![]() ![]() Seeking advice from trusted colleagues can both keep us honest and give us courage. Test-drive the sermon with other preachers and ask for suggestions to finesse the more controversial parts of the sermon. 4 – Talk with clergy colleagues about your sermon. Alert key leadership that you’ll be addressing a sensitive topic so that they are prepared and not caught off guard. Note, this is not to seek their permission but to solicit their guidance. 3 – Have preparatory conversations with your congregation’s leadership group (board, council, elders, etc.) before preaching the sermon.Īsk your governing board what concerns they have and what suggestions they can offer for best approaching the subject. This will help them understand both the ancient and recent historical context within which your own preaching will take place. So how can pastors navigate the “landmines” when preaching sermons about social issues?Ģ – Tell your congregation about the church’s history of engaging controversial issues.įocus especially on your denomination’s history of engagement and the precedent it sets. Preachers know they could fall out of favor with influential laity or otherwise jeopardize their relationships with the people they are called to serve. churches are voluntary organizations with a religious economy that places pressure on clergy who preach sermons about social issues. These are complicated topics that can benefit from a Christian ethical, biblical, and theological lens. Today, issues such as income inequality, systemic racism, women’s access to healthcare, immigration, and LGBTQIA+ inclusion affect individuals, families, communities, and society at large. Also, the apostles engaged in the public square throughout the Mediterranean world that put them at odds with religious and secular leaders alike. Jesus spoke publicly about all manner of social issues including taxes, poverty, hunger, the treatment of women, the status of outsiders, the exercise of power, and capital punishment (of which he would become a victim). The prophets in the Hebrew scriptures consistently preached truth to power. Yet clergy are called to address the public issues that affect the people of God. ![]()
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