Preaching and Intimacy: Preparing the Message and the Messenger

Intimacy has multiple meanings for preaching. It affirms the crucial role a messenger has in the message. It is the quality that helps to establish a relationship between the hearer and the speaker. It is a "holistic" approach to preaching. Designed to help both the student and the practicing minister communicate more effectively, Preaching and Intimacy begins with the preacher as a person before moving through the components that are essential to preaching. Preaching and Intimacy gives attention to a minister's relationship with God, his/her feelings about himself/herself, how to imaginatively engage a biblical text, how to think of the listeners, and how to use these tools to address and deliver a sermon. Emphasis is put on the preacher's investment in the sermon so that when it is spoken, it is authentic and real.

Charles B. Bugg is the Kenneth Chafin Professor of Preaching and Director of Chevis Horne Center for Preaching and Worship at the Baptist Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia.