Blues singers get it. You can hear it in their music. They talk about their cities – Chicago, New York, Memphis – as if the city was alive. They’ll talk about how the city has treated them – loved them, betrayed them, captured them, seduced them – they talk about loving the city and how the city broke their hearts. They’ll talk about their cities as if they have a romantic relationship with their cities.
Pastors don’t do this much. In fact, if you talk to most pastors, few of them will even mention their city or greater community. Their lives are so wrapped up in their churches, they rarely look up to see what’s going on around them. They don’t understand the dreams of the city and haven’t taken the time to hear the city’s heartbreak. They don’t understand what gives their city life and how the city moves from moment to moment.
The reason this matters is church ministry happens in the context of their communities. This is why the “one size fits all” never works with churches. Every church is a unique organism. Every city is a unique context for ministry. In some cities, crossing the street puts you in an entirely different world. Every city leader understands this. Watch how candidates will tailor their messages according to where they are in the city. In one neighborhood, they’ll talk about crime. In another part of town, they’ll talk about commerce and growth and in another community, they’ll talk about education. Great politicians aim their messages for who’s there.
Pastors will spend a lot of time thinking about the biblical passage that is the topic of their sermon. They’ll carefully exegete the language of the text. They’ll think hard about how to align the truth of the passage they’re studying with the greater truth of Christian doctrine. They may even spend some time thinking about how their congregation will hear the text. What few of us will do is think about how our sermon will impact the city.
As a matter of fact, we don’t consider our sermon will impact the city at all. We preach in a church, a very small subsection of the city, and we’ll be glad if anyone in our congregation is impacted. We never give it a thought that someone in the city might be listening.
But when Jonah preached, all of Nineveh was changed. When John the Baptist preached, the king himself was convicted by John’s words. Jesus caused Jerusalem to tremble, and the Apostle Paul caused riots in Ephesus. When the Word of God is preached – faithfully and passionately – cities change. They have to. The Word of God doesn’t return empty.
Where do we begin if we want to preach like this? We begin in prayer. I’m not talking about a few words we mumble before we go to sleep or before the sermon. I’m talking about a prayer that captures the heartache of the city and brings them to God in prayer. The prayers of downtown are very different from the prayers of the suburbs. The prayers of the business community don’t always line up with the prayers of the nearby neighborhoods who are caught in a transition of gentrification.
As pastor, do you know those prayers? If you don’t, how can we craft our sermons so they apply the balm of truth to the pain points of our cities.
Cities have histories. Do you know the history of your city? They have dreams and heartaches. Do you know your cities?
This matters because our congregations live in the middle of the city’s life. How the city is doing affects how our people are doing. How the city feels about itself affects how the people feel about themselves. When I first came to Nashville, Nashville didn’t want to be known as the “Music City.” There were no venues for musicians to play. If you wanted to go to a concert, you had to go to Murfreesboro. The Ryman? It was where it is today, but it was a rough part of town, and you had to think twice about taking friends to see the Grand Ole Opry.
Things have changed. Nashville now has Nissan Stadium, Bridgestone Arena, the Music City Convention Center and more stages than we can count. And now, all you hear about is Nashville being Music City…about Nashville being one of the fastest growing areas of our nation. The conversations have changed in Nashville.
And so should our preaching. In bad times, the gospel has a lot to say about what really matters in life and finding the courage to endure hard times. In good times, the gospel keeps us free from the bondage of false gods and the idolatry of stuff. Either way, we proclaim the gospel – in good and bad times.
Which sermon we preach depends on the congregation we’re preaching to, it depends on how the city is feeling. After all, the city is alive…
And our sermons should be helpful in making that life the best ever.
