Why Clergy Text Study Groups Are A Really Bad Idea

Last updated on: October 15, 2019 at 10:22 pm by Clint Schnekloth

Why Clergy Text Study Groups Are A Really Bad Idea 2019-10-15T22:22:10-05:00 Clint Schnekloth

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

In a moment when overall participation in church-life is diminishing, it seems a natural inclination for church leaders to band together for text study. When you can’t find enough of your kind right around you, reach out farther until you’ve got a support group in place.

This is a natural inclination, but it isn’t a healthy one, especially for preachers. Let’s explore why.

First, think about how differently the life situation of clergy is from those listening to the sermon on Sunday morning. We know from read-response criticism that clergy more frequently imagine themselves into the text as religious leaders, or as Jesus, where as other hears enter (imaginatively) the biblical text as other characters.

Mark Allan Powell calls this narrative criticism, the goal of which is to determine the effects biblical stories are to have on their audience.

So, imagine. A group of clergy gather to discuss a biblical text as preparation for preaching on it. All of them experience the text out of their experience as clergy.

What’s missing from this scenario? Well, basically everybody else who isn’t a clergy person.

A group of clergy, discussing a biblical text, may very well bring along more equipment and academic resources for discussion than a non-clergy group. What they will lack is in way of thinking about the text in a non-churchy way.

If this is the primary way the text is considered, then preaching on it will totally miss the hearers come Sunday morning, or will at the very least aim to answer a variety of questions the actual assembly doesn’t have. Sure, most pastors engage the text in other ways also, but clergy text study groups seem strangely, well, abstracted.

Admittedly, I’m being somewhat provocative here in my approach, and especially in the title of the post. However, I’m not sure it’s that provocative. It’s more instructive. If you want your sermon to land, if you want to reach the text in a way that begins with the audience and its way of receiving the text, it’s probably best to spend time with the audience.

Sermon preparation integrated into regular daily life, regular church life, life spent with the people of God rather than set-apart clergy, is a solid approach.

In an era when the temptation will be to escape into special clergy spaces, all the more so. I’m noticing already in North American contexts a tendency for Christian clergy to do this. More and more, they’re taking time to travel and spend time at big clergy events, special ordinations, special installations.

In depictions of these moments, what I see mostly lacking is: the people of God.

I’m concerned about a certain kind of clericalism that is setting in. We should avoid it, but it will take some work, because it will mean leaning into our loneliness and discomfort.

Who should clergy do text study with? Well, basically everybody else other than clergy.

Previous Post

October 14, 2019

Liberal Churches, Fragile Seminaries, and Aging Social Movements

Next Post

October 16, 2019 Dorothee Soelle's Radical Political Evensong Credo

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category #blacklivesmatter advocacy Avengers baptisms Capitalism church growth clergy silence corporate ethics Creation Care Donald Trump elections Evangelicals Evangelism Friendship hermeneutics Immigration Intersex introverts Jesus Labor Liturgy Lutheran MLK Jr. New urbanism Pentecost philanthropy Poem political theology Post-program church Prayer private devotion Reformation Refugees sacraments Scripture Secularity Sin small church social media Sovereignty Trauma-Informed Theology travel Trump Uncategorized wealth white supremacy Workers worship Youth

Select a Month January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 January 2016 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 May 2014 March 2014 June 2013 January 2013 December 2011 December 2010 February 2005 February 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: Rahab was a prostitute who helped the Israelite spies in Jericho.

Select your answer to see how you score.

TRUE FALSE

Books by This Author Books by Clint Schnekloth

See All Titles »