(e)mergent Voyageurs

When I read about Doug Pagitt‘s upcoming book “Preaching Re-Imagined: The Role of the Sermon in Communities of Faith”, I was intrigued. While an infrequent guest preacher at a few churches, I have long struggled with how effective the traditional sermon is. Additionally, I was excited by the possibilities this proposed new approach might offer other areas of spiritual formation.

To this point, I have a read a few other reviews on this book, the best being by Scot McKnight & Brad Boydston which can be found Here. I would encourage you to read the entire series of dialogical reviews these guys post on this topic. That being said, I wanted to offer my 2 cents.

Doug makes a plea for a more progressional dialogue to replace the more common sermon model- what he calls “speaching”. I believe that Pagitt’s ideas offer an exciting opportunity to “re-imagine” how we engage in spiritual & missional formation by embracing the need for the openness and humility that comes through communal learning. He wisely affirms both a need for embracing a multiplicity of perspectives while committing to truly being open to have ones mind changed, convinced, “converted”. The thesis of the book is one that I heartily agree with.

That being said, I was extremely disappointed with the actual material presented. The book might have been called “Preaching Deconstructed”, as the vast majority of its content was focused on a critique of current preaching models. And while the critique was warranted, I found that Pagitt often overstated his arguements, citing some historical roots to the problem that were over simplified at best and untrue at worst.

Though I affirm the need to explore these issues, even critiquing “older” methods, I found that so called “speaching” was given a raw deal. At one point, Pagitt says:

And yet, throughout the book, he presents critiques that seem to go much further. In fact, in the same paragraph as the statement above, he also calls speaching “dehumanizing”. In my view, dehumanization is a serious upgrade from “low-grade fever”. I still believe that there remains a place for traditional preaching/teaching. What is hardly addressed in the book are the larger issues surrounding the way we “do” church- issues that would greatly mitigate some of the challenges of so-called “speaching”.

Finally, when I got to “Section 6: How to Make the Move” (which represents just under 70 pages of the 248 pages), I was eager to finally explore this new model. However, even this section is significantly dedicated to deconstructing the “old” rather than exploring the “new”. This isn’t to say that the book doesn’t offer helpful tools and ideas. In fact, there are several very important elements explored. But I felt they only whet the appetite, leaving the reader wanting more, with few options of where to turn.

Again, I want to reaffirm my agreement with and commitment to this new approach to spiritual formation. In fact, believe that the implications of Doug’s book extend beyond just pastors & sermons, but hold promising possibilities for people on all levels of discipleship. I believe it also speaks to the dysfunction of our current educational models in the larger culture. The intent of this book is both valid and necessary.

The book offers a fair apologetic for those questioning the current model and wanting to explore other options. However, I am not sure those who most need to read this book will pick it up, and if they do, won’t be convinced by it. Nor that the majority of those people who will read this book need convincing in the first place. I am not sure if Pagitt delivered on the promise the title suggests, but I hope he has started a dialogue in which all of our voices will take it the needed extra miles.