the need of the hour: compassionate and culturally relevant preaching

It’s hard to believe we are already in 2026. After nearly thirty years in pastoral ministry, the start of a new year still fills me with a deep sense of joy, anticipation, and responsibility.  A new year invites prayerful reflection, intentional planning, and fresh discernment about where God is leading His people.

In recent weeks, I’ve found myself thinking often about our church members and their families—praying for the pressures they’re carrying, the questions they’re asking, and the cultural currents they’re navigating every day. More than ever, I’ve been asking how I, as a pastor, can better serve them in the year ahead—how preaching and shepherding can more faithfully meet their real needs with truth, compassion, and hope rooted in God’s Word.

At our first congregational Sunday of 2026, a guest speaker delivered an expository analysis of the two people in Luke 24 walking down the road to Emmaus shortly after Jesus’ death.  Jesus came up beside them, walked with them and had a compassionate, life-altering conversation with them.  The scripture tells us they “had hoped” Jesus was the promised Messiah, but after seeing him crucified, they now doubted.  How relatable is that, right?  They once were full of faith, but now were disappointed and downcast.  After challenging them to have a greater level of faith, he taught them, starting with “Moses and all the Prophets,” what scripture said about Jesus.  It changed them, so much so that their hearts were “burning within” them.  They begged Jesus to stay -  he disappeared, but not before leaving them changed and transformed.

Walking with people in their different levels of faith, doubt and fear.  Patiently teaching them, relating to them, and allowing the full scope of scripture (not our words or winsomeness) to burn inside their hearts.  That is ministry that meets people where they are and looks for ways to gently move them beyond it.

The Spirit keeps bringing me back to a very important idea: the need of the hour is for leaders and preachers like myself to offer compassionate and culturally relevant preaching. 

Every generation of the church is called to proclaim the unchanging gospel in a changing world. That calling has never been easy—but in our present cultural moment, it feels especially important. Rapid social change, political polarization, moral confusion, and digital noise have left many believers unsure how to confidently live out their faith. They are not asking for louder sermons or more combative rhetoric.  They’re also not asking for preaching that proclaims God’s word but offers little practical application.  They are asking for shepherds who will help them think, discern, and live biblically with courage and grace.

Too often, preaching leans in one of two directions. Some avoid the difficult issues altogether (believe me, I get that!), choosing safety over shepherding. Others engage cultural questions primarily through partisan or ideological lenses, offering answers that may energize a certain segment of the congregation but leave many feeling unheard or unseen. In both cases, the church’s people are left without what they most need: thoughtful, biblically grounded guidance that strengthens faith and forms Christlike character within themselves and their families.

What church members are craving is not compromise—but clarity delivered with compassion.

Speaking the Truth in Love

The apostle Paul offers a concise and compelling vision here: “Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (Ephesians 4:15).

Truth and love are not competing values; they are inseparable theological commitments. Truth without love can become rigid, harsh and alienating. Love without truth becomes sentimentality with no transforming power. Biblically resilient preaching refuses to choose between the two. It is courageous enough to address real issues and tender enough to remember the people sitting in the pews, each carrying their own questions, fears, and stories.

Culturally relevant preaching does not mean chasing trends or baptizing cultural values.  It doesn’t mean we address cultural topics every Sunday of the year – that would be downright exhausting.  It means understanding the questions people are actually asking and allowing Scripture to speak meaningfully into those questions.  It is preaching that acknowledges what our members are experiencing, and then draws them closer to a fuller picture of God. Jesus modeled this beautifully. He never softened the truth, but He always spoke it in a way that revealed the heart of the Father, especially to those who felt confused, marginalized, or burdened.

A Posture of Grace and Wisdom

Paul gives further guidance in Colossians 4:6: “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”

Notice the posture: gracious, thoughtful, discerning. This kind of preaching does not rely on being loud, offering trite slogans or soundbites. It takes time to unpack biblical principles, to show how God’s Word addresses human dignity, sin, redemption, and hope. It recognizes that cultural issues are often personal ones for the people listening—affecting their families, workplaces, friendships, and sense of identity.

Gracious preaching creates space for conviction without humiliation, for repentance without despair, and for obedience rooted in trust rather than fear. It invites believers to grow—not by shaming them into compliance, but by pointing them again and again to the wisdom and goodness of Christ.

Forming Discernment, Not Dependence

One of the great gifts pastors can offer their congregations is not simply answers, but discernment. When preaching consistently models careful engagement with Scripture, humility toward complex issues, and love for those who disagree, it trains the church to think Christianly in a confusing world.

This kind of preaching does not tell people what political party to belong to or which cultural tribe to join. Instead, it helps them ask better questions: What does faithfulness look like here? How does the gospel shape my loves, my words, and my actions? How do I hold conviction without contempt?

That is how resilient faith is formed—not through reaction, but through reflection rooted in God’s Word.

A Hopeful Calling

The moment we are living in is challenging—but it is also ripe with opportunity. People are hungry for truth that makes sense of their lives and hopeful enough to sustain them. The church is uniquely positioned to offer this—not by echoing the culture, nor by retreating from it, but by engaging it with the wisdom, humility, and the courage of Christ.

Compassionate and culturally relevant preaching is not a strategy for survival; it is a faithful expression of our calling. As we begin a new year, may we recommit ourselves to preaching that forms disciples who are both biblically grounded and deeply loving—people who know not only what they believe, but how to live it well in a complex world.

Allow me to offer a couple of helpful resources.  The first is a workshop called “Clear and Compassionate Preaching for Confusing Times.”  It is a series of three lessons designed to help leaders preach effectively today.  It can be offered in person, or over zoom.  For more information, send us a note HERE.

The second is my upcoming book called Biblically Resilient Parenting: Equipping Our Kids to Stand for God’s Truth.  Set to be released in about six weeks, it is an easy to understand guide for parents and leaders, helping understand the cultural waters our kids are swimming in, while equipping them to discern carefully where real truth is found.  To pre-order the book, CLICK HERE.

The need of the hour is clear. And by God’s grace, we are equipped to meet it.

Daren Overstreet

Daren is a Senior Leader at Anchor Point Church in Tampa, Florida.  He has been in ministry for nearly 30 years, and holds a Master’s Degree in Missional Theology

You can contact him at

daren@anchorpointtampa.org