Getting the words right, the Leaders obligation.

Preaching love, life and purpose.

How and what we should preach is very important to any aspiring senior church leader. It is extremely important to get the words right or the central theme of our message will be lost. We, as strong successful leaders are here to first and foremost tell people that God loves them and that he sent his only son to die on their behalf in order to restore the relationship with him. Our words are to encourage, edify and exhort. We are what we think, so preaching life and purpose gives people direction a future and a sense of belonging in an ever fragmenting world.

Before I deal with the positive aspects of preaching let me give you two true examples of really bad preaching:

Quite a few years ago I was transferred by my company-for a brief period, to another city and was looking for a church to call home while I was there. I went to a church that had a congregation of about 150 but had been much bigger. The senior pastor rarely preached leaving it to his assistant a former judge. Over the next six months I saw the congregation dwindle to about twenty. The reason for this was because every Sunday morning the assistant pastor- the former judge would preach death and destruction on all sinners. I felt it was like being shot at dawn every day of the week, hung and thrown off a cliff for good measure. He told us what was wrong with our lives but never told us of the love and mercy of God. His preaching was like a summation in his former courtroom, a judgement and sentence was handed down with great formality.

A few years ago I attended a church for a short while where the preacher would often do a series of sermons. Unfortunately the core teaching of what he was trying to put across was lost because; the series themselves were far too long sometimes ten or eleven weeks. This was stretched because of other events within the church calendar and therefore could be six months before it was completed. People would forget what he was trying to convey. The first 30 minutes of the sermon was spent recapping the previous week and the next 40 minutes were spent on telling us the next instalment. And lastly there was no life in what he spoke or his presentation. An extreme example I know, sad but true of many failing churches. These are two examples on how not to preach.

Below I have listed a number of questions- in no particular order of importance- that have been asked of me on this subject by aspiring leaders and young preachers:

1)      How long should I spend in preparation? This varies and depends on whether it is a one off sermon or a teaching series. If it is a series then many weeks is the answer. If it is a one off sermon then at least 15 to 20 hours in research and preparation. Much more in prayer.

2)      How long should I preach for? The average attention span of a grown adult is 10 to 15 minutes. Personally some of the best sermons I have heard and remembered were the shortest. As a rule I would suggest no more than 30 minutes, but if you have a teaching series then 35 minutes at the most.

3)      Should I practice my sermons? Yes of course, I go over my sermons in my head a number of times before they are preached. But don’t overdo it, you are not a celebrity or an actor.

4)      What should I preach? While I acknowledge that not every sermon is about Salvation and Repentance I do believe that there should be opportunity after every service for people to be given the opportunity to give or rededicate their lives to Christ. He is central to our mission to reach a lost world. If you are planting a church then vision, culture, values need to be repeated often so that people in the congregation can hear your heart. Principles for life and purpose also need to be taught. We-the church- are the light of the world, so preach messages and teach on topical issues relevant to the lives of your growing congregation. Topics such as marriage and family, right living, sex, giving, how to pray, how to read God’s word, reaching the lost, to list but a few.

5)      Should I let others preach? If you are planting a church then my suggestion is be very possessive of your pulpit, till such a time as you feel that any up and coming leader will reflect your heart for the church and preach the vision values and culture you have instilled through your teaching and training. The same applies to any visiting preacher. If you have taken over an established church and you get a phone call from an itinerant preacher who would like a date to come and preach, because he has done so for the last decade, then disappoint him by saying no.

6)      How should I preach? This is a very broad question. The simple answer is practice what you preach, live it and people will see it reflected in your life. Don’t preach on sacrificial giving if you have never sacrificially given. We all have different personalities, just because we are introverted doesn’t mean we can’t communicate life and experience and make it relevant to all those around us in a vibrant manner. If all else fails then use words.

7)      Should I use a text? Yes always. The bible should always be our first port of call for a sermon not our last. We hang our sermon on a text not the other way round. Our teaching is always bible based and illustrated.

8)      Should we tell stories? Stories and illustrations are what fires the imaginations of our listeners and what helps put the core teaching into perspective for them. The Bible should be our first source, then our own lives and experience and then lastly the experience of others. If we have a three point sermon then give three stories or illustrations. Don’t waffle get to the point.

9)      Should my preaching be designed to build attendance or the attendees? I believe first and foremost that the mission of the church is “to go into all the world and preach the Gospel”. Therefore a central theme of our church and its values should be to constantly encourage the congregation to be bringing and inviting people to church. As I have stated in Number 4 an opportunity to respond to the message of Christ should be given after every message. The building up of attendees can be done through other programmes in the church. The answer then is we should be aiming at both. We should never forget our mission, to do so will result in the church going into lockdown and shutting out the seeker and the lost.

10)   Should I do all the preaching of a series and how long should it be? By all means do this but don’t let a series go for longer than 4 weeks (my opinion only) unless of course you are going through a whole book of the bible. A morning and an evening services means you have eight times to preach on the subject. If you have assistant pastors then give them the opportunity to preach on the topic but ask for a copy of their sermon a few days before they preach to ensure it is on message and moves the subject forward.

I am sure that there are many other questions that need to be answered. To be the senior leaders of successful churches we need to realise that clear concise preaching, that is vibrant and relevant to today’s society is an important aspect of our message and desire to build and grow large churches. Lastly let us not forget that while we create an atmosphere in which God operates it is Him and not us that adds to the church. Without constant prayer and the intervention of the Holy Spirit our words could be null and void.