Keep connected

Sermons online can be a mixed bag. Mark Cartledge from LST (London School of Theology) considers how to keep our digital preaching connected to our listeners.

The coronavirus has changed our lives. For the many people who have lost loved ones, it has changed their lives forever. The lockdown conditions in the UK are pushing more and more people online and for a greater duration. If global travel was the main reason for the spread of the virus from China, then it is the global interconnectivity of the Internet that is one of the main ways that we express our social lives now. This also means how we ‘do church’.

The lockdown restrictions have hampered many churches in their ability to provide services, while for others it has meant the development of their digital capability. Most churches have a website but simply use it as a bulletin board and for not much more. Now things have changed. More and more churches are providing live-streamed services, synchronous prayer meetings using video conference tools like Zoom, as well as encouraging people to connect more via social media. There is a huge development in content and interaction.

This also means that preaching has gone digital like never before. Have you been watching sermons online? How have these sermons seemed to you? My own experience, I have to say, has been very mixed. Whereas in a concrete congregational setting I am less likely to get up and walk out, in a digitally-interfacing environment I am quite happy to place the preacher on pause and go and put on the kettle to make a cup of tea.

The ‘event’ of preaching has intersected with the ‘space’ of the living room and as such it has been domesticated to some extent. Preachers need to be aware that, at any moment, a good number of listeners could walk out or leave the ‘digital room’. Therefore, time is precious, attention needs to be grabbed frequently and clarity of expression is key. There is no room for waffle or excess. Your ‘warm-up time’ is limited now. I have suggested that three Cs might guide us to be sharper as well as better informed in our preaching:

·       Context – set the scene for the biblical text you are using in terms of some background information – some but not too much.

·       Content – pay attention to what the text is actually saying, suitably illustrated of course.

·       Contribution – explain how the text can connect to your hearers’ lives and shape their Christian discipleship especially during these very odd conditions.

Happy digital preaching!

Mark J. Cartledge

Principal, and Professor of Practical Theology

London School of Theology, April 2020