Preaching for Church Growth

An older pastor once told me, "If you love your people, they will forgive you for a lot of bad sermons". This was some of the worst advice I ever received. Not all will go through a crisis during your tenure; however, everyone will hear you preach - and expect to be fed.
We read in the Bible, "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6). Romans 10:17 tells us, "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ."

Preaching has become a hot topic in ministry circles. With excellent media preachers like Charles Stanley and Chuck Swindoll, the pressure has only grown for pastors to be strong Biblical preachers. Everyone seems to have the right answers, often at the expense of others.

There seems to be several different types of preachers in today's church.

• How to Harry - A self-help preacher. "C'mon" everything can't be "how to".
• Topical Tom - Just don't let me catch you in one of our seminary classrooms.
• Expository Eduardo II - They pride themselves on being the only ones who actually preach God's Word.
• Love to preach Larry - Excellent exposition but never connects with the people - so no one cares.
• Boring Bob - Takes the most exciting book in the Bible and puts us to sleep.

All joking aside, preaching is crucial in leading a growing church. Dr. Thom Rainer states that among newly reached people, 90% considered the preaching to be the primary reason they returned to church a second time.

I have found three things about preaching:

• It's God's Word, so I must be careful with it.
• My leadership is more dependent upon my preaching than any leadership skill I may have.
• Our people evaluate our ministry and walk based on our preaching and our praying.

The logic is, if we can speak for God and speak to God, we must be a man of God.

I certainly am not setting myself up as an expert in the field, but here are a few things that might give you direction:

• Preach the Word - Yes, explain it, but spend the majority of your time applying it.
• Study hard - We need to "rightly divide the Word". (Let me suggest Dr. Jerry Vine's book, "A Practical Guide to Sermon Preparation".)
• Have a variety - Exposition is the best, but everyone needs variety. I spend half of my time preaching through books. However, it is interesting to note that all of the messages in the Bible were topical or narrative. The popular and effective study courses, such as "Experiencing God" are topical. Very few commentaries make the best seller list.
• Play to your strengths - For example: use humor, stories, and technical exegesis as you are gifted.
• Connect with your audience - Put yourself in their place. Use personal illustrations that reflect your needs or past failures, not just your successes. Apply the message to your own life before preaching it to others.
• Preach it all - With grace, but no apologies!

Since preaching is so vitally important to all that we do in the ministry, all of us should strive to be the very best we can be. As we prepare and the Holy Spirit fills us, lives will be changed. Until next time...