preach like an artist

Earlier this year, I discovered the work of Austin Kleon, writer/blogger/artist. Through his blog and twitter feed, I've been introduced to things like sketchnotes and been inspired to write and doodle more; but the thing that caught my attention in the first place is "How To Steal Like An Artist."It's a blog post of a talk that is coming out as a book in March.


The piece has some great points and I've been thinking about how they apply to me as a preacher, as well as anyone else in the "business."So, I'll highlight some points from Kleon's manifesto along with my thoughts on how they apply to a homilist.
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1. Steal like an artist.
Kleon's first point is probably his best.

Here’s what artists understand. It’s a three-word sentence that fills me with hope every time I read it: Nothing is original.

Now, that may sound kind of cynical, but, when you really think about it, we all experience it. Our ideas don't come from a vacuum, they are the synthesis of our influences. That applies to writers and musicians - and preachers as well.


And thank God for that! If I had to come up with something completely new and original every week (every day, even), I would be completely overwhelmed. Fortunately for me (and the people that hear me), I get to use the influence of everything I read, every homily I hear and, most importantly, the Word Himself.
That's a distinction for priests: besides our fellow earthly preachers, we have the influence of the One who inspired the scriptures; we're not on our own.


So, to look at preaching through this lens, we take the best of everything - our experiences, our studies and our prayer - and those influences come together to help us create a homily.
It doesn't have to be "original" because we're not in the business of making things under our own power - we're delivering a message, in our voice, but with the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit.


One final point under this bit: Because we rely on these sources for our preaching, we have to collect from good sources: read good books (including good stories), watch good movies, listen to good music, remember our experiences and the experiences of others, and, above all, pray well. It's only in relationship to the Author that we can interpret his work.


3. Write the book you want to read.

The question every young writer asks is: “What should I write?” And the cliched answer is, “Write what you know.” This advice always leads to terrible stories in which nothing interesting happens. The best advice is not to write what you know, it’s write what you *like*. Write the kind of story you like best. We make art because we like art. All fiction, in fact, is fan fiction. The best way to find the work you should be doing is to think about the work you want to see done that isn’t being done, and then go do it. Draw the art you want to see, make the music you want to hear, write the books you want to read.

If you (preacher) were like me, you spent seminary thinking, "I never want to preach like that" or "That is how I want to preach."
We know what inspires us and what leaves us feeling let down. We should preach in a way that would inspire us as well as the people, because if we're not excited and passionate about what we're saying, the people who hear us will feel it.


Take all those feelings of being excited about getting the chance to preach about something and put them into a homily you would want to hear.


9. Be boring. It's the only way to get work done.
Very simply, making anything takes work and work takes discipline. Now, I'm the last person to lecture about procrastination, but when it comes down to it, preparation is incredibly important.
I remember a couple occasions in seminary when a goes preacher would admit that they hadn't thought about their homily ahead of time. I was always a little disappointed. There is always the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but I think we need to do our part as well.
No, that doesn't mean you need to an exegesis for a two minute daily Mass homily; but we can't leave these things to chance, trusting in our own creativity at the last minute.


Another great point by Kleon under being boring:

Take care of yourself. 

Eat breakfast, do some pushups, get some sleep.

10. Creativity is subtraction.

It’s often what an artist chooses to leave out that makes the art interesting. What isn’t shown vs. what is. In this age of information overload and abundance, those who get ahead will be the folks who figure out what to leave out, so they can concentrate on what’s important to them. Devoting yourself to something means shutting out other things. What makes you interesting isn’t just what you’ve experienced, but also what you haven’t experienced. The same is true when you make art: you must embrace your limitations and keep moving.

It's very tempting to put too much in a homily. I have all these great ideas and I want to share them; BUT, it's more important to make one good point that people will remember. As my homiletics teacher put it: if you don't know what your main point is, then your audience won't either.


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Those are my thoughts. I can't claim any special authority besides my own brief experience and a little bit of pondering. I think Kleon makes some great points that can be a benefit to anyone who creates for fun or as part of their job. For myself, I have to see my preaching as a creative act, as art.

To quote Austin:

All advice is autobiographical. 

It’s one of my theories that when people give you advice, they’re really just talking to themselves in the past. This list is me talking to a previous version of myself.