Grow In Preaching
By Pastor Lee Hemen
June 30, 2023
One of things that has always frustrated me as a Christian and a pastor is that far too many pastors think they do not have to mature in their preaching skills. They will pound their pulpits to try and get their listeners to mature in their faith practices of prayer, Bible reading, witnessing and biblical knowledge but never address their own shortcoming of truly stagnant preaching.
I was shocked when I went to listen to a fellow pastor preach and his style was exactly the same as when he graduated from seminary some thirty years ago! There are few pastors who would desire their congregations to remain spiritually stunted for thirty years, yet find no problem with their own stunted growth in being able to preach the word of God that truly meets the needs of their listeners today. This should not happen.
Pastors often preach on what Paul wrote Timothy, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15 NIV84)” And do so to enforce the notion that Christians should be able to know and understand the Scriptures, but often fail themselves to be able to handle what they are preaching. Paul was trying to teach Timothy to work on him being able to correctly handle God’s truth. We fail as pastors when we never grow or mature in being able to preach the world of God effectively. It takes more than just falling back of the old heresy of relying on the Holy Spirit, and I say this because I’ve often heard this but what it really means is that many are too lazy to actually work at being better in their speaking and preaching.
No athlete or professional ever developed the skills they have without constant practice, personal physical development, and honing of skills. Why are so many pastors mentally and intellectually lazy when it comes to their sermons on Sunday? It is laziness to not do the work of knowing what is happening in the world today and to be able to relate to your listeners how to live their faith out in both practical and spiritual ways. To be able to give them consistent biblical and spiritually palpable answers for today’s world. If you are using illustrations from a book, that are hundreds of years old, or do not relate to your listeners – you’ve failed yourself, your calling, and your congregation. What sounded fine in 2001 may not work in 2023! And believe me if you are still using a 1990’s style of preaching to reach today’s people, you’ve not communicating well at all.
It takes time, hard work, and a willingness to take a hard look at yourself and your style to see if you need to do something better. I know, I had to do this constantly myself. I read and hear often that the church today is losing the next generation. It is not just the fault of the people in the pews because it begins with the person in the pulpit. Fellow pastors hear me here and understand I write this just as Paul did to his friend and fellow pastor Timothy. We are to do our best to present ourselves to God as pastors approved, workmen who do not need to be ashamed and who correctly handle the word of truth! And it is more than just reading a commentary or the latest Christian fad book. Have someone video you, then critically rewatch it yourself and take notes on what you could do better. Have others who do not go to your church watch it and give you honest feedback. Read or take some online classes on how to do better public speaking, be aware of the what is going on in the world – the latest fads, music, movies, books, and the what, why, when and where. This does not mean you need to agree with it, but you need to be aware of it. And, yes, it can be hard to listen to others critic your sermon, but it can be truly helpful if you are willing to mature through the process. Record on TV or go to other worship services by other pastors in different churches and denominations to see what they are doing.
Stop preaching to hear yourself preach. Shorten your sermons, longer does not mean better it often means you are meandering looking for a way to mercifully end it. As one pastor told me years ago, “Stand up, speak up, sit down, and shut up.” It’s as simple as knowing that if you cannot state in one easy understandable sentence what you are preaching, you’ve lost your listeners.
Dear brothers in Christ, I urge you to grow in your faith and knowledge of the Lord, but I encourage you to grow in your preaching as well.
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This article is copyrighted © 2023 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
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