I sometimes listen to preachers with amazement, if not awe. So many of them are incredibly effective in communicating God’s Word, so much more effective than I ever was or will be. I certainly understand that assessing effectiveness is a very subjective assignment. But, simply put, a number of preachers I have observed are incredible in explaining and applying the Word. As a consequence, God changes lives and saves people.
The best I can do is to be a student of these preachers, and to share with you seven key habits I have observed in most of them. I regularly ask these preachers about the way they go about preparing, preaching, and evaluating their messages. My list is fallible, but I do hope it’s helpful.
- They give preaching a priority in their ministries. A pastor has a 24/7, always on call schedule. It’s easy to let sermon preparation slide with the demands of the moment. The outstanding preachers I know give preaching a very high priority. They make certain they put the hours in to communicate effectively and powerfully.
- They make their sermons a vital part of their prayer lives. Here is a quote from one of those preachers I believe to be one of the most effective alive today: “I cannot imagine sermon preparation and delivery in my power alone. I regularly plead with God to anoint my preaching and to guide me in my sermon preparation.”
- They have a routine in sermon preparation. To the best of their abilities, these effective preachers set aside many hours a week on their calendars for sermon preparation. And while emergencies will happen, they do their best to stay committed to that time. Most of them have specific days and times of day when they work on their sermons.
- They constantly seek input about their messages. I know one pastor whose wife listens to each of his sermons ahead of his preaching. She offers valuable input to her husband. Many of these pastors have mentors and church members who help them evaluate their messages. And a number of them watch and listen to their recorded sermons within a week after preaching them.
- They stay committed to a specific sermon length. The pastors with whom I spoke have sermons that range in length from 25 minutes to 45 minutes. But they all are consistent each week on their specific length. In other words, a pastor who preaches a message 30 minutes in length will do so consistently each week. They have learned that their congregations adapt to their preaching length, and that inconsistency can be frustrating to the members.
- They put the majority of their efforts into one message a week. Some of the pastors were expected to preach different sermons each week, such as a Sunday morning message and a Sunday evening message. But, to the person, they all told me they can only prepare and preach one sermon effectively each week. The Sunday evening message, for example, is either an old message or a poorly prepared message.
- They are constantly looking for ways to improve their communication skills. So they do more than just seek feedback, as noted in number four above. They read books on communications. They listen to other effective communicators. And they are regularly in touch with the context of their church and its community, so that their messages are not only biblical, but relevant as well.
The readers of this blog include some very effective preachers, and it includes many of you who listen to effective communicators. I would love to hear your perspectives on effective preaching.
Check out our $5 ebook, Sermon Starters: Outlines for Every Holiday & Occasion to kick start your sermon preparation process.
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Posted on March 26, 2014
With nearly 40 years of ministry experience, Thom Rainer has spent a lifetime committed to the growth and health of local churches across North America.
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93 Comments
Great post Bro! Praying for the Josh guy, seems to be on a road to burn out…wow!
I would be interested in how many notes most preachers used. When I was in school (just a few years ago), I had a teacher in one of my labs who limited us to 1/2 a page of notes. He always said if we knew our material well enough we would never need more. It was difficult and scary at first, but to this day I don’t use more than 1/2 a page. It really is freeing.
I’m the youth minister, so I only preach once a month, but our pulpit minister preaches manuscript style, with everything written out. To each his own, but that would drive me totally batty.
So, to ask the question, how much notes do people around here usually have? 🙂
First, I would like to say this is a good article. I prepare only one sermon for Sunday morning since we do not meet on Sunday nights. I spend a good amount of time each week in preparation. There have been several occasions where I have been invited to preach at another church and have prepared an additional sermon for that event. Those weeks, we do what we have to do in order to give each sermon the proper amount of preparation.
I know a lead pastor of a church in our area that only preaches once a month at most, he has a lot of preparation time for each sermon. We all have different situations, schedules and loads upon us, but the same calling. We must give our sermons proper attention while maintaining everything else that the Lord has given us.
I have been a pastor for 19 years and a Director of Missions for 14 years. I agree wholeheartedly with Dr. Rainer. I like he have worked with a variety of churches and counseled many different pastors as well as being on the front lines of ministry. If you are only putting 8 hours into any sermon it is not enough in my opinion. I am not saying you are not an outstanding preacher, Josh, but I would venture to say probably your people are not as impressed with you as you are of yourself. A pastor must balance preaching/teaching, pastoral care, leadership and administration, community and denominational ministry (if not these you isolate yourself), and family/personal time. I would guess you are not a veteran preacher but probably not have preached that many years. One reason I am still in the ministry after 34 years and going strong is that I learned to balance my time and life. I have had 56 sermons published and have hundreds of written sermons that I spent many hours preparing. In my last full time pastorate I would have about 350 in attendance on Sunday morning, about 70 on Sunday evening, and about 40 in prayer and Bible study Wednesday evening (we had other activities for youth and children). I gave about 15 hours average on Sunday morning sermons, about 3-5 hours on Sunday evening (though I did not preach every Sunday evening as my associate would preach once a month, we would have a monthly guest preacher, and we would have a special service like singing with a devotional). Wednesday evenings were participatory Bible study not requiring as much preparation.
You may get upset with me, but I have seen many pastors over the years fall out of ministry because of not balancing their lives. That’s my sermon for today, and it only took me 10 minutes to write it.
Tom,
Great article. I am a church planter and the only full time staff person at our church. One of the biggest draws to our church is preaching and teaching. While there are many things I have to do, I always find time to focus on Sunday’s sermon. It usually takes me quite a bit of time to prepare that one 4-12 hours depending on the text. I could not imagine doing that three different times a week. But as people have been added to the church that has freed me up to focus more on preaching and teaching. People comment on the improvement of the sermons, but what they don’t understand is their work in the ministry allows me more time to study and prepare. All of the hats we are expected to wear there is none more important than the preaching of the Word.
Interesting. The job of the pastor is to preach. Where is that explored and defined in scripture? How does the body of Christ get built up so that ALL the body reaches the fullness of the measure of the stature of Christ and is prepared for works of service? If all that energy is being spent in preaching, where’s the discipling taking place? Seems the only parts of the body that’s getting built up are the ears and brain (please excuse the change of metaphor there). Just wondering? Much love.
In my first church I tried to do everything, be all things to all people, and I developed ulcers and almost got run off. When my doctor told me to let some of it go, I followed his advice. Because I had set the expectations of the congregation for what I should do too high, I soon found another place of service. This time I went in and got a regular schedule established and was able to do so much more in a lot less time because I wasn’t running off in 4 directions at once.
Thom – thank you for your insights. You have efficiently noted trademark characteristics of churches which have been blessed with Men who lead out of the strength of their spiritual gifting.
In my years in ministry (both church and para-church) I personally have time and again witnessed one constant in ministries which thrive and those which barely survive, that is the intentional activity to identify the strengths of the individuals within the organization, and set them free to do what God called them to. In doing this, God will multiply the efforts exponentially.
I have served as teaching pastor in a mega-church, have led a large para-church organization and now currently am pastoring a church I launched 6 years ago with 40 people. In each environment I have practiced the ‘habit’ of finding people who are empowered by the Holy Spirit to carry out ministry in their area of gifting. In do this, it has set me free to carry out the task God has given me as the leader. The opposite is true of churches and para-church organizations I have observe which continue to struggle, and therefore the staff struggle.
Allowing the principles of scripture to actually play-out in the midst of our work week makes all the difference in advancing the Kingdom.
~Mark
Good word Mark. Thank you.
This was covered in #7 to some extent, but I think an effective preacher should also be well-read. The Bible should be first and foremost, of course, but a good preacher should also be well-read in theology, history (church and secular), literature, and current events. These things supply abundant illustrations for your sermons, and help keep your sermons fresh and interesting.
Oh, and I failed to add that you should also read good devotional books. Books on theology and church history are good for the mind, but they don’t always do so well at feeding your soul! For that purpose, I would highly recommend anything by Vance Havner or A.W. Tozer. Some of the other preachers on this thread can probably recommend their own favorites.
Thanks for this article. I think you are “spot on” in your assessment of ministry.
There are things I do to help with time. First, I have developed a committed worship team. We meet once a month and they help plan all the songs, readings and other liturgy helps for upcoming services. They also provide much needed feedback as we reflect on the current past months services, brainstorm how to improve and then pray for God’s leading for the future month.
Secondly, I use talents and gifts of my vhurch members as well as a variety of different formats gor Sunday nights. Lee Strobel’s Faith under Fire video series leads into meaningful Bible study. A lay pastor in a sister church who attends regularly will team teach, a teacher in a nearby community college team teaches on comparative religions. They often teach from their expertise and I teach what the Bible says in response. My people love the interchange and the ability to ask questions. Even if I preach a sermon I factor in time for questions and comments.
Hello Thom.
Thank you for your post. Always good to hear from you. I appreciate your investment. If possible could you list some of the communication resources that some of these effective communicators have used to improve their preaching. I’ve got about ten years in full time ministry and I’m realizing that preaching is one of the hardest things of ministry, therefore I must continue to work ON my preaching regularly.
Any insights would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks again,
Gavin