It Made me a Better Preacher *
I’ve been pretty open these last few years about how much my preaching changed when I decided the elders’ “advice” was actually worth listening to. Now, to be clear, I’ve always listened to elders, but for years it was in a cowering “they might fire me” position. But what if, what if, those guys actually were trying to help me? What if those guys actually have your best interest at heart? What if those guys wanted you to be better so you could bless the sheep they are commissioned to feed well? What if you actually reached out to them and milked them for input on ways you can improve. Ostensibly, they are the most spiritual men who will hear you preach week in an week out.
When that mentality changed, it changed everything. Over the next few years, they told me things that I would never have picked up on my own. And I’m better for it. What’d they teach me? There were five specific insights I gained that helped me preach better. Note that these are for ME; the things you need to do to improve would probably be different:
1. Don’t put too much material in your lessons: This was not about dumbing down the lesson or about having too many scriptures in the lesson but just about having too much material. And they were right. I would always find myself rushing through a lesson to get it all in or cramming in a lot of the material at the end because of time. When I went from a 3-4,000 manuscript word count to a 1,500-2,000 word count, I found I didn’t have to rush as much. And much of what I took out was filler. OR, if it was significant, I would take it and make it a standalone sermon.
2. Stop making “Off-handed” comments: Frankly, I didn’t even realize I did this, and if I did, certainly not much. So, I went back and listened. And I was doing exactly what they said. Two things I noticed. One, I would use them as little comments of humor. Two, when I did them, I would mumble them instead of speaking them clearly, so even if they were worthwhile, they weren’t heard or understood. The humor wasn’t necessary, and, for sure, it isn’t when it isn’t planned.
3. Slide Deck: In my fifth year of seeking input, they said, “You preach better when you have a slide deck.” The first thing I had to do was figure out what a slide deck is/was (I thought, “I like slides; this could be fun.” See “off-handed” comments). A slide deck is your PowerPoint (or other) presentation. Now, of this short list, I disagree slightly with this one. Personally, I don’t think I preach better with a slide deck; I think people listen better. But the end result is the same. I began to embrace the multitiered learning experience that these can add to our teaching.
4. Stop preaching to those who are not here: This one was the most painful but ultimately the most helpful. After a lot of good years of growth our congregation was going through a very painful period of growth. People were leaving. A lot of them. I was trying to address, from a Bible approach, the issues they were leaving over. On my review night, the elders said: “Those who left are gone. They may or may not come back, but those who are here want to be here. You are talking to people who are not here to hear what you are saying, and those who are here don’t have the issues you are addressing. Feed the people who are here.”I needed to hear that.
I say all of this for one end: Let me encourage you to listen to good people who love the Lord, His church, His Word, and you - in helping you to be a better communicator of God’s wonderful message.
Note: While we believe most elderships will be extremely helpful along these lines, we acknowledge that not every eldership, nor every piece of direction an eldership might give would be wise to follow. -d