There Will Always Be A Sermon

By Mike Glenn

Over my career, I’ve witnessed several waves of thought declaring preaching to be dead. This time, some expert will write, things are different. Talking, we’re told, is the most inefficient process for learning. Lectures are being replaced by computer presentations and virtual reality experiences. Professors are now AI bots and it won’t be long before preachers will be Scripture-programmed machines who download copious amounts of theological data in three dimensional holograms. The AI machines will be so powerful they will be able to produce life-like characters of Moses, Paul and even Jesus Himself.  

I’ve seen this before. It’s getting almost predictable. In the sixties, sermons were going to be replaced by “rap sessions.” People would sit around in large circles and share their feelings about a particular topic. Yes, this was as bad as it sounds. For one thing, most of those in the group knew very little about the subject being discussed. The sessions ended up being a sloppy mix of how people felt about something and ill-informed opinions. Needless to say, that was followed by a renewed emphasis on preaching. 

That doesn’t mean things haven’t changed. They have.  For one thing, everyone in the congregation has a cell phone. This means anything referenced in a sermon can be instantly validated with a few clicks on the phone. Photographs, videos – even other preacher’s sermons on the same subject can be found on a screen in the palm of the attender's hand. More than ever, quotes, statistics, and the occasional preach stories have to be dead-on accurate or the preacher can be expected to be confronted by a church member, phone in hand, ready to correct their mistake. 

The growth of the internet also means the attention span has almost disappeared. Let something get boring, like a sermon, and immediately, people will pull their phones out and start scrolling through videos and news feeds to try to find something interesting.  How can you preach a coherent sermon or get across a deep thought of theology when Google tells us the adult attention span is 8 seconds long?

The other reality of the internet is people now have access to preachers around the world. When I first started in my ministry, I was only compared to the two or three other preachers in my small town. There was a Methodist preacher and a Presbyterian preacher. That was it. Of course, there was usually a Catholic church and a pentecostal church in our little town, but for some reason, my people never compared me to them. If I could hold my own against the Methodist and Presbyterian pastors, I would be OK. Now, I’m compared against every preacher in every town across the world. 

One of the unforeseen consequences of the pandemic quarantine was people started watching churches from all over. Some people found preachers they like, and now they consider themselves members of a church they’ve never seen. They faithfully watch their new pastor every Sunday. They give to their online church and consider themselves to be members. I haven’t asked if their new internet pastor will do their funeral, but sooner or later, who will do the funeral will come up. It always does.

Because of the internet, some are beginning to suggest we may get to the place where we don’t need the local church, much less preaching. People will be able to just tune into any church they want and not bother with getting up and going to church. Churches, according to these experts, will soon face the same problem corporate offices are facing. People would rather do their work from home so it would make sense that people would rather attend church from home. 

There’s just one problem with this. It doesn’t work. People need each other. One of the consequences of the pandemic quarantine was an epidemic of loneliness. Cut off from schools, churches, shopping and work many people struggled. Addictions sky rocketed as did suicides. We’re still trying to recover from the damage the isolation did to our mental and emotional health. Despite the predictions that we would all be working from home, many businesses are requiring their workers to come into the office several days a week. Even ZOOM is calling its workers back to the office. People need people. We need to see our friends at the office, school, in our neighborhoods and yes, at church. 

Here’s where it gets interesting. We’re already beginning to see how AI can be manipulated to mislead the audience. Experts are afraid in the coming presidential election political commercials will be produced using AI showing candidates saying things they never said. 

In a world filled with misinformation, we need someone to validate the truth. In courts, they still call a witness. They want to hear from someone who saw the event in question happen. No technology, no AI, just one person, who tells the court what they know. 

This is why preaching will never go away. Sooner or later, people will need someone to validate the truth. Is there someone who knows what is real? Is there someone who can tell us how to make sense of life? Is there someone who can tell us who we are and why we’re here and if we matter at all?

Jesus did this in The Sermon on Mount. Paul did this in Athens and Corinth. Peter did this at Pentecost and preachers do it every Sunday in pulpits all over the world. Sometimes, it’s in a grand cathedral. Other times, it’s in the booth of a local cafe, but whenever someone passes the bread and the cup and tells them about what Jesus did on the cross, the sermon will be there.