When preaching is out of control

I’ll admit it. I like to be in control. I don’t think of myself as a control freak. However, I want there to be a minimum of chaos. On Sunday, for instance, I like to have a general idea of where we are going to be by noon.

It is fine for the Holy Spirit to be invited into our worship, but only to a degree. I like the Holy Spirit to have some room for movement, but not all that much.

I believe it is helpful in the planning process to state a theme of where the sermon might go on a Sunday like this one, with a text like the one assigned. After all, we ought to know where we are going, and if we don’t, we’ll never get there. However, the statement of theme might be guilty of giving the illusion that we have somehow, by simply stating a theme or a message for the day, controlled where we are going. Most preachers learn very early that preaching is not an easily controlled activity. And I like to be in control.