After several years of thought I finally have started podcasting my Sunday morning sermons. As one who listens to a number of podcasts each week, I know that there are also some really bad podcasts out there. It takes a bit of ego in order to put yourself out on the web, to think that you have something to say, when in fact there are a hundred thousand other podcasts out there, all put out by people who think that they have something to say. I'm not expecting my podcast to rocket up the iTunes chart list, but neither do I think that I have nothing to say.
The very act of preaching is based on the belief that God has called me to speak something to people that they need to hear. As most of us who preach are not really 'prophetic' in the sense that suddenly a feeling comes over us that makes us think we can't control ourselves, we choose to preach. Some of us even do it for a living. Each week we need to have enough nerve to stand up and say, 'listen to me, because God wants you to hear something'. I continue to preach, even though I wonder if people listen, because I still feel called to do so.
So why not podcast? In this day and age technology offers us the opportunity to let our sermons go out to a wider audience than only those sitting in the pews on a Sunday morning. For many years preachers have had their sermons carried through the printed word (once upon a time, even in city newspapers!), over radio and TV waves, and now through computers. Some churches even livestream their entire service over the internet to be watched (and participated with) by people on the other side of the planet. Amazing that people will listen far away, even when people in your own town (or even your own church) are not listening.
When I was considering starting this I polled some Facebook friends to see what they thought. More than a few were not sure what a podcast was; it's not as widespread as I thought it would be. One friend, an old college roommate, told me thought that this might be an ego trip, and perhaps he's right. He also mentioned that maybe it is like another faulty form of 'evangelism', something where we think it's what people want to hear when in fact people couldn't care less. Maybe it is...but then again, there are enough people who actually want to hear me speak that they will share the sermons (or knowledge) they hear with those who are not believers. It's not that I have a great ability in my own, but God does use me to his service for whatever reason.
So...the podcast is alive. And we'll see if anybody actually listens.
