will reach the stomach." Jesus = spoke so=20 that his words would reach the heart. To do this he used a = method of=20 communication called parables found in many languages and = many=20 religions. A parable was a literary form designed less to = convey=20 concepts than to platform experiences. Jesus was so skilled = at using=20 parables (53 of them, each only about 100-150 words) that he = was=20 known as a "parabolist."

Moderns have been as unnerved and slightly embarrassed by = Jesus'=20 penchant for parables as were the original disciples, who = could not=20 figure out why Jesus used parables in the first place = (Matthew=20 13:10). They complained that the people simply didn't "get = it" with=20 Jesus' teaching style. Why couldn't he make things as clear = as=20 possible? Very often his hearers said, "We don't understand = what he=20 is talking about" (John 16:18). They wanted him to "get = linear," to=20 say exactly what he meant, just as we expect sermons to = layout=20 "truth" in black and white, lay truth "on the line," and to = blow no=20 uncertain trumpet.

But Jesus' goal was not that everyone understand him, but = that=20 everyone experience him. Indeed, it's quite possible Jesus = didn't=20 intend for everyone to get his message (Matthew 13:13-15). = He did=20 invite everyone, however, to hear God's story, become part = of God's=20 story, and to learn about others who joined God's story or = were=20 seeking God's presence. In fact, if a sermon is truly EPIC, = you=20 won't be able to put fully into words what it means.

To be sure, since the early 1980s preaching has witnessed = a=20 resurgence of narrative approaches, which have shifted = homiletics=20 from more discursive, rational, analytic discourses to more=20 inductive, perceptual journeys. But these stories were still = carrying "points" and "principles," and were designed to=20 "principalize" the text through induction (rather than = deduction),=20 where stories and examples reveal the abstract proposition = which has=20 already been asserted as true. Jesus never used stories as = stand-ins=20 and stand ups for propositions and points.

The function of narrative in EPIC preaching is not to = deliver=20 points but to help people see, hear, taste, touch, and smell = the=20 gospel. Some faith traditions (such as Pentecostal, = charismatic,=20 Eastern Orthodox) have been leading us this way, and we = would do=20 well to sit at their feet. W.E.B. DuBois, the author of the = civil=20 rights classic The Souls of Black Folk, was so struck by how = the=20 preacher and the congregation work to create a drama = together that=20 he described the sermon in the black church tradition as "a=20 happening." In the homiletic resource my wife and I provide = called=20 PreachingPlus.com, the first = thing featured=20 after the TextAlive section is not "illustrations" but = "animations."=20 You illustrate points. You animate stories and experiences. = Through=20 his use of parables, Jesus was more an "animator" than an=20 "illustrator."

A preacher's real passion is generating, circulating, and = animating stories. Preaching invites people to make their = home in a=20 text, to write themselves into the biblical narrative, and = to let=20 their new home transform their lives. Preachers are people = with a=20 thousand tales to tell... not tales about themselves, but = tales=20 about what Jesus has done, is doing, and will do in the = church and=20 in the world.

PARTICIPATORY

A parable is, by definition, participatory - an animated = story=20 whose "points" are left open, trusting the listeners to come = to a=20 conclusion on their own. Preaching has always been a = collaborative=20 process involving both preacher and congregation. It isn't a = sermon=20 until it's received. A sermon succeeds or fails not based on = the=20 preacher, but based on the congregation.

Jesus called for active listening with the refrain "let = anyone=20 with ears to hear, listen," and active listening requires=20 participation. So much participation that some homileticians = have=20 even argued that the skills of the hearers are more = important than=20 the skills of the preacher. But the preacher is also called = to be an=20 active listener: A true sermon is written with the ear. = Skilled=20 preachers are always listening to the voice of Christ. In = this way,=20 preaching gives voice to the church. Consecrated lips = require=20 consecrated ears.

But in EPIC preaching the congregation is not a passive = consumer=20 of content, but a participant in the creation and refinement = of the=20 experience. And increasingly the congregation is part of the = act of=20 sermon composition and design. In EPIC preaching it's less = about the=20 dynamics of human absorption than the dynamics of human = interaction=20 that shape the homiletic form. Quality is raised by = increasing the=20 interaction on every front, especially between the preacher = and the=20 congregation. Homiletics professor O. Wesley Allen Jr., = describes=20 the intimacy of flesh speaking to flesh in these terms: = "Sermons=20 must be dialogical in nature. This does not mean that = preachers must=20 invite oral feedback during every worship service...Instead, = offering dialogical sermons means that preachers must not = hand down=20 absolute, authoritatively pronounced truths [but] they must = offer=20 invitations to the hearers to engage the vision of the = sermon=20 intellectually, emotionally, and experientially."

Participatory preaching brings us closer to the way Jesus = communicated with others. In a content analysis of the 125 = incidents=20 of Jesus' encounters with people, Ralph L. Lewis has found = that=20 "roughly 54 percent of those encounters are initiated by his = hearers. Instead of standing up and proclaiming the message = he=20 wanted the people to hear, he responded to his audience's = questions,=20 objections, doubts. He allowed and welcomed their = involvement."

In pulpit-centric preaching, great labor was spent on how = to=20 write better opening sentences. In EPIC preaching, time is = invested=20 on how to create better opening (and closing) interactions. = Once=20 again, preachers have much to learn from others within = Christianity=20 such as the elaborate call-and-response (or = response-and-call) cues=20 and other interactive rhetorical devices that are so well = developed=20 in black preaching traditions.

IMAGE-RICH

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn concluded his Nobel lecture on = literature=20 by quoting a Russian proverb: "One word of truth outweighs = the whole=20 world." In a postmodern culture, "one image of truth" and = especially=20 "one person of truth" tilts the balance of history. = Postmodern=20 people are like the Israelites in the desert... they'll = follow=20 pillars of fire and clouds, but not abstract commands and=20 disembodied voices.

"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is perhaps the = most famous=20 sermon in American history. If people know about one sermon, = it's=20 this one. Why do we remember it? It's not the content. It's = Jonathan=20 Edward's unforgettable imagery of people as spiders held = over the=20 flames of hell.

EPIC preaching is the art of exegeting images. The power = of the=20 Word isn't in the words; it's in the images, the stories, = the=20 "music" of the text. Before there was any matter, there was = mind:=20 and the mind was made of metaphor. Genesis tells us that God = made=20 "every flower of the field before it was in the earth, and = every=20 herb of the field before it grew." Since the mind is made of = metaphors (when you dream, what do you dream in...words?), = there's=20 no greater power anyone can hold than the power preachers = are given=20 by their people: the power to choose the metaphors. Jesus = was=20 history's greatest master of metaphor. Embedded in his = metaphors is=20 metamorphosis. The metaphors we live in become the reality = we live=20 out.

In pulpit-centric preaching, we learned how to exegete = words.=20 EPIC preaching exegetes images. To be "stewards of the = mystery,"=20 EPIC preachers are first stewards of metaphor. The Bible = "thinks"=20 not in propositions and points, but in images, metaphors,=20 narratives, symbols, and so on. Poetry is more the language = of=20 biblical faith than prose or philosophy. Thus preachers must = take up=20 the poet's tools...image and imagination, metaphor and = story, and=20 metaphor-stories known as parables. Homiletics professor = Barbara=20 Brown Taylor said, "The church's central task is an = imaginative one.=20 By that I do not mean a fanciful or fictional task, but one = in which=20 the human capacity to imagine - to form mental pictures of = the self,=20 the neighbor, the world, the future, to envision new = realities-is=20 both engaged and transformed."

What EPIC preachers look for in a text is less the "main=20 principle" or the "key idea" or the "big point" and more the = "master=20 metaphor," the leading or controlling metaphor that reframes = the=20 conversation or concept. This metaphor can be a character, a = key=20 moment in the story, even a word that functions as an image. = Metaphor is not simply an adornment to critical insight, but = a=20 method of perception in itself. Metaphors are not the = sermon's=20 seasoning; they're the very meat of the sermon itself.

It's not that homileticians haven't appreciated the fact = that we=20 live in a visual culture that prefers images to words. After = all,=20 advertisers spend billions of dollars a year not to bombard = us with=20 words, but to surround us with images. But our solution has = been for=20 preachers to use "charts" and "graphs" and PowerPoint, where = the=20 power is still in the point and not the image. When images = are used,=20 especially by the two groups that have the most problem with = metaphors (fundamentalists and higher-critics), they're used = to get=20 to points and propositions. They break the text down into a = thousand=20 parts and microscope each piece rather than see it whole. = The images=20 are thus "hijacked" as a means to an end, not the end = themselves.=20 However, Christianity begins and ends in an image: Jesus is = the=20 image of God. In Christianity, image is everything.

Metaphor is by definition experiential, interactive, and=20 relational. EPIC preaching is at its best when it turns = images into=20 props, and when those props become interactive icons that = people can=20 take home with them. Jesus was a master at this. In the = story of the=20 trap set for him by the Pharisees, the tribute to Caesar, = Jesus=20 makes the Pharisees produce a coin with Caesar's image = stamped on=20 it. By producing the coin, Jesus sprung the trap on them. = They have=20 already proven that they are willing to employ and deploy an = idol, a=20 graven image, which was specifically forbidden by the law. = The=20 both/and answer ("Give to Caesar what's Caesar's, and give = to God=20 what's God's") typifies metaphor's multiple meanings: Both = sides=20 could feel that he was supporting each one of them, while = Jesus was=20 telling them both that they were asking the wrong question = and=20 pointing them in the right direction.

CONNECTIVE

EPIC preaching is not pulpit oratory, it's pew connection = and=20 interaction. The "command-and-control" model of = pulpit-centric=20 preaching is fading, just as "command-and-control" models of = information-sharing are fast disappearing. It's the = connections that=20 count. It's the connected that inherit the kingdom. The = greater the=20 number and quality of the connections, the greater the = caliber and=20 creativity of discipleship. And worship. That's why, in many = ways,=20 you can't write an essay on EPIC preaching. Only on EPIC = worship. I=20 found this out when I invited cutting-edge preachers from = around the=20 globe to address a conference. They wouldn't come without = their=20 worship leaders and other members with whom they = connect.

EPIC preaching restores people's connection to God, to = each=20 other, and to creation. A true worship experience is less an = individual experience than a community experience. In the = modern=20 world worship was sanctuary; in the postmodern world worship = is=20 communion. It's an experience of relationship, of = connectedness, of=20 communion. Liturgy is where the individual and the communal = are=20 reconceived as a connective. The word "liturgy" comes from = Greek=20 leitourgia, which implies an action whereby individuals come = together to become something different than they were as = lone=20 individuals. True EPIC creates a community where the broken = body and=20 blood of Christ pours out to heal our pain, our brokenness, = our=20 estrangement, and where the very concept of community gets=20 reinvented: "And if one member suffers, all the members = suffer with=20 it" (1 Corinthians 12:26). When a small country church = gathers, the=20 whole church is worshiping.

EPIC preaching doesn't make points so much as make = connections,=20 and making connections requires nonlinear more than analytic = skills.=20 This is one of the most important traits of the EPIC = preacher: the=20 ability to connect the dots-the dots between the = congregation and=20 the text, the text and the culture, the culture and God. In = your=20 research and reading, your movie-going and your home-coming, = Gardner=20 Taylor says that "All the roads lead to God, as they said = all the=20 roads lead to Rome."

To help people make these connections, EPIC preachers are = not=20 afraid to use material that connects with the lives of our = people.=20 Hence you will find parts of all three levels of culture, in = EPIC=20 worship (high culture, folk culture, and pop culture), but = the=20 dominant connection to culture is through pop culture: = movies,=20 music, cartoons, ads, sports, reality TV, and so on.

E.P.I.C.=20 PREACHERS, TAKE HEART

Very little has been said about the role of technology in = EPIC=20 worship. That's because technology isn't the issue. You can = have no=20 electronic technology and still do EPIC. Just watch comedian = Chris=20 Rock.

My favorite way of EPIC preaching? I don't always get to = do it=20 (and don't make an issue if I can't), but when I'm invited = to preach=20 somewhere one of my first questions is: "Do you have a live=20 Web-feed?" If the answer is "yes," I then ask the second = question:=20 "Can you find me a dancing partner?"

In this type of EPICtivity, I stand in the middle of the=20 congregation, with my Bible open to a text that is also = featured on=20 one of the two screens up front. Together the congregation = and I=20 exegete the leading image(s) of the text. The second screen, = however, is totally under the creative promptings of my = dancing=20 partner. Preferably, this is a person who's grown up on = Google, and=20 not the word search function. While the people and I are = more and=20 more immersing ourselves in the Word, my dancing partner is = Googling=20 the Web for images that are tossed up by our interactions. = And these=20 images are flashed up on that second screen as contributions = to and=20 animations of our conversation. The energy that flows from = these=20 multilayered connections can only be described as = "divine."

That said, not everyone will "get it." As far as I know, = way back=20 in the mid 1990s I preached what some are calling the first=20 Web-based sermon with a live (but very slow) Web-feed. It = took place=20 at the Kentucky Pastors' School for the United Methodist = Church.=20 When the organizers sent me the "evaluations," I was drawn = to one in=20 particular. The pastor had written: "Sweet was a total waste = of=20 time. Left the pulpit and tried to talk to us while using = the=20 Internet. Got nothing out of it."

But EPIC preachers, take heart. There were many who said = the same=20 of Jesus.

Comments (Hide)=20

I enjoyed your article on EPIC = preaching. I=20 thought you made a number of good points. I think that your=20 statement that technology is not a necessary portion of EPIC = preaching was an important point. I think your mention of = having a=20 "dancing partner" for visiting sermons was interesting, = however its=20 not a technique I would want to use with an audience on a = regular=20 basis. It seems to me that it could become a block or a = distraction=20 to the serenity of a service - not that we are always = looking for=20 serenity.

Posted by David = Mackey at=20 Oct 28, 2006 05:07 | Permalink=20

last night a mundane elders' meeting turned = profound. an=20 elder spoke up and said that he and his family had been = serving=20 at our sanctuary (e.p.i.c.-style) service for two months and = he was=20 disappointed to be having to go back to our contemporary = service,=20 because it lacked the community that has been developed at = the other=20 service. he was going to miss the dialogue, the = interaction,=20 the conversation, the community of real friends that = developed in=20 that place. the discussion then moved to a reflection = on our=20 experiment in church which we call sanctuary. three = years=20 earlier we debated the e.p.i.c values, and many = believed that=20 there was no way this would work. three years later = the elders=20 are asking how we can make our traditional campus more=20 e.p.i.c.

e.p.i.c. isn't a gimic. it isn't a passing=20 phase. it's the future of the north american Christian = church. at least the only church that will survive = into the=20 next century.

Posted by Chris = James at Mar=20 28, 2007 15:10 | Permalink=20

As a communication maven, EPIC was a wonderful find. I = have been=20 trying to think, speak "epically" but as it is a new trek, = not sure=20 how I am doing. So, in the hope that perhaps there are other = like me=20 out there, I make a proposal. I just posted a chapel I gave = in=20 January in which I tried to consciously incorporate = EPICivities. I=20 think I did okay but would love some feedback, dialogue from = others.=20 The sermon is available as a video stream at http://www.taylor.edu/experience/chapel.shtml and then = choosing the=20 2007/01/24 message. It is 25 minutes. Let me know how you = reacted,=20 what questions were raised, suggestions, etc.

Posted by Dale=20 Keller at Apr 03, 2007 23:10 | Permalink=20

A few years ago, at a pastor's conference, I was = privileged to be=20 a dance partner for Len. I admit that I was rather clumsy at = it,=20 being somewhat over 30-years-old, and not very agile. It was = a=20 memorable experience. From that experience, I can give a bit = of=20 advice. This is very hard to do without some practice. = Coordination=20 between the speaker and tech can be very helpful. The tech = needs to=20 be concentrated on just that one task, and not directing = other=20 aspects of the production. I agree that the constant = changing of=20 images can be a distraction to the audience/congregation, = but I feel=20 it can be done tastefully and unobtrusively. The point is = not to=20 have a constant movie of images, but images that bring an=20 emotional/experiential aspect to the discussion. We are so = "point"=20 oriented that it's difficult not to think of supporting the = point,=20 and instead think of adding a dimension to the interaction. = In fact,=20 the speaker will also interact with the images throughout = the=20 discussion.
It is a lot of work, somewhat stressful, and = very=20 non-linear, which makes it difficult for people beyond = middle age to=20 facilitate and experience. Yet I, too, believe meaningful = worship=20 needs to add these elements of vision, song and = poetry-~~the=20 emotional elements~~-to continually engage our = pre-modern=20 culture in the timeless story of salvation.

Posted by R.=20 Bruce Weiman at Apr 13, 2007 12:38 | Permalink=20