Preaching

Mission

         Monthly

Last month we looked at how we can improve our buildings and services – this month we move to the core issue – the sermon. Jesus was a superb communicator, demanding a response from His hearers. But, all too often, the main response in our churches will be a wave of apathy, even the gentle snore. What can we do to change this?

Let me start by saying I do not believe the day of the sermon is over. It remains a great way of putting across truth. And if anyone says to you, people are not prepared to sit and listen for more than ten minutes, take them along to a stand-up comedian's show. People will sit through hours of what is, basically, a talking head – one person, reflecting on life. There is nothing wrong with 21st century man's listening skills. But there is occasionally something wrong with what we are asking 21st century man to listen to.

Contemporary preachers face some stiff opposition, not least from the television.  Subconscious comparisons are going on in the minds of our congregations!  And they may well have been to hear a famous preacher the night before who is ‘on tour’, been listening to their CD in the car on the way to work.  So, here you are at 11 a.m. on a Sunday morning, seeing if you can compete with the secular and spiritual giants of communication.  So far, so discouraging!

Of course, as a local preacher you do have some advantages:  You can address community needs, relate to individuals you know and apply your material to specific situations.  No television personality or visiting Christian celebrity can come near your abilities in these areas.

All of us can think carefully about our communication skills and the vast majority of us can improve our presentations significantly.  But how?

For a start, think visually. People will concentrate better, and for longer, if they have something to look at.

Use Power Point, at least for your text and main points.  And remember, you are your own best (or worst) visual aid: think carefully about what you wear.  Don’t forget movement and gesture – be natural but be animated. Next, be ready to vary things: your voice, your content, your approach. Encourage questions, plant a heckler, have group discussions. Notice what holds your attention when you hear other speakers – and also what makes you start thinking of other things. And get your voice checked out – even consider elocution lessons. They worked for David Watson.

Invite response – what do you want people to do as a result of listening to you? There has to be more to it than just learning extra information. We are looking to see lives changed through our preaching – people responding to what we have said.  This means, of course, that we must make it clear what we are expecting them to do. Preaching in the pulpit must lead to action in the pew.

The previous paragraphs are based on some assumptions.  They assume that we are keen to communicate to the world as it is, not as it was fifty years ago; that we want our message to be heard and understood by modern men and women and that we are prepared to work hard at this aspect of the art of preaching.  As Martin Lloyd-Jones wrote, in the last century, ‘I would say that a “dull preacher” is a contradiction in terms; if he is dull he is not a preacher.’

Also assumed is the need for prayerful preparation and careful study.  No amount of communication technique can replace a systematic analysis of God’s Word in the study and a thoughtful exposition of it in the pulpit.  The Bible still has its ancient power; let loose, it will still accomplish supernatural results.

In addition, though the skills and ideas described above are very important, they are not the most important things.  These most important things would include openness to God’s Spirit and faithfulness to his Word.

As we move well into the twenty-first century, we are confronted with two desperate needs.

We need preachers with genuine passion – not pedlars of sentiment and emotionalism which masquerade as passion, but men and women with fire in their bellies and hearts overflowing with love for a lost world; people sold out to the task of bringing sinners to salvation and saints to maturity through their preaching.  John Stott puts it this way: And we need preachers with a sense of awe.  We need more preachers to have a genuine fear of God, a healthy view of their own unworthiness and a deep sense of humility. 

(first published in the Baptist Times July 2010)