The one about me spedning the day with Fred Craddock....

with several other pastors...but I ate with him, heh....

So who is Fred Craddock?



Well, I believe that he is one of the premier narrative preachers in the world. When I was in Seminary I found out that the seminary kept all of the sermons that have ever been preached (that they recorded) on tape! So, then I went to one of my heroes who I consider to be on the same list mentioned above (for traditional preaching, of course)


Dr. Kalas (who was one of my professors and mentors @ Asbury Seminary)

and I asked Kalas who were the premier narrative preachers still alive today..and he mentioned two others, Craddock and


Haddon Robinson (but this is not about either one of those...yet, heh)

So, anyway I went to the tape archive section and copied everyone from both of them...and I only had maybe 20, heh.... but I listened to them all and even though my favorite sermon of the bunch was Haddon....I loved the amazing gift of the good news given through the person of Fred!

So what was his wisdom? Well, when searching his name I found someone in Georgia that gave an amazing summary of the same stuff that I am sure Dr. Craddock gave to him with another group somewhere else...so here are his main points..but to love Craddock is to love his stories more than just his points...so here are the pints and all the good quotes will follow, heh....

Craddock offered 13 statements about preaching. Here they are:
1. Respect and come to love the hours of study in the preparation of a sermon. The discipline of study brings freedom.
2. Pay close attention to words; study them, respect them, love them.
3. Have a clear grasp of anthropology. In other words, understand deeply your view of humankind. How you view people informs your sermon.
4. Create high expectations.
5. If possible--find a governing image or metaphor.
6. Build anticipation in all your ministry.
7. Be able to state the sermon in one sentence.
8. Facilitate conversation between the congregation and Scripture.
9. Be flexible with the many layers of Scripture. There is usually more than one way to understand and present a text.
10. Populate sermons with people--people with names.
11. Create materials to make your sermon more real.
12. Develop and maintain balance in your life.
13. Live with a understanding distance of God. Talking with God that authorizes talking about God.

So that is a great list to take to heart.....but if you just heard that you would have fallen asleep, here is the stuff you would have loved!!!:

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A question he always asks:
What do I think I am doing when I am preaching?

Preaching should be a habit/discipline BUT MUST contain reflection
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He talked about Chaim Perelman a man who is an author of rerhetoric not preaching). And Craddock said this"
“Good communication, is making the absent present”. If listeners can see something, then it is persuasive. He gives and example of a Chinese emperor standing in the entrance of the palace. He watches some men taking an ox to its death for sacrifice. The emperor said, “Stop turn it loose and go get a sheep!” So the men asked the emperor, “Emperor, do you prefer sheep over oxen for sacrifices?” And the emperor replied, “No, it is just that I can see the ox”.
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We must help people see it!!!

This thought is exactly what the Bible does. For instance when Abraham is on the Mt. who is on the Mt.? Abraham, Isaac, and YOU!!!

Same thing is for: Garden of Gethsemane, at the cross you hear him say, “take my mother home”, wilderness, transfiguration, etc…. YOU were allowed to be them, hear them, see them!

Do we as preachers allow the people to see and hear the event/Bible? If we do and can then it will be persuasive. And the persuasion will cause action.
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Something important to Craddock when he thinks about preaching is that the sermon 1. must get the scripture straight. (knowledge), 2. AND it must be powerful, (then he gaver a en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Lear">King Lear quote, “My heart is in the coffin with Cesar, and I must pause until it returns me”) there is power in those words...he could have said, "I just miss him, give me a few minutes", but instead Shakespear uses power, and those words force pause, awe, and beauty!
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The other example is:
Robert Goulet - If Ever I Would Leave You Lyrics
From the show "Camelot" (1960)
(Alan Jay Lerner / Frederick Loewe)

If ever I would leave you
It wouldn't be in summer.
Seeing you in summer I never would go.
Your hair streaked with sun-light,
Your lips red as flame,
Your face witha lustre
that puts gold to shame!

But if I'd ever leave you,
It couldn't be in autumn.
How I'd leave in autumn I never will know.
I've seen how you sparkle
When fall nips the air.
I know you in autumn
And I must be there.

And could I leave you
running merrily through the snow?
Or on a wintry evening
when you catch the fire's glow?

If ever I would leave you,
How could it be in spring-time?
Knowing how in spring I'm bewitched by you so?
Oh, no! not in spring-time!
Summer, winter or fall!
No, never could I leave you at all!

Why not let Robert Goulet get on stage and just say, “I won’t leave you.”? (It is not knowledge, but power that makes it, IT!) (my quote is in parenthesis)

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Now I will take a pause here and say thank you to J.D. Walt. I have for quite sometime read many of his poems that he blogs all the time...and while I loved them...I never knew why and I just did not ever really "get it"......until now....so Thank you J.D....and keep them coming... I just wish I was good with words...and I really do not think that I am....but I do like photos, heh...OK back to the Craddock blog post.....

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Ok There will be more to come..but I am just too tired to keep going...yall take care and God bless yall! Next Craddock post will include a lot of one sentence wisdom!

Yall have a great night!