Quit Preaching. Start Praying. (Part 1 of Five Modest Proposals for Post-Covid Churches)

This is part 1 of a five-part set of proposals for how churches could change after the Coronavirus pandemic.

Quit Preaching. Start Praying.

I’m a preacher. And a dang good one. (Or at least I think so, as do most preachers.)*

Preaching is not what the world needs—at least not now, and at least not from in-person church gatherings.

We have enough preaching—right-wing televangelists, left-leaning TED talks, college lectures, archives of recorded sermons (my own included), oodles of books with sermons from the past. We can watch and listen to and read those sermons forever I suppose. If you want preaching, have at it.

What people crave from church is connection, is sharing life.

During this “safer-at-home” time of the Covid-19 pandemic, our church is gathering via Zoom.

We listen to good some music, either live or recorded. We read scripture and maybe some poetry. My colleague or I preach (because old habits die hard). And then people are invited to share their joys and concerns. And they share and they talk and they chat and they nod and they smile. And they write sad news and share happy thoughts in the chat box. And sometimes they go on too long. And sometimes they mix announcements or politics in with their joys and concerns. And it’s beautiful and vibrant and human. And vital.

People need connection, not lectures. Not even well-crafted, theologically-adept, rhetorically-soaring lectures called sermons. (And certainly not crappy lectures called sermons. More on that in Modest Proposal #2.)

People need connection. I entitled this proposal, Stop preaching. Start praying. And I’ve talked about the intimate act of sharing joys and concerns, highs and lows, roses and thorns—whatever you want to call it. To me, that is prayer.

By prayer, I don’t mean words tossed out to beg God for something. I don’t mean supposedly holy words designed to please some Other-Worldly Being.

To me, when people talk about their pains, their fears, or their worries, they are opening themselves to—and identifying with—the swirling chaos of the universe. That is prayer. And when they share birthday wishes, good news, or a small thrill, they are adding to the beauty and wonder of creation. And that is prayer.

That’s what the world needs—more vulnerability and more beauty.

So that’s my fist modest proposal: When we’re able to go to church in person—less preaching, more praying.

*I’m joking about being a dang good preacher. Or am I? Most preachers are weird about their preaching, blending arrogance and humility. Forgive us.