On Shorter Preaching

A thoughtful blog by Kevin DeYoung, who preaches long for others who probably preach too long, including myself . . .

Let me get my caveats out of the way first.

Yes, I have preached my share of long sermons (more on that in a moment). I don’t do many 15-minute homilies. My last four sermons on the Christ Covenant website (as of Monday) were 43 minutes, 46 minutes, 46 minutes, and 36 minutes. I aim for 40 minutes, but I bet my average is closer to 45 minutes (as the small sample size suggests). So my own congregation may read this post and say, “Physician, heal thyself!”

Moreover, I realize that in some contexts, cutting five minutes would bring the sermon from 25 minutes to 20 minutes, or from 18 minutes to 13 minutes. That feels far too light a meal to feed God’s people a healthy diet of Scriptural truth. As John Stott famously quipped, “Sermonettes make Christianettes.”

I also understand that the “proper” length of a sermon is culturally conditioned. In some churches, it may take years to get them accustomed to 30 minutes, while other churches have plenty of practice with two-hour services and 60-minute messages. I’m not laying down an ironclad law.

Having said all that, I feel comfortable making the assertion that the majority of preachers in our conservative, Reformedish circles could safely cut their sermon length by five or ten minutes (or more) and be more effective because of it.

While guest preaching in a church several years ago I asked the senior pastor how long I should preach. He replied, “Five minutes shorter than you think.” He wasn’t trying to be mean. His advice was tongue-in-cheek. But it was also partly serious. He went on to add that he’d rarely heard a sermon that couldn’t have been better by being five minutes shorter.

That got me thinking: did my sermons really need to be 50 or 55 minutes? When I look back at old sermons I’m almost always amazed by how much I tried to cram into the sermon. That’s always been a weakness of mine. I try to give people the whole elephant. It’s not necessary. The good thing about preaching for many years to the same people is that eventually you’ll get to say the important things that need to be said. There’s no need to make a single sermon touch on anger and membership and the regulative principle and the glory of God and the atonement, even if the passage fairly applies to all those areas.

We honor good preaching in our circles. And we should. Preaching is the lifeblood of the church. There is no greater calling than to herald the riches of Christ. But good preaching is not the same as long preaching. We love to hear of the Puritan preachers who turned over the hourglass and settled in for a second hour of sermonizing. Many of our heroes from ages past preached long, dense, wonderful messages. What we forget is that those congregations often complained about those sermons too! The Dutch Reformed in the colonies tried (usually in vain) to restrict the Domine to only one hour in the pulpit.

More importantly, we overlook the fact that today’s congregations have books and podcasts and small groups and Sunday school classes and book studies and a host of opportunities to be instructed in the Word. The Puritans were preaching to many people who couldn’t read and who received all their Bible teaching from Sunday services (or pastoral catechizing). So a 30-minute sermon is not necessarily a capitulation to short attention spans. We live in a different time with different avenues for good Bible teaching.

Of course, there is no absolute rule to any of this. Like I said, earlier in my ministry I was drifting toward an hour. Now I’m around 45 minutes, aiming for slightly less. I think my preaching is better as a result. This isn’t about cutting corners in the study. Almost every pastor can testify that preaching for 35 minutes is harder than preaching for 50 minutes. Just like in writing, it takes more work to be concise. The sermons I usually feel the worst about are the ones that went too long. And normally they went too long because I didn’t do the necessary work ahead of time to prune, to focus, to cut out unnecessary repetitions, to scuttle dispensable digressions.

The hard reality is that I don’t think I’m good enough for 60-minute sermons every week. The freeing reality, however, is that I don’t have to go 60 minutes to preach an exegetically responsible, theologically rich, personally relevant, doxologically powerful sermon.

Here’s the bottom line: there’s no need to preach for an hour when 40 minutes will do. The truth is most people will be glad for a shorter sermon. The parents with children in the pew certainly will be. Your wife just might be too. And the nursery workers will rise up and call you blessed.

Helpful Hints on Biblical Preaching

From the helpful blog Pelton on Preaching by Randal Emory Pelton.  Here are three Rewiring Your Preaching: How the Brain Processes Sermons (IVP).   I think they are extremely helpful.

takeaways he gives form Richard H. Cox’s book, 

One. Repeating key theological and practical concepts is helpful in making disciples. On page 35 Cox writes,

“Specific brain changes result from repetitive learning….The brain responds to repetition.”

That helped me because I often shy away from any kind of repetition. I tell myself repeatedly, “They already heard this before” or “They already know this.” I didn’t realize how valuable repetition is for transformation into Christlikeness.

Two. Anyone who addresses the congregants, such as pastors or song leaders, needs to help them take their attention off the temporal and place its squarely on the eternal. Cox states that parishioners…

“must make the neural switch from daily problem solving to thinking about eternal matters if they are to hear and listen” (page 46).

Our listeners don’t make that switch automatically when they enter the church service. I need to do a better job helping them make that switch with cues such as: “We’ve all arrived having spent an entire work week in the daily grind. It’s time to spend some minutes together thinking about God and the world He is creating for us.”

Three. Our sermons must contain critical matters in God’s Word and help our parishioners realize those words are critical. On page 73 Cox writes,

“The sermon must contain things that we must hear. It must also convince us that we need to hear those things.”

Of course, it takes some effort to convince some of our listeners that the Word of God is a “must hear” kind of communication. Actually, that is God’s job of creating ears that can hear. Our job is to make sure our sermon contains His Word, not our opinions. Our own faith and intensity can help our listeners realize how desperately we need to hear from God.

Before Sunday, keep these three things in mind so God receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Some Listeners May Not Think They’re Sinners (part 6 of What Are Our Listeners Thinking?)

I started a DMin program this past year at Talbot Seminary, in the Ministry Skills Track.  It has three focuses, preaching, leadership, and discipleship.  As a result this past year has been spent immersing myself in preaching books and blogs.  I have come across a Randall Pelton's blog that I have found helpful.  Here is a good reminder on the necessity of explaining basic theological truths.

I

n this post I’m continuing my summary of the book, Belief Without Borders: Inside the Minds of the Spiritual but not Religious, by Linda Mercadante. Of all the things I learned about the spiritual but not religious (SBNR), what surprised me the most was how prevalent is the notion that human beings are basically good.

Look at how prevalent the belief in human goodness is: “The one thing nearly everyone said—the one thing they most often started their comments with—is that human nature is inherently good” (p. 129). Here are some telling quotes:
“I think we’re born all good in terms of spirit” (p. 130)
“I think that the little child is born in goodness”
“I believe in essential goodness….Basically we’re very good.”
“We are good and doing wrong is out of character.”
“I think people are essentially good. Each one of us has a nugget of basic goodness.”
“I feel like every person is born pure and innocent, good all the way around.”
“We’re all divine….We’re all masters….We’re all perfect and all we have to do is remember that.” (p. 134)

This information is important to me, not because I have many SBNR’s in our faith-family, but because their mindset is in the air we breathe. These notions are at war with our Christian faith.

Did you think it was that blatant? I didn’t.

It reminded me how important it is to explain original sin and sin in general whenever preaching portions contain those concepts. I can’t assume everyone knows our predicament. No predicament, no need for the Gospel. Or, how about this? Decrease the belief in our sinfulness and we decrease the need for God’s grace for our growth.

Anyway, remember that belief in human goodness is in the air and that air leaks into the sanctuaries each Sunday.

Preach well for the sake of God’s reputation in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

Church Has Left A Bad Taste In Their Mouth (part 5 of What Are Our Listeners Thinking?!)

I identify with this issue among many who are unchurched.  Another in a series by Randall Peyton.

In this series I’m highlighting some of the insights gained from reading, Belief Without Borders: Inside the Minds of the Spiritual but not Religious (by Linda Mercadante). I wanted to get a better understanding of what many of our congregants bring to the equation each time we preach. This kind of information affects sermon content and delivery.

For instance, many of our listeners have had previous relationships with other churches (it would be interesting to know what percentage of our parishioners have no history with a prior congregation). And many of those relationships were not good. This was one of the experiences shared by all five types of spiritual but not religious (SBNR’s) interviewees.

That means they already have a bad taste in their mouth when they sit down at your table and eat your spiritual food. One person reported:

“my mother and father would get mad at the church and pull us all out and I was too young to have a voice in the matter…” (p. 44).

Mercadante summarizes a common refrain: “[they] would find a tenet with which they disagreed, or they became disappointed with the all-too-human qualities of the average congregation, spiritual group, leader, or participant. Either they found the beliefs ultimately unbelievable, or felt that members were not living up to them.” (p. 52)

Here’s what I’m trying to do to help them reconnect with our church while I preach:

before Sunday morning, pray for their healing

showcase the relationship I have with the connected congregants through friendly sermon dialogue (it has a way of showing the hesitant that this is a safe place for their souls; they tend to get caught up in the relationship)

let them know you know they might disagree with a statement and address their concern as you prove your point (quasi-apologetics)

talk frankly about what one of my colleagues calls being a “messy church” (admit that we don’t always live up to what we believe; be honest about who we are)

mix in genuine smiles with all the serious sermon stuff (I’m still amazed at how strangers react to smiles in and out of church)

Preach well for the sake of God’s reputation in the Church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

Preaching to the “Fuzzy Faithful” (part 3 of: What Are Our Listeners Thinking?!)

I find many in the church that have a fuzzy understanding of truth!  Another post by Randall Peyton reviewing Belief Without Borders: Inside the Minds of Spiritual but not Religious.   

Reading, Belief Without Borders: Inside the Minds of the Spiritual but not Religious, reminded me that I have to do a better job preaching to various kinds of Believers. It’s not enough to think in terms of saved and unsaved. Within the category of the “saved” are professing Christians experiencing less-than-desired reactions to the Word of God.

The author writes:

“it has always been obvious to religious leaders that there are many ‘fuzzy’ faithful sitting in their pews; people who are neither completely clear, completely in agreement, nor completely faithful to the tents of their religion” (p. 11).

Maybe it’s always been obvious, but that doesn’t mean pastors preach with these kinds of people in mind.

To the slightly confused I could say: “Let me try to make that clearer. In other words…”

To the slightly disagreeable I could say: “Let me try to prove this because you might not be buying it yet…”

To the slightly unfaithful (is that like saying someone is slightly pregnant?!) I could say: “Some of you know God has not been able to rely on you lately in this area…”

Most, if not all, of these kinds of listeners would claim to have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Effective preachers like Jonathan Edwards or D. M. Lloyd-Jones made it a habit to challenge that claim. They pointedly spoke to various categories of listeners. They acknowledged the presence of those overhearing worship; they spoke directly to various categories within the camp called Christian.

God help us do the same for the sake of His reputation in the Church and in the world (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

“I’m just going through the motions”: (part 2 of What Are Our Listeners Thinking?!)

This series by Randall Pelton is helpful in understanding the way listeners are hearing your sermon.

According to Linda Mercadante’s book, Belief Without Borders: Inside the Minds of the Spiritual but not Religious (Oxford, 2014), some of our congregants might be thinking: “I’m just going through the motions. My heart is not in this.” It made me wonder if I ever address them during the sermon.

Belief without Borders: Inside the Minds of the Spiritual but not Religious

The spiritual, but not religious (SBNR), population is growing and I wanted to know what they were thinking about church and Christianity (in that order). The reason is because our parishioners breathe this same air in every day and inevitably bring some SBNR thoughts to church.

This phenomenon of going through the motions is not new to SBNR folks. Churchgoers have always had to fight this at times. But, evidently, a number of people who classify themselves as SBNR attend church while their faith gets weaker, not stronger.

Mercandante writes: “Those whose beliefs are weakening often hang on for a time as ‘ritualists,’ that is, going through the motions rather than being deeply committed” (p. 9).

So, this made me wonder how many of my listeners are experiencing a weakening of their faith. How many are ritualistic with no heart in their worship? How many are just going through the motions without feeling a deep love for God and neighbor?

And then I wondered if I ever address this crowd at all during Sunday sermons. Do you address them? Do you ever say something like: “Some of you know your faith is not strong right now. You know you’re just going through the motions. Remember that our Heavenly Father loves you dearly. So much so that He gave His only Son for you…” (Here I’m resisting the urge to add more guilt on them by telling them how to fix their problem through their own actions.) They’re there. We need to let them know we know they’re there.

May God give us wisdom to preach to this kind of listener so He receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

What Are Our Listeners Thinking?!: Confronting the Thoughts That Are Slowly Making Their Way Into the Church

This is the first in a series by Randall Pelton, a preaching professor.

A couple of weeks ago I finished reading Linda Mercadante’s book,

Belief without Borders: Inside the Minds of the Spiritual but not Religious (Oxford, 2014)

I had two goals in mind:

1. I wanted to begin to understand what this growing population is thinking about Christianity and the Church. Not often, but sometimes relatively unchurched or been-out-of-church-for-years visitors attend. I wanted to learn what they’re thinking.
2. I especially wanted to understand the kinds of thought patterns that our parishioners are unknowingly drifting towards. The kind of stuff that’s in the air we breathe by virtue of living in this world.

Knowing this helps me when I’m preparing and preaching sermons. I can ask how certain Scripture interacts with such thinking. I can explore how the Gospel creates a renewed mind. It’s a way for pastors to cut worldliness off at the pass. (Sorry if the spacing gets lost below.)

Let me begin with Mercadante’s citing of Harvey Cox:

“Cox asserts that religion is leaving behind the ‘Age of Belief,’ which is characterized as inordinate focus on ‘right belief,’ and entering, instead, the ‘Age of Faith’ where dogma is ignored, religious difference is minimized, and spirituality replaces religion” (p. 8).

We’ve got our work cut out for us!

Little by little our listeners will drift away from being learners of Jesus Christ. Unless, of course, we challenge those with ears to hear to think carefully about Christian doctrine/dogma and how it directs the Christian life. This involves preaching biblical sermons that are incontrovertibly true. This involves creating sermon segments that dive deep into doctrine.

Before Sunday, see if your sermon contains the incontestable truths of God. See if “right belief” is the foundation for righteous living. See if Christianity is expressed in such a way that automatically maximizes religious differences (“there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name…” Acts 4:12). Let’s do so for God’s “glory in the church and in Christ Jesus…” (Ephesians 3:21).

Preach a good sermon, will ya?!

Randal

3 Keys to Listening During Sermons

Here is a great and simple article on listening to sermons by Dave Jenkins at Gospel Centered Discipleship.

Going to church each Sunday and sitting under godly, loving, biblical, and practical preaching week in and week out should be enjoyed as a privilege by God’s people. While some people, like myself, learn best by sitting and listening, I know many people get more out of sermons by taking notes. When I’m listening to a sermon I try to always do the following three things:

1. Open my Bible and follow along as the pastor preaches the Word.
2. Listen for key ideas/points.
3. Learn to interpret the biblical text from your pastor.

1. OPEN YOUR BIBLE

First, open your Bible and follow along as the pastor teaches the Word. Whether you have a Bible app on your phone, or you have a physical copy of God’s Word, always be sure to have your Bible open so you can follow along as the pastor is preaching. Paul commended the Bereans (Acts 17:11) because they checked to see if what he was saying was biblical and the Thessalonians for how they received the Word of God (1 Thess. 2:13).

As Christians, we  should be known for our love for God. A real love for God will produce a love for his Word, his people, and his Church.We are living in a time when biblical illiteracy is on the rise. By opening your Bible during the week on your own, at Bible study, and on Sunday at your local church, you can grow in your knowledge, understanding, and application of God’s Word. This is why opening your Bible and following along as your pastor preaches the Word is so important—it will help you see what your pastor sees in the text, which will help you to learn how to read the Bible well on your own.

2. LISTEN FOR KEY IDEAS/POINTS

Second, listen for key ideas/points. Some pastors provide an outline for you to follow during the sermon. I encourage you to follow along with the outline and fill it in as the pastor preaches. This outline is a key tool to help you take notes. Typically, my pastor has his main points in the outline with words the congregation should fill in. He also has a few applications points for how we can apply the message to our lives. If you are like me, you might also occasionally write further thoughts and sometimes these thoughts have even become future articles.

While you’re listening to the sermon look for key ideas. These may be points the pastor brings out in his sermons, but it also may be a thought brought to mind by the Holy Spirit. These are important insights to write down because while they may be for that moment, they may also be for later in the week, or further down the road to encourage you or others.  As a Bible teacher, sometimes I’ll repeat something a few times to help the listener understand how a particular point is critical to the whole message. The essential point here is to pay attention throughout the sermon to the key ideas that are meaningful. Those may be the ones the pastor mentions, but they also may be something else that is helpful to you. Pay attention, take notes, and write down key ideas/thoughts as they come to you during the course of the sermon.

3. LEARN TO INTERPRET THE BIBLICAL TEXT FROM YOUR PASTOR

Third, learn to interpret the biblical text from your pastor. In the Bible study I lead at church, we’re going through the Gospel of John. I’ve told the men that come that one of the objectives I have for this study is to help them learn how to read and interpret the biblical text. One of the main objectives for faithful verse by verse preaching is that week after week and year after year, people get to see how the pastor reads, understands, and interprets the biblical text. This is one of the primary reasons why verse-by-verse expository preaching is so important. People today simply don’t know how to read and interpret the text.

In my experience, when people read a biblical text they first read themselvesinto the text rather than allowing the text to simply say what it means. This results in people wrongly handling the Word of God. As Christians, we should be known for handling the Word of God well (2 Tim. 2:15). The faithful pastor preaches the biblical text with a view to helping people to see how they got the points they did from the text under consideration. In other words, the faithful pastor exegetes the biblical text in order to help the people of God see what the text teaches, by drawing it out in helpful ways so people can learn to interpret the biblical text themselves.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Maybe you’ve never considered listening intentionally to a sermon or note taking. I am always actively listening for key ideas in the message—even if I’m not taking notes. In every sermon, there will be points that you’ll find more helpful than others. I encourage you to listen well and take notes if necessary, whether that’s on an outline provided, a notebook you bring, or just mentally. As you do so you’ll find that you will remember more of the sermon you hear.

Listening well and taking good notes during the sermon is a means to an end. That end is our growth in Christ and understanding of the Bible. You leave church each week sent out on a mission by God to make disciples of the nations for the glory of God. Listening well to what is being taught to you with an open Bible, listening and jotting down key ideas, and watching how your pastor interprets the Bible will help you to grow in your knowledge and application of the Bible, which will in turn help you to grow in the grace of God.

This week pick up your Bible, read it, study it, and apply it to your life. The end result of this is that any duplicity in your life will be replaced by a growing hunger for more of Jesus. At the end of the day, that’s the goal to not only listening to a sermon well, but a  Christian who is taking her own growth in Christ seriously.

—

Dave Jenkins is the Executive Director of Servants of Grace Ministries, and the Executive Editor of Theology for Life Magazine. He and his wife, Sarah, are members of Ustick Baptist Church in Boise, Idaho, where they serve in a variety of ministries. Dave received his MAR and M.Div. through Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. You can follow him on twitter @DaveJJenkins. Find him on Facebook or read more of his work at servantsofgrace.org.

The Necessity of Sitting Under the Preaching of the Word

Despite not, good brethren, despise not to hear God's Word declared.  As you tender your own souls, be diligent to come to sermons; for that is the ordinary place where men's hearts are moved, and God's secrets revealed.  For, be the preacher never so weak, yet is the Word of God as mighty and as puissant as ever it was.  John Jewel, as quoted by John Stott in Between Two Worlds, p. 119.