Everyone Has a Sermon: On the Decentralized Future of Preaching

In this interview excerpt with Rev. Dr. Katie Givens Kime, Rev. Dr. Mark Jefferson of Howard University School of Divinity challenges traditional notions of preaching and offers a powerful vision for a decentralized future of ministry. Dr. Jefferson explains why the public square is ripe for preaching and how every individual can find their unique voice to proclaim messages of faith and hope.
 

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Rev. Dr. Mark Jefferson: "If I'm doing my job as a teacher of preaching, I'm not just teaching ordained people how to preach.

The public square should be preaching; we don't need a Dr. King figure to do all the preaching for all the people. We don't. That mode is appreciated, but it has its limitations. Now people have their own voices, they have their own microphones, they have their own everything. And so it's not about, can we help people figure this out? It's more about how can we get in the cadre of voices of people who are raising critical questions about faith and our time? And offer something that's worthy of consideration. And not assuming that people have to listen to us—if we're not talking about the things that matter, how can we assume that people should listen to us?"

Rev. Dr. Katie Givens Kime: "Do you think everyone has a sermon in them?"

Rev. Dr. Mark Jefferson: "Always. I think there are so many things that can happen to our sermon. My homiletical perspective is that the sermon is not the document that you prepare—that's your prompt—but you are the sermon.

Like the text says that we are living epistles, all right. So, we're the sermon. What I write is a prompt to help me to bear witness in the event of preaching, but what I wrote is not the sermon.

I'm the sermon and my feet are the pulpit. The pulpit isn't this big oak thing over there in the corner that only special people get a chance to stand behind. A lot of that has been decentralized, and I think that's where the future is. The future belongs to the people."

Reflection:

Dr. Jefferson’s words remind us that the act of preaching can be a calling for all believers to embody their faith, share their stories, and raise critical questions that resonate with the needs of our time. What does it mean to see yourself as the sermon? How can we use our platforms—big or small—to speak truth and hope into the world?

Read the Full Sermon Transcript:

Explore Rev. Dr. Mark Jefferson’s full sermon, “What Have You Done?” aired in episode 4157, to dive deeper into his message.

👉 Read the Sermon Transcript >>>