A layman’s advice to preachers
February 12th, 2007I’m not a preacher. Though I’ve done it a few times, preaching is not what I’m called to do, nor do I consider myself to be any kind of expert in sermon preparation.
I do, however, know a few things about what preaching should be. Just as you don’t have to be a chef to know if the food you’re eating tastes good, you don’t have to be a preacher to know if the sermon you’re hearing has any value.
So to those of you who are preachers, here’s one layman’s encouragement and advice to you as you proclaim the Word of God to God’s people.
1. Preach the Bible. That sounds simple enough, but sadly, it’s growing more and more uncommon in today’s pulpits. And when I say “preach the Bible,” I don’t mean “Pick a topic and tell me what the Bible says about it.”
Instead, pick a text from Scripture – any text will do – then tell me what that text means and how it applies to my life. I desperately need a deeper understanding of Scripture. Give it to me.
2. Preach the gospel. I’ve listened to too many sermons where the gospel was nowhere to be found. What I need more than anything in my life is the gospel. I need to be reminded of what God did for me through the work of Jesus Christ. If your sermons don’t include any mention of the gospel, then you have failed your listeners.
If I’m ever at a point where I’ve moved beyond the gospel, I’m in a bad place. So please don’t think that just because I’m a Christian, I don’t need to hear the gospel anymore. I need to hear it every day. I need to hear it in every sermon. Don’t leave it out.
3. Talk less about yourself and more about God. Too many times after I’ve listened to a sermon, I could tell you quite a bit about the preacher, but precious little about God. There’s nothing wrong with using personal examples from time to time, but keep it to a minimum.
As an I example, I can cite a sermon I heard about a year ago from Vance Pitman, pastor of Hope Baptist Church in Las Vegas. Vance was preaching at a conference I attended. I’d never heard him before and didn’t know anything about him. After the first time I heard him preach, I still didn’t know anything about him – but I knew more about God. He exalted the Lord in his message, and not himself. Follow this pattern, and your listeners will benefit.
4. Don’t tell me about the Greek and the Hebrew all the time. Yes, I think studying Greek and Hebrew has value. Greek was one of my majors in college, so I know how valuable it can be. But while it’s OK for you to study the Greek or the Hebrew in your sermon preparation, you don’t need to make it a point to inform your listeners of that. Constantly referring to Greek and Hebrew words and constructions comes across as arrogant.
And please, if the Greek word means the same as the English word, don’t spend 10 minutes dissecting the language to tell me that.
5. Keep the humor to a minimum. Too many preachers think it’s their job to get their listeners to laugh. It’s not. Your job is to proclaim to them the Word of God. If you spend the first 10 minutes of your sermon telling jokes, and I’ve heard preachers do this too many times, you’re telling me that you don’t have anything important to say.
There’s nothing wrong with interjecting humor from time to time. But when you’re finished preaching, what I should remember most is what you had to say about God – not the joke I heard you tell.
6. Have a structure to your message. Don’t just give me a running commentary about the passage on which you’re preaching. Decide what the main points of the text are, and build your sermon around those main points. Clearly listing your main points makes it easier for the listener to follow what you’re saying.
7. Don’t read your sermon. When it’s time to preach, I hope the sermon is so burned into your heart and mind that you don’t have to read it verbatim. Using notes is fine, but you’ll lose your listeners if you stand up and read.
8. Believe what you’re saying. Preach with emphasis and earnestness. Make me think you believe in the importance of what you’re saying. If you speak like you’re bored with your subject matter, don’t expect me to be interested.
I’m grateful to God that for most of my life, I’ve been blessed to listen to men regularly whose preaching was exalting to Christ and challenging to me. My father was the first one who fit that description. My pastor now, Lee Tankersley, does as well.
I respect the position that pastors and preachers hold. Your work is important. It has eternal ramifications. Listeners like me need for you to take your task seriously, as the wellbeing of our souls is at stake.
May God help you to fulfill what He’s called you to do.
Well put Tim!
If you approach preaching in this way there is no need to download someone else’s sermon!
Tim,
Fantastic observations, especially the point about humor outshining the message.
Tim,
Would you also include that for pastors preaching in the church, the main point of the message is for building up the saints, not “getting them saved?”
I agree that the presentation of the Gospel to unbelievers should be included but hopefully most of the congregation are believers who need a deeper knowledge of God and how to live out the Gospel.
Thanks for the list….it’s really good.
Bill,
Yes, I’d say that for pastors preaching in the church, the main point is for building up the saved. However, that’s the beauty of the gospel — it’s not just for those who are lost, but for those of us who are saved as well. That’s what I mean when I say “preach the gospel.” Even if you’re preaching to a congregation full of regenerate people, the gospel should always be present.
Excellent list Tim!
9. If it won’t get you kicked out of a synagogue, it’s not a Christian sermon. I can’t tell you how many sermons I’ve heard that make little or no mention of Jesus. Um, hello?! Whether you’re preaching on Genesis, the Psalms, Obadiah or Philemon, the ultimate point of what you say had better be Jesus.
Well said, Peter. That correlates to what I said in number 2, although you expressed it much better.
Amen. Now, if we can just get those in positions of elders/pastors/overseers to read this list and implement it, the church today would be a lot healthier.
j razz
Good words Tim.
I’d say that the list is pretty much the same for Bible study teachers. I’ve visited a lot of SS classes where there is just almost nothing going on.
I remember many classes where the teacher simply read from the quarterly!
Chaucer said it best about preachers using their own lives: about the country parson, he said, “First he would do, then he would teach.” Deal with the Scripture’s message in your own life before you have the gumption to tell others what to do with it.
What is the quarterly?
Peter,
Serious or smiley face?
Today’s quarterly would be whichever edition of “40 Dazed Porpoises” the Assimilation Minister has dictated.
amen!
Serious. I think. Some SBC inside thing?
A good link to an article written back in ‘93 which mentions the quarterly. It is a good, short read
j razz
Good observations from a preacher here.
Thanks for these encouraging words, Tim. As a preacher I appreciate that someone out there wants to here the Word of God, Christ, and the gospel. I’m new here and this was the first post of yours I have read. I’ll definitely be back.
You also forgot to mention not using the “preacher voice.” I’m not sure if there is anything more anoying to listen to than one of those “preacher voice” guys.
“I agree that the presentation of the Gospel to unbelievers should be included but hopefully most of the congregation are believers who need a deeper knowledge of God and how to live out the Gospel.”
I’m stunned that no one has commented on the above comment. Why should ANY Christian hope that a church be filled with mostly believers? Is our edification more important than their salvation?
Please see Acts 2, esp. 41 and 47–models non-believers hearing the Word and coming into the fellowship of believers.
Good list. As far as number 7 goes, remember that one of the most effective sermons of all time, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” was read right off the written page by Jonathan Edwards.
Actually, John, I’ve been told by a church historian who knows his stuff that it’s a myth that Edwards read his sermons.
TS,
And when they then are believers, what do we do with them? Certainly you are not saying that those who were baptized in v. 41 remained unbelievers. The preaching of Peter in Acts 2 was not to an organized congregation, but rather Jews who were unaware that Messiah had come, gathered in Jerusalem for Pentecost (among other reasons) so your example is totally out of context with my statement. And certainly you aren’t saying that the only preaching to be done should be for the salvation of lost souls, are you?
I say that edification(discipling) is the focus of the corporate church meeting for the preaching service. Primary work for the evangelism of unbelievers happens in other venues, both individual and corporate.
Your citations tell us what happened when Peter preached to unbelievers (primarily). They became believers, by God’s gracious salvation, and then were fellowshipping. That’s just one example of preachng, NOT the model for all preaching. Other examples are the instruction of believers in who God is, the sinless perfection of Jesus, how believers are to live holy lives. In fact, Paul, Peter, and John mostly address the believer.
Pastors should be exhorting the membership (believers!!) to take the Gospel message to the outside world. And teaching them MORE about this gracious, loving, forgiving God and His power, majesty, judgement, wrath, mercy, etc., will motivate believers to share this wonderful Good News. Yes, invite your unbelieving friends to church, but YOU should be the one explaining the Gospel to them, not your pastor. The church IS for the edification of the saints and the building up of the body. See all of Ephesians, esp. 4:1-32, and Hebrews 5:11-16.
I’ve been out with the flu, but glad to catch this great post. Thanks for the encouragement to keep on! Preachers are often under pressure to deviate from this good standard of biblical preaching.
I agree with you 100% TS. I learned a long time ago, though, that i am greatly out numbered on this blog when it comes to views on evangelism and the goals of Sunday morning service. You do have one guy (at least) in your corner though.
Nick and TS:
To disagree you must make your point with Scripture. Bill Nettles wrote rather extensively (as much as possible on a blog comment) refuting the idea that worship gatherings are primarily evangelistic. His arguements were made from the Scripture. As evangelicals we cannot disagree simply because “that’s what I think.”
Your perspective clearly is derived from the pragmatic approach of the ill-conceived “seeker-service” movement and not the Scripture.
I’m not trying to pick a fight, brothers. But evangelicalism is in great danger because “every man is doing what seems right in his own eyes.”
At any rate, great post Tim.
“Though I’ve done it a few times, preaching is not what I’m called to do”
My good friend, with all due respect, this one single sentence kind of discounts the rest of what you have to say. If you have preached without being called to, how high can your view of preaching be? I don’t mean to be discrediting you, but I would like to hear an answer to this…
Blake
I really didn’t think it was necessary and thought it was pretty obvious, but I guess not.
Preaching is not what I’m called to do on a regular or full-time basis.
How’s that?
My Good Friend Tim,
I think we just have a majorly different view on the office of pastor. I am still trying to figure out what makes a normal, ordinary man into God’s anointed minister of His Word, able to speak with authority and conduct the corporate, Covenant worship of God. I know there are many different traditions that say different things about how someone is made a pastor, but I think we can all agree that no man has any business preaching other than someone called and ordained by the church to do so. It’s a trembling thought to deliver the Word of the Lord from a pulpit, and I think a correct view of the office of pastor in the first place goes further in guarding against error than an 8 step program–though I must say I like your points and believe they would help, although I think applying them to someone who does not begin with a proper understanding of preaching already is like putting a band-aid on ganegrene.
We need to recognize that no man has authority to preach unless God has given him that authority, and that God works through his elders and churches in order to ordain such men. There are so many principles outlined in the Bible that give support to a much higher view of preaching than most churches have now, including Representation, Covenant, Election and Church Discipline. I know that in my tradition, when my pastor preaches during a regulative worship service prescribed by the Lord himself in the New Testament, he sees himself as of no importance, but trusts the Lord for the penetration of his word into the hearts of his hearers–not trusting that God will just “show up” despite all our failings, but that he and our church are holding God to his promises and the Lord will be faithful through the means of grace He has commanded of his church, not by any special or extraordinary means.
So I’m sorry Tim but I’m just afraid when I hear you saying things like you preached but were not called to, or that you are called to preach but intermittently and as an unordained man, it does not sit right with me or my tradition, or what I believe the Bible to teach. Why would God even outline his intentions for the office of Pastor if it was a calling like any other profession–say a lawyer or salesman? It’s just different and I hope you can see the difference.
Hebrews 5:4
“And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was”
Well Blake, I’m afraid you’re so far off base you’re going to get picked off.
It’s pretty outlandish to say that the only people who can ever stand behind the pulpit to preach are those who do it on a full-time basis. Or that you have to be ordained in order even to preach one sermon. I’d be interested to see some scriptural support for that idea. Please show me the verse or verses. Thanks in advance.
Of course, I’m only the son of a pastor — and so I wouldn’t have any idea about the office of pastor, the importance of pastoral ministry or the responsibility of preaching. How silly of me.
You don’t know any of the circumstances of my life or ministry, Blake. If you cared to ask, you’d know that many of the times I preached were at the invitation of the pastor of the church of which I was a member. Or in my duties as a denominational employee. But I guess that’s not good enough for you.
Yeah, it would have been much better for me to have gotten up as a denominational rep and spewed a bunch of denominational drivel instead of trying to preach the Bible. I’m sorry my attempts to be an encouragement and a blessing to the body of Christ don’t meet up to your expectations.
To think that someone has to be a full-time pastor in order to have “a proper understanding of preaching” is, quite honestly, amazingly arrogant.
I’d suggest that you exercise a little more humility, dude. You come across as a puffed-up first-year seminary student who thinks he already knows all there is to know.
I really really am sorry for my words. I never meant them to be cutting or hostile. I didn’t ask about your circumstances because I only wanted to examine the theology behind someone who believes you don’t have to be ordained to preach. You know, you don’t really have to read my words as critical, condescending or cutting (try it, because they aren’t!), but it’s hard not to read yours that way.
All that I can gather is that you and I are coming from different dispensations. I am convinced that now is the only dispensation–the same one that ever was and will be. I assume (please correct me if I’m wrong) you say the things you do about preaching and worship because you believe God is now worshipped in the context of a new dispensation of grace that is much less rigid and allows for all kinds of innovating in worship. Can you not see how someone like me could view preaching and worship vastly different from yourself?
Leviticus 10:1,2 “Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.”
No Blake, I am in no way dispensational. That’s really pretty funny. And if you carefully read what I wrote, you’d see that I have the utmost respect for the position of pastor. I think ordination is fine, and I think it’s a good thing for churches to ordain pastors.
I just don’t think ordination is a biblical requirement for someone to preach — especially for someone who doesn’t do it that often. And I’m still waiting for you to show me Scripture that says otherwise.
And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was
Blake- you do know that this statement in the context of passage was referring to the office of priest in the old testament. If you use this verse to support your argument, it will fail. 1. Because Jesus Himself was not in the lineage of the levitical preisthood but in that of Melchizedek so you are excluding Christ from preaching the good news. 2. His disciples were not in the lineage of the levitical preisthood so therefore they cannot preach the good news. 3. Gentiles are barred from preaching the good news which would rule me out and more than likely you. 5. This verse, in the context of the author of Hebrew’s message, is dealing with Christ’s superiority over the preists of the old covenant in that he never dies, he is a preist forever and He does not have to offer up a sacrafice for Himself as He is sinless. 6. Furthermore, it is referring to the position of the high preist and specifically in the context of this passage in Hebrews it is referring to the offering of a sacrifice that was done yearly on behalf of the High Priest and on behalf of all Jews.
Blake,
I too would be curious where in scripture you will find that only those ordained and sanctioned by the Church can preach. I believe that if you draw out the implications of this thought, you will find yourself teetering on the edge of legalism.
I think you are possibly confusing the office of an overseer/elder/pastor with that of the duty of preaching. Every Christian has the duty of preaching the good news. Not every Christian has the duty of becoming an elder. I think you would be hard pressed to find scripture that states no one is to preach, pulpit or not without being ordained. Let’s say you mispoke concerning ordination. I still think you would be hard pressed to find a passage of scripture that would back up the thought that only elders are to preach. Take a look at I Timothy 3 and Titus 1. There you will find the qualifications of for an elder. These attributes should be attributes that all men should have that call themselves Christian. There is nothing special about them as they are all part of sanctification. They are all part of Holy living. There is no where in those requirements a statement that would make one to think that there is some sort of special calling for an elder. The only thing that seperates an elder from other Christians (and that is found in Titus 1) is a statement concerning their ability to teach well- exhort in sound doctrine and refute that which is not. That is it.
I would encourage you to take another look at your beliefs on this issue Blake.
j razz
Blake,
My apologies if my words came across as harsh, but you attacked my actions (preaching) which were biblically sound and done with a pure heart and for the good of the church. You also tried to paint me as someone who doesn’t appreciate the office of pastor.
It’s hard not to take offense and react strongly against such misrepresentations, but I should have been more reserved.
Can I add one more?
9. Pray for me, the listener and parishioner, so that I might hear God’s Word in, through, because of, and/or inspite of the messenger. Because, although much burden resides in the preparer of the sermon, much burden resides in the one preparing to hear the gospel.
Overall, a great list and reminder for those of us who periodically or regularly enter the pulpit. Thanks for your well-developed thoughts on this topic. lgp
Good list. Reading may be preferable if one has a tendency to go WAY off topic. One I’d like to add is, nix the theatricals. The more “preacherly” the voice and dramatic the arm waving, the less substance there seems to be in the words being said. Also, use tears VERY sparingly.
Excellent! Really enjoyed reading this as a VERY young preacher.
This might not be possible Tim, but I was asking my wife today about my preaching - if I am difficult to listen to, if she gets anything out of it, etc. But I concluded that it would be best to ask someone who isn’t so close to me.
Maybe you could do the job? I’ve started a series in 1 John and you can download the messages from my blog.
Could you listen to one and give me critical and encouraging advice? I think I would appreciate your advice as much as anyone’s.
God bless!
I’ll be happy to, Armen. It might not be for a few days, but I’ll try to get to it ASAP.
Also, if any of my pastor friends would like to write an article on “A pastor’s advice to laymen,” I’ll be happy to link to it.
Thanks brother!
Tim - well done. This was a good kick in the pants and I was blessed by it. Thanks
They’re talking about this article on a Pentecostal message board. Most of the comments have been positive, but then there was this one:
“Yawn, it was okay, not that great. Folks here in So. IL. want it red & HOT! They love the preaching voice etc, And they perk up like rabbits when you give personal illustrations from your own life. Some okay statements, but much to be desired in qualifying those statements.”
Do you ever have times when you’re encouraged about your beliefs, based not upon who agrees with you, but upon who disagrees with you?
This is one of those times.
I especially liked how he criticized me for not qualifying my statements (which, by the way, if you actually take time to read the article, you’ll see that I qualified almost everything), while at the same time he lumps everyone from Southern Illinois into the same group. So much for qualifying statements, huh?
Since I’m from Southern Illinois, I can safely say that his description isn’t entirely accurate.
lol…”yawn”
Notice how he’s a gives himself the position of speaking on behalf of all So. Il.?
Maybe he’s just being used of the Lord to keep you humble bro?
Scott E.-
I’m sorry it has been awhile since I was able to respond, but man has it been a crazy week. Whew.
I think the key to the whole debate as to whether church services should be just for believers or for unbelievers too lies in the definition of “church”. We have several definitions of church in America:
1. The building where we go to worship
2. The individual institution that exists in the local city that we know as the church.
3. The worldwide group of Christ followers (big “C” Church)
(not perfect definitions, but good enough, no?)
I would argue that when Jesus and the early Christians talk about church, they are referring to def. #3. 1 and 2 are more modern derivatives. For example, “…on this rock I will build my church.” “Saul began to destroy the church…” and “The church throughout Judea…enjoyed a time of peace.” etc. (Mt 16, Acts 8 and 9, respectively). There are other times when they mention “the church in Jerusalem,” but even here it seems clear that they are talking about the group of believers in this area.
That being said, there are many commands to the “church,” that is, the group of believers. Jesus commands us to disciple, to encourage, to love, to care for the poor, to evangelize, to worship etc. These are all functions that the church should carry out. to argue, then, about Sunday morning is to argue about methods, rather than a biblical mandate. We choose to make sunday morning a safe place for the unchurched to check out God and what it means to follow Jesus. You choose to make it about the believers and do evangelism in other ways. We do deep blbical teaching etc at other times than Sunday morning. I think both are fine, and neither are biblically “offbase”.
When it comes to pragmatism, I think we also have the responsibility of being effective, for Jesus said that we would bare fruit. If we are not, there is a problem. There is nothing wrong with pragmatism as long as it does not take you into compromising places. Obviously pragmatism is everywhere. Having chairs for people to sit in makes pragmatic sense, but it doesnt make it wrong. Having a sound system so people can hear is pragmatic, but it doesnt make it wrong. etc.
Are we obeying God’s commands as his church, the community of believers? Are we being fruitful? If so, great, and lets keep increasing. If not, lets check out methods.
As a fellow Southern Illinoisan, I’ll second that assessment.
Here is one Pentecostal preacher (and I know many others who would agree) who wants to thank you for a great post. Keep up the good work!
Yesterday I had the privilege of worshipping with 200 of my sisters and brothers in Christ. It was a special service celebrating Black History Month (tho no black hisotry was ever mentioned - we worshipped, honey!). I was one of about 4 white persons in attendance.
The speaker was not ordained. She isn’t even a preacher. She has 25 years of experience working with juvenile offenders and she knows the needs of families today. Her message was filled with Scripture and she did have a preaching voice and in the context of where I was, it was appropriate. Sometimes you have to consider the cultural context of your congregation.
And as to # 7, I was trained to never read the sermon and even have minimal notes. I gave it an honest effort the first few months in my first church and they were the most awful sermons you ever heard! Uh, uh, ah, ah um, that sort of thing. Even tho I had spent several hours of study and writing, and I felt the message “burned” in my mind and soul, when it came to the actual delivery, I was wanting.
So I began writing my sermons, recognizing that the Holy Spirit can move as powerfully through the written word as the spoken one and I am a better writer than a speaker. Since then my sermons have improved significantly. I do try to review to the point I don’t sound like I’m reading it. My wife is ever vigilant about my looking up often and making eye contact.
Some very cogent points, Tim. Thanks.
I have over forty years experience in preaching the gospel in ‘little old’ england
Not ordained - but called and blessed
I believe the Spirit has worked through my words - over and over again
Can’t believe I need to be ordained to preach
I guess Blake couldn’t come up with Scripture to back up his position. So I’d say you’re probably safe, Jim. Keep it up.
Nick, I would say that another definition of Church would be that of a local body of believers; those with whom we fellowship and worship with on a regular basis. I would say that from what I have read, this definition would fit better with your statements above as Paul writes to the local churches; the church of Corinth, the church of Ephesus, the church of Galatia, etc.
Also, I have responded to you on your blog. Have a good week buddy.
j razz
j razz, I think you are right that it is referring to a local group of Christ followers that meet, but I would argue that it was simply referring to the believers in the city who met, rather than a spicific “church” like we have today. It was much more fluid back then, and that rigid definition is a derrivative (#2). They did not have “2nd Baptist church of Jerusalem” as if there were multiple churches in a city like we think of today. We may be arguing semantics.
Nonetheless, I think my point is still made in that the church isnt one service, but an organism that is responsible to execute all of the thingd Jesus told his church to do.
I have replied to your reply
Pleasure,
Nick
Nick, I just finished responding to you over on your site. Man, I am either going to have to learn to be more concise or just give up typing for a while… that may very well be a record for a reply on a blog. None-the-less, you may not give 2 craps.
j razz
Here is an Athiest’s list of things that Christians do that annoy him.
The Link.
j razz