first sermon...

Yesterday I "preached" my first sermon ever, for my homiletics class. I guess it went well, but - as most people pointed out and I sort of already knew - it came across much more like a speech than a sermon.

The professor said I have a great way with words and can make a strong case for my ideas but I need to practice making it more receptive to a hearing audience, i.e., more simple, personable and palatable to the common man.

Good points, but at this stage in the process I think most people realize that my strong suit is probably teaching, not preaching. Not that there isn't a lot of teaching involved in preaching, but some people can speak in ways that are "sermon-esque", and some (like me) just have to work a little harder to stop using big words and trying to turn everything into an essay... hehe.

There are some really good preachers in my class though... great at creating a vivid picture and really pulling you into a story.

On a totally different (and more interesting for me!) note: I am also currently working my way through "Christianity and the Postmodern Turn", a book of essays written from various perspectives and rebuttals to those essays. It's interesting to see the tension built up between those who want to rationally defend the Christian faith (typically "modernists") and those who want to allow room for the possibility of different paradigms (typically "postmodernists") -- both sides make some good points, but at the end of the day, I think holding onto either side too tightly will result in frustration or defensiveness. Humility is always called for.

Maybe I'll post a review of the book sometime.