Here's What I'm Trying to Say

And in a soft whisper and almost tired breath, the preacher looks out from her notes and says –

Here is what I am trying to say . . .

From a seminary preaching professor's standpoint, this phrase may get you an C+.

But I've learned over the years this phrase can be the best part of the sermon for the listener. “Now that I have said all that – here is what I am trying to say!” It’s like a trigger. The sermon is almost over. She’s making her last point! It may or may not be a good one but it is almost over.

I have a memory of when I preached for one of the first times in a church that was not my home church. They were really sweet and they knew my New Testament professor and asked him to send someone good. Well, instead, he asked me to go. At twenty years old having the holy task of bringing forth a word from God that intervenes and intercepts the lives of believers and offers hope for a future is more or less missed. Instead, at twenty I saw this as an opportunity for them to listen to what I had to say.

36 minutes later . . . I said the magic phrase, “Here is what I am trying to say!” My brother in row four looked at me with exhaustion and smiled. That smile meant one thing, “Thank the Lord he’s done.” He could almost taste the lunch that was coming fifteen minutes later than it should.

So really the phrase can go either way. It is rarely used by good preachers but when it is it triggers the meaning of the moment. It is used by bad preachers to wrap up a stumbling, incoherent, and usually too long diatribe.

But in truth preaching is an art. It really is an attempt for a preacher to say what she or he thinks God is saying. It is built around listening intently for a word from God and being bold enough to stand before peers and loved ones not as a political salesperson but as a humble servant of God Almighty.

Preachers are given the task to invite you into a holy moment in time. A time where all things stand still and you are left alone before God. Good preachers take you to the cross, the empty tomb, the center of your soul, and before the throne - simultaneously. They word things with such craft that with every word you feel the power of the spirit inside you. And it seems effortless when done right.

Good preaching changes lives. It triggers us to listen to God, ourselves, and life in a new way. A better way. Our heart, mind, and soul - for a moment - become one.

So if you ever get to preach - remember - it is a holy task. And if you say, "here's what I'm trying to say" after a less than abbreviated attempt don't beat yourself up - every preacher has crashed and burned more than she or he cares to share.

I know my congregation would agree!