Preaching and Pulpit Ministry in the Twenty-first Century: Three Articles

15 Ways to Take Care of Guest Speakers

I am privileged to speak in dozens of churches each year. Most churches take good care of me, but some churches go the extra mile. When that happens, it’s fun to tell others about a congregation that is thoughtful and thorough in their approach toward guest speakers.

As your church considers guest speakers, here is a sample list of steps these churches have taken.... Keep reading

Six Observations about Speaking to Pastors Right Before They Preach

For most pastors, preaching is one of the most important facets of their ministries. It is that time when they get to expound on God’s Word. Much of their training has focused on preaching, and they often spend 15 to 20 hours preparing each sermon.

Pastors, with few exceptions, love their church members. They desire to serve their congregants well. They desire to be gracious and friendly to those who approach them. That is why most of them would be highly reticent to say what I am about to say.

Many times pastors get very distracted and even discouraged when someone speaks to them right before they preach. Let me elaborate in my usual fashion by making six observations. Keep reading

How Science Can Improve Your Sermon

Understanding the brain helps us preach more effectively. It was an odd sermon introduction. The guest preacher stood up to speak and told the congregation, "If you didn't know better, you'd think this was a classroom or a seminar. I'm standing here at the front, and you are all seated to listen. Many of you have pens and notebooks ready to take notes. But our purpose today is to worship God, not to teach a class."

As I glanced around me, I could see he was right. Aside from the drum set and instruments up front, the room's arrangement looked little different than a college classroom.

The preacher had a point; the purpose of a sermon is to do much more than impart information. Partnering with the Holy Spirit, it aims at transforming lives by bringing people closer to God. Yet that doesn't mean conveying information effectively isn't important. Knowledge is a crucial part of transformation. And recent research has yielded insights into how our brains receive information. For preachers these insights are especially important. They can enhance our teaching and help cultivate the soil onto which the seeds of God's Word fall each Sunday. Keep reading

Even in the space of ten minutes people will not give you their undivided attention. Sometimes they will be listening to what you are saying; sometimes their thoughts will be elsewhere. For this reason, it is important for a preacher to repeat salient points of the sermon a number of times, using slightly different wording each time. Someone in the congregation may not hear your the first time or the second time you repeat the point but he may hear you the third time or the fourth time. The exception is the congregant who has tuned you out altogether, has zoned out to another place, or is sleeping with his or her eyes open.