A pastor is a poet and doesn’t even know it. This kitschy and childlike play of pastor as poet might seem an unusual claim. Yet to proclaim pastor as poet isn’t a petition for Sunday poetry presentations from the pulpit; rather, it is an acknowledgment of what is already true.
Preachers are charged with a lofty task. They ponder passages, piece together preaching, and aim to connect the day-to-day with the divine. Preachers, like poets, seek truth and meaning as they delve into what is good, true, and beautiful. Pastors, like poets, attempt to make sense of the human experience.
Whether through sermon or stanza, both poet and preacher must use the same medium for their craft: words.
Each is a wordsmith, a choreographer of language, an arranger of linguistics. Pastors wield words to wrestle with matters both raw and real. They contemplate the complexities of life and forage through truth to find the wisdom buried beneath. Whether from the pulpit or the page, they move the listener forward.
When pastors think of poems, they likely think of the book of Psalms. This famous collection written by King David overflows with bare emotion, honest reflection, and unfettered struggle. Yet, poetry isn’t confined to the Psalms. In fact, it makes up approximately a third of the Bible. The poetic Scriptures of Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon are often referred to as “humankind’s reach toward God.” In them, the writers grasp for connection with God through poetry. Think about that: The earliest preachers were poets. They were divinely inspired — often in verse — to communicate holy truth.
The modern-day pastor is simply following a long lineage of early biblical poets.
With so much poetry within the scriptures, it should follow that preachers can glean much from this literary genre themselves. There are a multitude of advantages to the pastor who wades in the words of poetry:
Poetry demands a slow pace.
One cannot speed-read a poem and garner its full potential. It must be taken in slowly, digested without haste. Poetry provides an opportunity for the pastor to grow in patience, to deliberate with intention, and to halt the hurry of everyday demands.
Poetry engages the creative imagination.
Poetry can elicit fresh insights in ways expository texts might miss. Poems are not prescriptive. Instead, they crack open a portal of curiosity. As the poet’s words meet the reader’s interpretation, an individual experience is born. The same can be said of Scripture. Effective preaching leans into this holy imagination.
Poetry develops linguistic skills.
Poems are drenched in rich vocabulary and literary devices. The poet selects each word deliberately and with intention. Literary devices, such as simile and metaphor, push ideas beyond the boundaries of their literal meaning. Jesus leaned heavily on metaphor in parables. He employed symbolism to connect the mundane to the mysterious. Whether a mustard seed, a lost coin, or a barren fig tree, Jesus’ metaphors demand the listener look beyond the literal words and into the richer meaning behind them.
In his recently released book, Word Made Fresh: An Invitation to Poetry for the Church, Abram Van Engen provides relatable stories and practical instruction regarding poetry, which he sees as a spiritual practice that can refresh one’s faith. Van Engen writes, “Poets use their art to sing new songs of all we have failed to notice. They name what we ignore.” This, too, is the call of the preacher: to remind us of things we have forgotten or failed to notice.
