Reader Recommendation: “I’m Learning to Let Go of ‘Preaching Pretty’”
Recommended by: The Proclamation Project
Why it might be helpful: Rev. Julian DeShazier, pastor of University Church in Chicago, reflects on how his preaching is changing to be less formal and polished and more raw and available to his listeners. This article will help preachers think about their own preaching in a new light.

“I’m Learning to Let Go of ‘Preaching Pretty’” is a short, honest essay by Rev. Julian DeShazier published in The Christian Century. DeShazier reflects on his own shift away from preaching that is impressive, oratorically polished, and formally complete — toward a kind of preaching that is more open, more vulnerable, and more genuinely present to the congregation. It is the kind of self-examination that is rare in preaching literature: a working pastor naming out loud what he is unlearning and why.

For Disciples preachers, the essay raises questions that apply far beyond DeShazier’s own context: What does the congregation actually need from the preacher? What gets in the way of genuine connection? Is there a kind of competence in preaching that can become a barrier to proclamation? Short enough to read in a single sitting, the essay is a useful prompt for personal reflection or a preaching group conversation.

Read it

You might also find helpful:

• Preaching and Neurodivergence — A webinar on preaching with an understanding that all people have different ways of being in the world.
• The Sound of the Genuine — Dr. Frank Thomas’s keynote on honesty and vulnerability as the foundation of authentic preaching.
• Recovering the Soul of Preaching Through Rest — A reflection on renewal and sustainability for preachers navigating the long demands of ministry.

Reader Recommendations are submitted by Disciples preachers and are not created or fully reviewed by the Proclamation Project.