Category Archives: Healthy Preaching

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Preaching in Your First Year at a New Church

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Photo by Alexander Michl on Unsplash

Picture this. 

You have accepted a new job as the new lead pastor at ________ church. You have moved your family or moved offices if it is a succession process. You are excited and ready to go. 

You want to come out of the gate strong in your first sermon and sermon series. You want to show who you are and cast a vision for what is next. You are ready. 

But what do you talk about? How do you connect with people who don’t know you? How do you connect with people you don’t know? 

In the back of your mind, you wonder, what if you bomb? What if you choose a topic that no one is excited about or say the wrong thing and step on a landmine you didn’t know was there?

Go here to get an idea of what I preached when I first came to CCC in 2021. 

6 things to think through when you arrive at a new church.

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Know this is just the start. It is hard to remember this when you arrive, and you are excited about this new chapter, and the church is (hopefully!) excited about it, but remember, this is just the beginning of a long ministry. You don’t need to say everything in one sermon or one series. There are specific things you want to hit on in your first sermon and series, but as you stand up that first Sunday and the ones to come, know that this is just the beginning. 

Don’t make any grand pronouncements as you stand up on that first week and in the first months. Don’t discuss goals and numbers or where you will be in 5 years. Just start. 

Now, if you are going into a situation where things are volatile, the church is running out of money, etc., then you might need to share more specific plans to get out of the rut the church is in. But most of the time, you shouldn’t need to do that. 

Find out as much as possible about the history (and where the church is). Hopefully you learned as much as you could about the history and state of the church during the interview process. But if you arrive and still have questions, ask them.

When I arrived at CCC, I interviewed over 30 people and asked them the same eight questions to get an idea of where the church is, what was at the heart of the people here, and trying to learn as much as possible about New England. I read books and blogs about the area I was moving to, talked to previous pastors, etc. You want to become as much of an expert as possible about the place you are stepping into. 

You want to know things like: How many pastors have they had in the last 10 – 15 years? How many staff transitions have they had? Were there any moral failures or firings? Are they excited and hopeful or sad and grieving? Do they trust leadership or struggle to trust leadership? Every new leader walks in with a little bit of leadership change in their pocket because they are new, but depending on what happened before you arrived, that can impact how much trust a group of people give you. 

Find out what they preached before you arrived. This one is more tactical, but find out what they preached before you arrived. Two of the books of the Bible I wanted to preach through had been done in the year before I arrived, so I had to pivot. 

The other reason you want to know this is because it will also give you an idea of where everyone is, what they have been walking through together as a church, and the style of preaching they are accustomed to. While you don’t want to change your preaching style to something it isn’t, knowing what they are used to before you put your unique stamp on things is important. 

Preach on things close to your heart. As you plan your first sermon and series, preach on things you are passionate about and close to your heart. There should be a match between that and where the people are, which is one of the reasons God led you there. Is there anything that God has taught you in the last season of your life or your move that might speak to where the church is?

Let the church get to know you. Part of why you should preach on things close to your heart or things God has taught you recently is because one of your goals in your first sermon series is for your church to get to know you and your story. You can do this by sharing your testimony (which I’ve seen people do on their first week) or weaving things about you into the opening sermon series. At the end of your first month, people should have a clear idea about who you are, your preaching style, your marriage and family, and your spiritual journey. 

Keep in mind the season of the year and the season of the church. The last thing to consider is when you will start preaching in the calendar year and where the church is in the season of its life. 

Arriving in January, Advent, Easter, or the start of school will impact what you preach. 

Is the church excited or hurting? Do they trust or not trust the leadership? These questions help determine their season and what they most need to hear. 

6 things you need to know before you preach your first sermon at a new church.

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While your first sermon or series doesn’t make or break your ministry at a church, it does set the tone. So it matters to get it right. 

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How to Plan a Preaching Calendar

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It’s the summer time, which means for many pastors, they are working on their preaching calendar for the coming season and year at church. The summer is a great time to pull back as a pastor, strategically evaluate your ministry, and plan for the future.

I’m often asked by pastors and church planters about how to plan a preaching calendar. While each church is different, I think there are some things that can be important for every pastor to think through when it comes to giving your church a healthy, balanced diet of preaching.

Before getting to those questions and guideposts, you need to decide that planning ahead is a wise idea. I just heard from a worship leader who told me he finds out what his pastor is preaching on as late as Thursday. If you are that far behind, it is hard for your team to plan with you. It creates stress for your group leaders (if you discuss the sermon, which you should), and for your worship leaders who are trying to plan songs and moments.

Now, someone will say, but if you plan too far in advance, you take the Holy Spirit out of it. Yes, that is possible. It is also possible to plan too late and have no room for what the Holy Spirit says. The Holy Spirit also can move months in advance, so this is a weak argument to me. Anyone who has followed this blog for any time knows that I am a proponent of planning ahead.

I would encourage you to take a day or two to get away with your bible, some books, and your journal and listen to what God is saying for the coming year for your church.

How to plan a preaching calendar.

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What have I already preached on? It is important to know what you have already preached and not repeat it. When I came to CCC in 2021, I wanted to start with the book of Ephesians, but they had just preached on it, so I had to pivot.

Change it up if you’ve done 3 New Testament books in a row. If you’ve done 4 topical series in a row, put an expository series in.

One thing that can help with this is alternating between Old and New Testament books.

What topics do I feel my church needs to hear? This gets at who is at your church, who you are hoping to reach, and what questions your culture is asking. Every year at our church, we seek to preach about marriage and relationships; and one on generosity and money. We will hit those topics every single year regardless of what books we preach through. Why? Our culture is always asking questions about those things.

Think through the seasons of the year. You also need to think through the seasons of the year. What people are asking and thinking about in January is not what they are thinking about in September. It is important to match a series to what your people are walking through.

What haven’t I talked about recently? This helps to identify the places you gravitate towards and helps expose things you are afraid to address or have skipped. This is when you look back at your old sermon schedule and see where you’ve been. Maybe you’ve been at your church for 5 years and never preached through a gospel or an Old Testament book. That would be a good place to start.

Questions to ask as you plan your next preaching calendar.

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What am I passionate about? This can be good or bad. It is good because you have to preach what you are passionate about. Otherwise, no one will listen. It isn’t good because you can easily preach what you are only passionate about.

Where is my church going? This is a vision question. What is coming up in the next year that you can preach about? If you are praying about planting a church, preach about that. If you feel like you need to preach on generosity or grow in community, preach that vision. This means, though, as a pastor, you need to lead with vision and know where you are going.

Is there anything big coming up I need to be aware of? As we enter 2024, the election is on the horizon. one of the things I’ve been thinking through is the topics I need to teach to prepare my church to follow Jesus in the midst of election season.

7 things to keep in mind when planning a preaching calendar.

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How to Be Productive When You Don’t Preach

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Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

One of the things I consistently hear from pastors is how behind they feel when it comes to sermon prep and how they wish they could plan a week off from preaching.

So you might read the title of this article and think, “I’m not even productive when I preach; how can I be productive when I don’t preach.”

If you don’t take weeks off and be productive when you don’t preach, your church and preaching will suffer.

You need to take regular breaks from preaching. Your body, heart, mind, and soul need it. And your church needs a break from you and to hear other voices. And others need a chance to grow as communicators.

So, for the sake of this blog, I assume you want to take weeks off from preaching. Schedule it and make it happen.

But what do you do with those weeks? How do you use them productively to move your preaching and church forward? The weeks you have off from preaching can be incredibly strategic if you use them wisely.

How to use your time wisely as a pastor.

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Work “on” your church. The weeks you have off from preaching are a great opportunity to step back and evaluate your church and ministries. To look at what is next, what do you need to focus on in the next 12 – 18 months?

This is a great time to ask what is working, not working, what is clear or not, and what is missing or confusing about your church or ministries. You can use this time to evaluate staff members or have staff or elder planning days.

When you don’t preach, use that time to work “on” your church.

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Work on your soul. The weeks I have off from preaching are incredibly helpful to my heart and soul. I like to take extra time for prayer, scripture reading, and reading that doesn’t have anything to do with ministry or sermon prep that is just for me and my relationship with God.

Too often, pastors run out of steam because everything they take in is for sermon prep or leadership but never for them.

I know many pastors who use this time for long walks, for retreat days.

The weeks you don’t preach are a great time to rest.

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Rest. Your weeks off from preaching are great times to rest. Preaching takes a toll on your mind, body, and soul. Your brain needs a break, and you need to refill yourself. The weeks you aren’t preaching are a great time to take some extra time off, rest, and do some things that rejuvenate you. 

Fill your tank. Preaching is output for a pastor, so when you aren’t preaching, that is a great time for extra input into your tank. This isn’t just physical but also how you nourish your soul. If you can get away from your church, go to a different church, be a part of the worship service there, and be fed. Listen to some sermons or things that will refill your tank. 

Work ahead. Lastly, the weeks you don’t preach are a great time to work on future sermons and series. If you can get into the habit of working ahead, that will save you a lot of time and energy in ministry. 

5 ways to be productive when you don’t preach.

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Gospel Centered Preaching

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There’s been a resurgence in the last decade around the gospel.

This is a good thing.

This has helped churches have a more robust view of the gospel. We see the gospel as more than just how one is made right with God, how one is changed, and how one goes to heaven. We are seeing the gospel for Christians and how the power of the gospel changes us into who God has called us to be.

This is positive.

It has also created a new thing to complain about and judge others.

Now, preachers are gospel-centered preachers. If you want to sell a book, throw the word gospel into it. Parenting, preaching, church planting, maybe even writing a book called the gospel. 

People on Twitter complain about writers and preachers who aren’t gospel-centered. Maybe, if you are a pastor, someone told you, “I’m leaving your church because you aren’t gospel-centered enough.”

When I’ve heard this, it often means, “You don’t preach the gospel the way I think the gospel should be preached.” In other words, “I think the gospel has specific components and need to be said in a certain order (i.e., the Romans road), and if you don’t say them in that order, you haven’t preached the gospel.” Or, sometimes, they want to hear the name of Jesus several times.

When I entered ministry twenty years ago, the debate was around deep and shallow preaching. People say, “I’m leaving your church because you aren’t deep enough.” The gospel-centered discussion is this generation’s deep preaching complaint in some ways.

So, if you are a pastor and get someone who comes up to you after a sermon or sends an email telling you that you aren’t gospel-centered, even though someone started following Jesus in that same sermon, what do you do?

Ask them what it means to be gospel-centered. While there are some agreed-upon components, each person has a different definition of what it means to be gospel-centered. As I said, this is about being Christ-focused or centered; for others, it is about giving a clear presentation of the gospel to follow Jesus; for some, it is about saying the name of Jesus. For others, it is about finding Jesus on every page of Scripture. For others, compare what you say to their favorite gospel-centered preacher and see if you use the exact words as Tim Keller or John Piper.

One of the best ways to learn from them and help them understand your perspective is to ask them what they think is gospel-centered. Sadly, most people who make this complaint cannot articulate it. For them, it comes down to a feeling or a sense they get from your preaching. It is essential to understand what you are talking about when you say “gospel-centered.”

At that point, you can have a conversation when terms are defined.

Lovingly tell them the gospel from your perspective. As you move forward, explain the gospel from your perspective to them. All over the New Testament, there is evidence of Peter and Paul communicating the gospel differently, depending on their audience. This is important for a pastor to keep in mind.

It is also essential to understand if someone is preaching at a conference or a church when they talk about the gospel. This is important. Many messages people point to for gospel focus happen at a conference with many pastors or Christians in a room. This differs from a week-in, week-out worship service at your local church.

The goal of preaching, from my perspective, is not a theological class. This is the goal of some conferences and can become the measuring stick for people in your church. So, it is vital to be clear when someone asks what your purpose of preaching is. Start here if you don’t have a clear answer as a pastor or a church.

Understand the fears and desires that come from someone in this conversation. When people bring up gospel-centeredness, it comes from fear and a desire to not water down Scripture.

The longer I’m in ministry, the more I see that when someone brings any complaint or question to me about anything, it is often from fear or concern. That’s a good thing.

In the end, gospel-centered preaching should always push people to a decision. It should show someone, whether they are a follower of Jesus or not, who they are apart from Jesus, their default sinful nature, and how their only hope for life, freedom, and peace is found in the power of the gospel. It should also show us God’s ultimate hope for the redemption of all things. It should show the defeat of evil and the enemy. The gospel is robust, not small.

Know that you emphasize a part of the gospel. The reality for every Christian and preacher is that we all emphasize a part of the gospel. For some, the focus is on the cross. For others, the focus is on the resurrection. For some, it is about law and obedience. Each preacher and Christian has a part of the gospel they emphasize over another part. This comes from your story, personality, church background, and other factors.

It is essential to know this and be aware of the blind spots it can create.

Recently, I spoke with someone about this topic and asked him: What is the church’s mission?

What is the mission of the church?

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This is an essential question in all of this. It is easy to get into a mud-slinging debate about the gospel with someone and even think someone is beneath you as you look at them and their preaching.

The church’s mission, what you think the church exists for, determines much of what you do in a worship service, groups, and preaching.

It also determines how you communicate the gospel you preach each week. Throughout the book of Acts, Peter and Paul and the apostles contextualized the gospel based on the city and setting they were in. Same gospel, just different aspects of it depending on where they were. This is essential work as a pastor but can be easily misunderstood.

And, without realizing it, you can have different opinions on the church’s mission and what you are trying to accomplish in your Sunday morning gatherings.

Don’t stop preaching the way God has called you to preach. Be clear, passionate, and focused, and be the pastor God has called you to be. 

How preaching connects to the mission of the church.

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4 Tips for Preaching through the Book of Daniel

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Photo by Alexander Michl on Unsplash

I just wrapped up a series on the book of Daniel. I did something with this book that I have never done with a book before; I split it up and put a series in between. We did Daniel 1 – 6 in August and September; then we did a relationship series and a vision series in between, and then for Advent, we returned to Daniel 7 – 12. The response was even better than I hoped and something I would do again if the topic lent itself to it. 

Because I get asked a lot by pastors about sermon prep, putting a series together, and making the Bible relevant, I thought I’d share some tips for preaching the book of Daniel.

Why?

The book of Daniel is not one that many pastors preach through. In researching it, I found most people who preach through Daniel stop at chapter 6. I’ll be honest; it’s tempting to do. The first six chapters are filled with narrative, extraordinary faith, prayer, and God doing incredible miracles. The last six chapters are filled with visions, revelations, debated images, and a lot of head-scratching.

1. The book is about God, not Daniel, the end times, or your church. Yes, the book of Daniel has a lot about the end of the world, but spending your time on this does a disservice to the book and your church.

The word king or kingdom is used over 150 times in the book of Daniel. That is the theme, that is the battleground of the book. While focusing on Daniel and his life is tempting, and faith is an essential part of the book, it is about God and his power. The book is about the temptation to worship something other than God.

2. Don’t get stuck in the weeds. Daniel, like the book of Revelation, is filled with many images. These images are fascinating, confusing, and debated. One of the things we decided at the beginning is that we wouldn’t get into the timeline debate that centers on Daniel. You can see how we handled chapter 7 to understand how we navigated this. 

Are there people in your church who want to debate the end of the world when Jesus returns? Who is the anti-Christ? Yes. What we asked was: What are these passages trying to tell us? For us, they returned to who God is and His character, so we focused on that. What do these passages tell us about God, because that is what God was communicating with Daniel? Why did God give these visions to Daniel and the people of God in exile? How are they good news and images of comfort and hope in a time of great difficulty?

How to preach Daniel and Revelation.

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3. Tell people about God’s character and power. Preaching through Daniel, especially when you talk about the lion’s den and furnace, for those who are skeptical about God, these passages make you scratch your head. I had multiple conversations with people wrestling with, “Do you believe that happened?”

These passages, the images in the visions and dreams, are about the power of God and his character, who He is.

Your church needs to hear those things, which is an excellent opportunity to show their relevance.

Many sermons today, and I’m all for this, are based on felt needs and speak to what the people in your church are struggling with and walking through in their lives. Focusing on who God is, while not a question they are asking, is the question they need answering and is the hope to what men and women are struggling with when they walk into church.

This power not only catalyzed the faith of Daniel but can do the same thing for your church.

One of the most significant examples is how much Daniel prayed in the book. While preparing for the series, I missed this, but as I was preaching through it, it stood out boldly in the book.

We’re often told, “Daniel prayed as was his habit” (or something similar). That’s important. When Daniel came up against struggles and power, he prayed to a God he trusted who had the power to save him.

4. It helps your people face the end. One of the things that stand out is that the visions in Daniel 7 – 12 take place at the end of Daniel’s life when he’s in his 80s. He is facing death, and God gives him these visions. 

As I preached through it, a few things stood out to me on this:

  • People have questions about faith to the end of their lives, which need to be answered. 
  • God speaks to the hopes and fears we face at the end of our lives. 
  • Many people in your church will face death in the coming year, and they need to know what God says in those moments. 

Daniel is a book every pastor should preach through. It is relevant to our day and age as we struggle to live out our faith in a culture that is opposed to it. It is a book that reminds us of the God we serve and the power He has.

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One Thing Pastors Overlook in Preaching

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Photo by Kevin Gonzalez on Unsplash

Recently a younger pastor asked me, “What do pastors miss or overlook when they preach that hurts them?”

It’s a great question. Like all things you overlook in life, you often don’t know it, and the things you don’t know can hurt you.

What pastors miss in preaching.

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To answer this question, you must first have a clear goal for your preaching. You can see what I think the goal is here, but to sum it up in one word, I would say transformation. It is not knowledge, more bible information, a running commentary, or even some good tips and advice. It is life change, the transformation of our hearts.

Most pastors would say the same thing when asked, but the way we preach would give a different answer. When you dig into sermons, you will see the running commentary, political ideas, and a push for deeper knowledge. Deeper knowledge isn’t bad, but knowing more about God and the bible doesn’t make someone a follower of Jesus (James 2:19).

The goal of preaching is life change, transformation.

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I looked at this pastor, and I said, I think pastors miss two things in their preaching. Most pastors do the first well in their sermons, but the other, most pastors miss, hurting them and their church.

First, the one most pastors get right: Pastoring through their sermons. 

Most pastors are wired as pastors and shepherds, and you feel this in their sermons. This is something I’ve had to work hard at over the years because it isn’t natural for me; the second one is, though.

Pastoring in your sermon is helping people find hope for their problems and hurts, letting them know you understand where they are walking, caring through your words, and providing comfort. To do this, you need to know what people are walking in with, what problems and baggage they are carrying, what heartaches they have, and what keeps them up at night.

How to pastor your church in your preaching.

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In your sermons, do you take moments to pastor people? To shepherd and comfort them?

A shepherd also guides their church. This means pointing out dangers and things that can kill the church. This can be idolatry in the hearts of your people but also guide them when it comes to politics and cultural influences. This isn’t comfortable for anyone.

Two things pastors overlook that make your sermons better.

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The second one, and most pastors miss this one, is Leading through their sermons.

As a pastor, one of the greatest things you have at your disposal is the ability to lead through your preaching. This means that in your sermons, you are leading your church somewhere to where you believe God is taking your church. Your sermons should reinforce your church’s mission, vision, and strategy. A pastor must continually say, “We are doing ____ because ______.”

This doesn’t mean that all of your sermons are vision-casting sermons or even about the church’s mission. But you need to connect your sermons to your mission and why you exist as a church, or what you are doing as a church.

How to lead your church through your preaching.

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For this to work, there is a critical component: your mission and desire must center around life change/transformation as a church. While every church would say its goal is to make disciples, not every church lives this out and tries to see lives changed.

As a church, do you want to see lives changed? Are all your systems and ministries centered around this idea? If not, you will preach to reach whatever mission and goal you have as a church.

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Speaking So Everyone Hears You

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At some point, a preacher will preach a sermon that does not go well. You know you tried, you researched, but it fell flat and you can feel that you didn’t hit the mark.

Or, at work, a conversation will not go the way you’d hoped. The expectation you had going into the discussion, or the desired outcome, didn’t happen. Maybe it is at home where you and your spouse, or you and your child seem to be ships passing in the night. You presented it to your boss or teenager, and…nothing.

What do you do? How do you get through to people who don’t listen, who don’t want to hear?

Matthew 13 is a short parable of Jesus that I’ve heard pastors refer to when they preach a sermon and people didn’t respond with the same enthusiasm they expected or hoped or people have used when sharing the gospel, and it went nowhere.

It says:

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”

Notice where pastors get themselves off the hook or where we as Christians share the gospel or a conversation: Some people aren’t open and won’t listen. What was the farmer supposed to do? The soil wasn’t ready. 

While that happens and there is some truth there, notice what the farmer did. He spread the seed out; he did what he was supposed to do. It was soil; he planted the seed in the ground the way you cultivate the soil.

Many pastors and Christians who share the gospel are content to let themselves off the hook by not doing it in a way that resonates with people who don’t know Jesus. Many of us are satisfied in our most important relationships to let ourselves off the hook, blame the other person instead of doing the hard work. Or we expect the other person to read our minds.

Here are a few ideas to keep in mind when communicating to someone, whether it is at a job, about an issue that needs to be resolved, or about the gospel:

4 ways to preach so they will hear and understand.

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Put yourself in their shoes. How are they feeling? What are their roadblocks to hearing what   you have to say? Many pastors don’t remember that most of the people they preach to don’t agree with them. So don’t assume you have agreement on the foundational pieces of your conversation or sermon. 

You need to know the stories of the people you are speaking to, their fears and desires, and their longings. When I preach, this is one of the areas that the enneagram is so helpful as a grid to think through. It helps me think of examples and what people might struggle with as it relates to a topic or a passage. It is also incredibly helpful in relationships as I think through where I am coming from and what the other person is looking for.

Have a goal in mind. What is a win? If the conversation or sermon ends, how will you know if it is a success? Is that goal realistic? Everything should be moving in that direction. When I preach, I have a big idea. The big idea is the one idea I want everyone to leave knowing. If people can’t say it and remember it, it wasn’t a success. What is your next step from a sermon? Is that obvious? 

The conversation you need to have at work or home, is the goal clear? What do you hope changes because of it? Too many discussions and meetings get off track because the goal isn’t clear. Frustrations boil over, or we begin to chase our tails and miss the point of the interaction. 

Remember, you don’t control their response. This is true but easy to forget. You don’t change anybody’s mind. You don’t force anybody into the kingdom of God. You don’t make someone kill an idol in their heart; the Holy Spirit does. You don’t make your child or spouse who God wants them to be; he does. Remember your role in the process.

This means you don’t need to push. You don’t need to say everything you can think of on a topic. You can stop talking and let things simmer, and allow the receiver to process things.

How a change in relationships happens.

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Be prepared. The farmer was prepared. If you preach, you should be prepared for your sermon. Do your homework. You, as a pastor, pay the price for your sermon, not your church. The farmer did his job; he planted the seed and let them grow. He didn’t force them; he planted.

Too many times pastors stand up and preach a half-done sermon. Too many times people start essential conversations on the fly without thinking through them, and then wonder why the other person is upset, or it didn’t go anywhere. This means you need to understand how the other person hears something, and when it’s the best time to bring it up so they will listen to you. 

4 ways to have a conversation with someone to move something forward.

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3 Things to Move a Sermon from Good to Great

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There are many good sermons and good preachers, but there seems to be a level of great. Communicators that thousands listen to, thousands respond to and the Holy Spirit uses in incredible ways. So while I would not stick myself in that category, I hope to continue growing to be used by God as much as I can.

Before laying out the difference between a good and great sermon, a quick definition:

To expound Scripture is to open up the inspired text with such faithfulness and sensitivity that God’s voice is heard and his people obey him. -John Stott

A sermon is not a sermon if it doesn’t point people to Jesus. It is just a motivational talk if it is simply self-help and not focused on the gospel. So, yes, God is the one who moves in powerful and mysterious ways through the act of preaching, and we can’t make someone change. But there are things we as preachers can do when it comes to preaching and sermon prep.

With what a preacher has power over, what separates a good from a great sermon?

Three things.

3 things (you control) that separate a good from a great sermon.

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Tell stories. We all know that stories move people; stories are engaging and memorable.

Now, pastors can go overboard and tell too many stories. As a preacher, I am more comfortable with logic, data, and history, and those can be interesting, but they rarely move people. I have had to grow in my storytelling ability, and I still have a ways to go. But, if you listen to great communicators, you will hear great storytellers who can build tension and add layers and details to their stories.

Edit. A lot. Years ago, I read this: For 33 consecutive years, 1981 to 2013, every Best Picture winner had also been nominated for the Film Editing Oscar, and about two-thirds of the Best Picture winners have also won for Film Editing.

One of the most overlooked skills of preaching is the ability to edit, to leave things out. As a result, many sermons that get preached on a Sunday are two or three-week series.

I remember saying to our feedback team recently, “I feel like I have two sermons here.” And I did. I had to decide which way to go, both were good topics, but I needed to pick one and go deeper.

What about length?

I know some pastors who wear it as a badge of honor that they preach 45-60 minutes. So if you can be interesting for that long, do it.

Let me confess: I have never listened to an hour-long sermon. Ever. That’s just me. My mind wanders off.

Editing is an overlooked skill for pastors.

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One point. This follows closely with the second thing. People listening to a sermon cannot remember multiple things, only one thing. I saw this with a group of younger leaders I meet with. We watched some sermons, and 5 weeks after the one sermon, we were talking about it. Although the guy didn’t like the speaker (he said he was shallow), he could remember the main point he communicated 5 weeks later.

Make your main point into a simple, memorable statement. And say it again and again in your sermon. Make your church say it with you. Then, long after your sermon is over, they will remember the stories and that one statement.

3 simple ideas to improve your preaching.

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Preaching & the Future of the Church

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A lot has been written about the future and the church in this covid world and what church attendance and engagement will look like in the future.

I think a big part of that and where that ends up will be connected to preaching. And for many of us, for the time being (and a lot longer), that will include preaching to a camera, whether in empty or half-filled rooms or with people watching online.

Pastors know this, but preaching is the rudder of the ship, so to speak, when it comes to church. It is the driver in terms of setting the vision and direction for the whole church. It is the place where we have the most connection and engagement with the biggest group of people.

But, in a post-covid world, that looks a little different than it did in 2019.

But how?

I think some important shifts have happened that preachers need to be aware of.

5 important shifts to preaching in the future.

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1. Focus matters more than time. Any book or blog on preaching or communication will have something about the length of a sermon. Yes, attention spans are shorter today than decades ago. But people are still listening to 3-4 hour podcasts every week, so there is an argument to be made that you can go long.

That isn’t my goal today.

My goal is to make this point: Focus matters more than time. You can have a great sermon that is focused and go for 45 minutes and have a terrible one all over the place, and it is 12 minutes. Time isn’t the factor. It is a factor, but the most important factor over time is the focus of a message.

Is your sermon simple, clear, focused? Does it grab people’s emotions and their minds? Can they walk out with any tangible steps? Do you have a memorable line?

As sermons begin to live longer and people access them in various ways, the focus will need to rise higher than it has in the past. The reality is people will be watching more in homes and listening in their cars.

Focus matters more than the length of time in preaching.

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2. Marry Sunday with the rest of the week. A lot of debate has happened over the years about how much of a sermon should be applied. That isn’t the point of this article.

The point here is how applicable is what you say to the other 6 days of the week, especially because many people will be watching your sermon and engaging with it on a Tuesday night.

I think a big part of the future of the church will have to do with how we equip people to live on mission in their daily lives. Our sermons and content must help people in their relationships, as parents, and as employees and bosses.

How applicable is your preaching?

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3. Helpful content will rule the day. If you scroll through your timeline on any social media channel, there’s a good chance it looks like mine: Lots of yelling.

But the content that will remain and will be the most viewed, I think, will be the content that is the most helpful.

Here’s why this matters for pastors. When our content is helpful, it causes us to think of the people who view it and the struggles they are having. It helps us to see ourselves as servants instead of rock stars. It also helps to take the spotlight off of our church or us and see how we can be, in the words of Donald Miller, a guide to those who are listening.

Helpful content is the most sharable content.

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4. People are longing for meaning. This is connected to #2 but is really important for the future of preaching.

I believe many people will come out of covid with a renewed desire for their lives to matter and make a difference. If 2020 has taught us anything, it has taught us how short life actually is and how we can’t take any day for granted. As communicators and content creators, we can’t miss out on this because the Bible has a lot to say about meaning and our search for it and where to find meaning that lasts.

In a post-covid world, people will be looking more for meaning in their lives.

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5. People are still looking for hope and help. Right now, many people feel hopeless and stuck. If pastors are honest with themselves, many of them do as well.

But this is a great opportunity for churches because we have the hope and help of Jesus.

Each week, each message or video that is created and shared asks: Did I give hope? Did I show where to find help?

I think if we can do that in our messages, people will listen. It will rise above the noise around us. People are more likely to share something that has brought them hope and help. This is why we recommend any book or podcast, or blog to someone.

I think this is also a great grid for us to use when it comes to the messages we preach and the content we create.

5 things pastors need to remember about preaching.

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