Preaching the Good News in My Own Voice
Brian Tarver is a senior in the Master of Divinity program at Seminary of the Southwest. Brian comes to the seminary from the Diocese of Texas.
Armed with our best sermons, four classmates and I headed off to Virginia for preaching camp. At least it felt a lot like camp with splitting into groups, meeting new people from other schools, and participating in workshops. The Preaching Excellence Program offers seminarians the opportunity to improve their sermon skills and encounter preachers from other seminaries. While all of the workshops and speakers were of great assistance, the most influential aspect of the PEP conference was the ability to listen to sermons. Some people might cringe at the thought of hearing 20 sermons in four days, but for this church nerd, this preaching festival helped me to understand my own brand of preaching. With a variety of styles and perspectives, I learned techniques from others that would fit into my own style. Also, the feedback on my own preaching opened my eyes to some things I did not know needed changing. When a congregation leaves a service and shakes the hand of the preacher, “good sermon” typically summarizes most of the comments. Getting constructive feedback on preaching can be difficult. The PEP conference structured small group time in a way that allows for each preacher to get helpful feedback.
