Soles for souls
I have just been preparing my latest session for the preaching module in the Equipped to Minister course at Spurgeon’s College. It is always a privilege to teach the course – since I find myself faced with a group of individuals so motivated to learn that they will devote two whole Saturdays to lectures and many hours to writing assignments in order to do so. We cover both theory and technique; both preparation and delivery. At some point the question of what to wear usually comes up. My rule of thumb has always been ‘don’t let it be the thing which people remember’. The rule applies to both overdressing and under-dressing. What about footwear, though?
- Should I wear trainers, designed for speed so that I can race through the sermon and hardly feel the impact?
- Should I wear hiking boots – stout and supportive enough to keep me going for the long haul?
- Should I wear wellies, sure to protect me from anything messy through which I have to wade?
- Should I wear something which makes me just a little taller – a centimeter or two above contradiction?
- Should I wear combat boots, tightly laced and ready for battle?
- Should I wear sandals, since they were (probably) good enough for Jesus?
- Should I go barefoot – and rely on confidence to get me through, like a firewalker on hot coals?
Centuries ago tribespeople in the Amazonian forests discovered that latex tapped from a tree could make a good covering for the foot. Once dry, it could form a shoe like a second skin. Oddly, though, it is only if held over fire long enough to vulcanize that it would be hard-wearing. I wonder who, if anyone, first stretched their feet to the fire and left them there long enough to find that out?
Preachers need to grip the ground beneath them well enough to make sure that they do not slip – especially as they may have many people roped to them when they do so. They need to wear something with thin enough soles that they can feel the rocky ground on which everyone treads. Maybe they need something shiny enough to see their own (slightly distorted) reflection when they look down? Whatever they wear – it must be proved in the fire, like those early Amazonian boots.
If you preach today, may you be sure-footed and shod with soles for souls.
