How to Craft a Prophetic Sermon that Bridges the Divide
“In the past week alone I have received, or had forwarded to me, four emails from members of the congregation indicating a refusal to return to worship while I am preaching.
The common refrain is this: ‘we don’t agree with your politics.’ ‘Why do you have be political?’ Or, ‘keep politics out of the pulpit.’”
These are emails The Rev’d Kyle Delhagen, a Presbyterian pastor in Upstate New York, received recently after preaching sermons some found objectionable for its politics—and for his presence in Black Lives Matter protests.
Rev. Delhagen told me:
“I had a great sermon on the lectionary text from Philippians all ready to go when, on Saturday afternoon, I received a third email voicing the same concerns.
At that point I knew I had to say something, and I sequestered myself in our bedroom and wrote a new sermon. I could not let it sit another week and needed to lean into the uncomfortableness.”
I thank Pastor Delhagen for his generosity in sharing his sermon and process.
I commend it because it offers an example of a prophetic sermon that can be heard even by those who disagree with you. You can read the whole sermon, attached here:
Download Pastor Delhagen’s full sermon.
Here are three things this sermon did well that can help you preach difficult messages.
Empathy
Prophetic sermons can be empathetic.
When is the last time you changed your mind? Any chance it was after someone flat out told you you were wrong about something?
Though we don’t always admit to it, there are times our frustrations run so high, that’s exactly the kind of prophetic sermon we want to preach.
We want to tell—OK, yell at—people that they are just plain wrong!
But because we know that hardens rather than softens hearts and can ruin our relationships with parishioners, we don’t.
Delhagen tells me that while his wife reads all of his sermons before he preaches them, she had a greater influence on this one because it needed to be toned down.
Earlier drafts of the sermon had a harsher tone, but he softened it to be more empathetic, addressing people’s fears and their own discomfort.
This kind of empathy crosses the divide, helping people feel heard and understood so they’re willing to extend the same effort to understand.
We can learn another lesson from his example: sometimes we need to work out our frustrations on paper in earlier drafts first. Then we can release those satisfying rants to God without burning bridges in the pulpit.
Having processed through those initial thoughts and feelings, we can bring our best self to the sermon itself. Getting a second set of eyes on our draft is always wise when emotions are hot.
To further convey empathy, Delhagen includes himself in every sermon message—as a fellow Christian in need of redemption and growing maturity in faith.
Rather than tell his listeners they are flat-out wrong, he tells them flat-out: this is about all of us.
Authenticity & Vulnerability
Prophetic sermons can be offered with authenticity and vulnerability.
Delhagen kept a photo of his family on the pulpit while he preached this sermon.
He kept it to remind himself of the tone he wanted to offer, and to keep in mind that he was preaching empathetically not only to those in the congregation, but to his family.
Delhagen is white but has a daughter of color.
He speaks in this sermon about his painful discoveries about the privileges he receives wherever he goes because he is white and male.
He also preaches about his heartbreak to see his young daughter sob in fear that her life could be taken in the same way so many Black people have been gunned down.
While the sermon discloses these details, the sermon is not about him. Or his daughter.
The sermon is preached from his heart, but is about Good News for all people.
Invitation
Prophetic sermons can be an invitation, not an agenda.
In his sermon, Delhagen says:
“I wonder if we have forgotten that Scripture calls us to be more than just ‘good people.’ Jesus calls us to be a just people; a merciful people; a righteous people - and we cannot be any of those things unless we are willing to be challenged, willing to be corrected where we have failed, willing to be changed as disciples.”
Even though Delhagen is clear about his convictions, he’s also clear that he had to learn and be corrected by scripture as much as anyone else.
He, too, has had to learn that being Christian didn’t mean simply being a “good person.” He invites people to consider this in several ways.
He starts by framing his sermon as an apology, a defense and explanation of his convictions.
He also corrects commonly misunderstood biblical facts, like the Bible is political but not partisan, and that to be Christian is not only an interior state of heart, but an action, a way of life that calls for us to speak up. We are called to be more than “good”—also “just,” which includes speaking up.
He then describes with whom Jesus ministers: the oppressed. If we are to be like Jesus, we are also asked to be with Jesus where he ministers today: among today’s oppressed people of color.
What happened afterwards?
The good news?
“I had a bunch of people thank me for my courage in speaking this truth from my experience. No one outrightly got angry. No one left. I've had a couple of people come to talk to me to encourage me, but no one has challenged it. In fact, I think that they are seeing they can't attack my preaching…”
The bad news?
“…so the attacks are becoming more personal now. It's getting harder.”
We still need each other and need the support of other preachers. Which prompted Pastor Delhagen to offer to be a resource for you if you’d like to talk.
Write to me at lisa@backstorypreaching.com and I’ll get you connected.