This post comes far too late, but as the saying goes, better late than never.

About a month ago, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, invited comedian Frank Skinner to Canterbury Cathedral to have a discussion on Christianity. I really don't know what the purpose or premise to the conversation was, but it ended up being really a rather interesting discussion to listen to. Skinner is a practising Roman Catholic, and raised a number of different issues that are worth taking the time to think about. If you follow this link, you can find links to the conversation, three mp3's available for download on the Archbishop's website.

I found the most interesting part of their conversation to be the discussion about preaching. Skinner began by lamenting the state of most preaching today, saying that when he goes to church, he expects a lot from a sermon because, as Christians, they are dealing with the most important, serious, and profound thing in the world. "I go there to be given something that I can take with me into the rest of the week," Skinner added. "I'm a tough crowd; I go there expecting a lot. I really want something important."

Skinner recognises the importance of preaching, which is an emphasis that is increasingly lost in our day. And I think the point that sermons should be something significant and substantial (in quality, not necessarily quantity) should be heeded. He suggested that a lot of preachers approach their sermons with a sense of obligation. They do it because they have to, and because they know they'll have a captive audience for a few minutes on Sunday, they don't put in a lot of effort. Skinner's proposition was that the responsibility for preaching by turned over to a special group of folks who are trained to be highly skilled preachers, and then sent around on rotations to different churches or piped in via audio/video so everyone can hear them each week.

I can appreciate his point, and I think he's probably right that there are a lot of pastors who don't put a lot of effort into their preaching. This comes in large part, I'm sure, from a lack of conviction of the power of preaching. But I really cannot get on board with Skinner's suggestion that we have a collection of über-Prediger (I opted for the German instead of saying super-preachers; words like that always sound better in German) that meet the need for better preaching, for a number of reasons, one of which is that it turns preaching into more of an oratorical performance.

A much more significant reason to avoid this model, however, was raised by the Archbishop. He made a very important point that may have been the best thing said in the whole discussion on preaching. Emphasizing the importance of a minister being a part of a specific community, he said that the local preacher is able to key in to what is going on in that particular community at that particular time. So while they may not always produce memorable, penetrating, or powerful sermons, they might have something which strikes that community for that day.

This is one of main reasons I cannot understand the celebrity pastor phenomenon. You simply cannot preach effectively to your congregation if you are disconnected from their lives as individuals and the life of the community as a whole. Williams is exactly right that the local minister's preaching will have a unique ability to connect with people because of their sensitivity to the circumstances of that community's life.

Skinner's concern is something that certainly should be addressed. One of his other suggestions was that preachers should be better trained, which is something worth evaluating as well. But I think that unless a conviction of the transformative power of the Word is recovered, and we recognise that faith comes from hearing the message, a lot of this bad preaching that Skinner laments will continue.

This is just one portion of their 90-minute discussion, however, and I would encourage you to listen to the rest of the conversation. It's worth your time.