New preaching module focuses on technology

Preach the Word (PTW), the Synod’s program for fostering excellence in preaching, has released its fifth module: “The Use of Technology in Preaching.” The module’s goal, as stated in the activity guide, is to consider how best to “leverage … new technologies and platforms for the task of preaching.”

Module presenter Rev. Matt Peeples, senior pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Ridgewood, N.J., and director of The Kairos Network, notes the explosion of communications technology in recent years: “We have not seen a … shift this drastic since the Reformation. Today the average person can literally broadcast a message to the world.”

In the first segment, Peeples asks participants to put aside any preconceived notions about technology, observing that “technology is neutral — it’s what you do with it that matters.” The remainder of the segment considers both theological and practical questions related to the use of technology in preaching, and the second and third segments invite participants to consider their own congregational context and the technology that might be useful to preaching in that context.

Topics covered in earlier modules of PTW are “The Use of Story in Preaching,” “The Use of Biblical Text in Sermon Preparation,” “Delivering the Gospel Live and in Person” and “Applying God’s Word into People’s Lives.”

Future modules will cover missions, the Sacraments, sermon structure, post-Christian context, catechetical preaching, the Baptismal life, and Law and Gospel.

PTW is a voluntary program for LCMS pastors who want to improve their preaching. Participants typically work together in groups of three, known as “triads,” viewing and discussing video training modules on topics related to preaching and later applying what they have learned to their own preaching.

For more information and to access the modules along with the activity and leader guides, click here.

Posted June 6, 2018