Preaching after Nietzsche

I have been sitting in on an existentialism class at the local university. The professor is a little too taken with critiques of religion, but other than that it's a good class.

Anyway, after reading and discussing Nietzsche, I think I know why I am uncomfortable with focusing on application in preaching. Nietzsche wants to rescue the individual from the herd mentality that he sees created in Christianity. He thinks Christianity creates weak people who are then controlled by "morality," "the good," etc. He desires, instead, that the individual be regained and empowered to critique, among other things, religion.

When I focus on application in preaching, what comes to mind is the herd mentality: one person directing a group of people how to live out (on a good Sunday) a biblical text. I think this falls into the trap of following not the Spirit, but the preacher--who may be a decent person, but who certainly doesn't have the corner on the Spirit. I have been trying, instead of applications, to offer implications of the text. What questions should I bring to the Spirit with regard to my life/character/choices in light of this biblical passage and its place in the shaping of God's people?

It's easy to think that people need more direction: they need a preacher to spell it out for them; they need to be led to the edge of the water. It's likely they do, but the role of preaching is limited. Pastoring will likely include some of this more applied direction, which is why I think Nietzsche's critique must be heard, but then overcome. This post is titled "Preaching after Nietzsche," not "Pastoring after Nietzsche."