Fred Craddock was a formidable presence in the world of preaching for decades. As the Distinguished Professor of Preaching and New Testament at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, he was influential in shaping both the preaching style of a generation of clergy and the content of their sermons.
Craddock was a master storyteller who believed the preachers’ job was not so much to force-feed a particular viewpoint as to allow their listeners to draw their own conclusions from the relevant stories, ideas, and experiences the preacher shared. He was convinced that people responded more readily to encouragement in exploring matters of faith than they did to being told exactly what they should believe or do. In general, you could say Craddock was an advocate of an inviting, respectful, mature, responsible, and authentic practice of faith.
So what does that have to do with us? Well, whether we are formally preachers or not, we all represent our faith every day in our workplaces, our homes, and among our friends and family members. All of us preach about our deepest convictions through how we live and act as well as through what we say. If we are just a little uncomfortable with acknowledging that, then maybe receiving guidance from Professor Craddock on how to be an effective preacher, minus any grandiosity, could be helpful. Here are seven suggestions Craddock once offered for making our faith more meaningful and inviting to others, by letting our lives do the talking.
1) Live simply. We are probably all aware of times when we’ve complicated life and strayed from its essence. Get back to the basics.
2) Serve faithfully. We aren’t necessarily guaranteed success when we do our best on God’s behalf, but our sincere effort is more important than each and every result. Keep at it.
3) Speak the truth. Temptations abound to shade the truth to our advantage, but truth has its own extraordinary power. Stick to the truth.
4) Pray daily. Our relationship with God needn’t be static and remote. Prayer is a dialogue that allows us to speak from the depths of our hearts and await God’s transformative response. Join the conversation.
5) Love generously. God almost certainly loves both those whom we love and those whom we hate. Try to love a little more as God loves by being more generous with forgiveness, acceptance, support, and encouragement.
6) Let God be God. We aren’t responsible for everything. We aren’t powerful enough or smart enough or perfect enough to fix everything. That doesn’t let us off the hook, though. The privilege of being human lies in gladly embracing the many gifts and abilities we’ve been granted and putting them to work, despite our limitations. Be proud of what you’ve been given to work with, and humble enough to admit you’re no match for God.
7) Don’t just talk about your faith, live it. What if your life were the only testimony to faith that someone else ever had the opportunity to witness? In an era when attendance at worship services and membership in faith communities is diminishing, it’s not far-fetched to imagine that our lives may indeed be the only “sermons” others will ever hear. Here’s hoping our lives’ sermons will be everything Professor Craddock imagined they could be: inviting, respectful, mature, responsible, and authentic. Let’s live with thoughtful intention. Let’s let our lives preach it!