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Has Preaching seen It’s Day? Pt 4
By jason | January 15, 2008
Has Preaching seen It’s Day? Pt 1
Has Preaching seen It’s Day? Pt 2
Has Preaching seen It’s Day? Pt 3
Is it just me or are many younger pastors flaunting how lengthy they preach? Is it just me or are many wearing their long preaching as a badge of honor? It seems the perception is that unless you preach for 50 or 60 minutes you’re not all that cool, why?
Well, I am down with the long sermon coming from someone who actually has something to say for 50 or 60 minutes (so don’t misunderstand me). But it seems we have a problem when we’re telling everyone that unless they preach for 45+ minutes they are not preaching “deeply.” (And by “deeply” I don’t mean the lame bolstering of information and knowledge. That’s not what these men is meant by depth. What they mean is something very rich and heart impacting. So in this sense “deep” is a positive term.)
So is it possible to preach “deeply,” with real value for the hearers, remaining true to the text, and preach less than 45 minutes? When I hear some it would seem this is not possible.
But I take solace in Tim Keller’s thoughts on this issue:
- Keller preaches 30-35 minutes himself.
- Keller says younger ministers should speak for no longer than 30-35 minutes because you really don’t have that much to say.
- Keller says younger ministers should probably not spend more than 8-10 hours in preparation because spending longer than that really isn’t going to give you that much more in return. What he means is if you spend 30 hours a week on preparation you won’t get much more than you would have if you spent 8-10 hours.
- Keller is a stud.
- Therefore, who am I to think I should preach more than 35 minutes.
Okay, that’s all a bit of a generalization (and is meant to be a bit tongue in cheek) but the thing I get from Keller’s comments is that one can preach for 30-35 minutes and actually preach deeply to the hearts of people.
I might also add this one last bit from a conversation I had yesterday. 30 minutes of mediocre is bearable. 50 minutes of mediocre is overkill. So I think I will err on the side of 30 minutes of mediocre than 50 minutes.
So in summary it seems the key to preaching “deeply” has little to do with length of a sermon. Sure, it might be difficult to communicate much of anything in 10 minutes. But it seems the key to preaching is not length of the sermon but has everything to do with the power of the gospel.
For discussion:
So what do you think? Is it possible to preach “deeply” for impact in less than 45-60 minutes?
And secondly why do people wear their lengthy sermons as a badge of honor? Am I just missing something here?
What do you think?
If you liked that post, check these...
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Links by admin on May 1st, 2007
Topics: Communication |
January 15th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
YES. Absolutely possible,some of the best sermons I have ever heard have been in that time frame.
Well, not all of them, but I’m just not sure where they are coming from on their “deepness”. People want to know how the word applies to their lives today and their current situations and how to grow closer in there walk with God, esp on a Sunday morning atmosphere.
About those who are wearing the badge, not sure what that is all about? I mean, the only thing I can think of, are those who “go deep” for that length of time must be full of information and gibberish
January 15th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
I’ll jump in here. It seems like it takes a very significantly gifted preacher/communicator to keep people engaged for 50 minutes. In most cases, I would guess that preachers are handing out way more information than most people can assimilate in one sitting. Or (as is often the case with myself) they could cut out some fluff and stop beating around the bush and easily condense that 50 minute sermon down to 30.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
“30 minutes of mediocre is bearable. 50 minutes of mediocre is overkill.”
Genius!
January 30th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Why 30 - 35 minutes? Why not a 15 minute sermonette? Why bother at all? I have a bible, worship cd’s. I can go to a Christian concert and worship with other believers. I think it’s got to do more with the hearts of the people. Do you want more? Is your pastor feeding you the good stuff? If my answer to both is yes…then please don’t cut me off at 30 minutes! I want to be challenged, my eyes opened, my heart changed. I have sat through a 30 minutes sermon and I have sat through a 45 minute sermon — both times same pastor. I can honestly say that the better sermon was the longer one. I felt his heart was more in tune with us and his passion was clearer in what he was preaching — not the amount of time we were going to be sitting there. I know that Sunday is primarily the day to worship(in all forms) as a body, therefore it’s not to be my one and only source of biblical food, but it is my once a week chance to hear from someone who makes it his job to study the scripture and to pray over what God wants to teach this particular congregation. I want more — that’s all I’m saying!
January 30th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
I think you hit the nail on the head, it’s not about how much time. That’s sort of my point. Since it’s not about specific timing we don’t have to be stuck with the mindset that only a 50 minute sermon can penetrate deeply.
Not trying to suggest the magic number is 30 minutes. Only that in my experience I have operated best in 30-40 minutes.
January 30th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
I really hope that I didn’t sound like I was being critical. My husband and I are in a real desperate search right now (just left our church of 7 years) to find a church we feel passionate in serving in. We have come from different denomonational backgrounds and realize that it shouldn’t even be about the denomonation. We want to serve with people who are crazy about Jesus and unfortunately that’s not common place in some churches! After I typed my last note, I really sat and asked God for some clarity. This newer trend in churches is a bit scarey to me. I am so afraid of running down the wrong path, whether it be this new trend or a stale religion.
Maybe this new trend is going to force people to get real. To start self-teaching — feeding ourselves. To stop expecting this thing called the church to supply our needs. Maybe God’s purpose is to see this “place” as a place for serving each other and the lost. A place where we are taught how to feed ourselves, a place to be challenged to worship from our hearts, a place to minister to others. A place where true religion is birthed in the heart of the believer instead of being passed down from generation to generation.
When it’s all said and done, it’s between me and my Father — not my pastor, not my church, not my connections. I wonder if the church has given the impression that it can do more than it actually does. Than it actually should!
I will say this for you — your blog has really helped me to seek more clarity not only in what we are looking for, but also what the Bridegroom wants from His bride. Thanks for bein’ real!
January 31st, 2008 at 10:27 am
I didn’t take you as being critical. Thanks for your thoughts.