SPIRIT EMPOWERED PREACHING

Question: If a miracle happened and preachers all across the country were truly empowered by the Holy Spirit and that affected their preaching, what do you think would be happening? What would they be saying or doing? What would their parishioners be hearing?

Answer: Preachers would be out with the people more, putting their lives where they were; they would be – as they say – walking the walk as well as talking the talk. The quality of preaching would be more passionate, and that's where the contagion is. If you start talking to me about something that is so important to you it is gripping to you, I can't get away from it. We would not be whispering, we would be, from the housetops, shouting the message. They would be out there talking. Talking what we say out of the pulpit as well. Pulpit is one place the sermon gets spoken, but take parts of it, all of it, to hospitals, civic meetings, PTA meetings – whatever. Use little pieces of your sermon all through the week. Multiply its influence. I think we would be raising people's questions. "So that's what church is really about. Well, I never thought about it that way." I think it could happen. As your question implies, it would have to be the work of the Holy Spirit, otherwise we'd try to think of clever ways; and we have more ways to communicate now, than we have things to say. So we don't need more ways.

-- Dr. Fred Craddock, in an interview with Peter Wallace of www.Day1.org


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