The Problem and the Solution

If you are unhappy with the results of your preaching it is probably not your fault. Chances are you went to a seminary (or currently attend one) that was great at teaching you how to interpret the Bible. Your professors were probably excellent at helping you discover the nuance of a biblical text and the original meaning of the Hebrew and Greek words of the Bible. Most seminaries are fantastic at equipping preachers to be interpreters of scripture.

But here is the problem. Most seminaries are ineffective at equipping preachers to communicate to average listeners in a local church. In fact, many seminaries hardly attempt to teach preachers how to be effective communicators. The seminary I graduated from was superb in many ways, but they only required one introductory preaching class. If you wanted to learn more about how to become an effective preacher, you had to rearrange your schedule and take elective courses when they were available. Unfortunately, my experience is not the exception. Many seminaries only require one introductory preaching class to graduate with a master of divinity. That's hardly enough training in a discipline that is paramount to the role of a local pastor.

Unless seminary students grew up in churches with good preachers, their professors have the biggest influence on their preaching. Many seminary professors have little-to-no ministry experience in the local church. This includes preaching professors. They are far removed from the texture of parish ministry and generally preach to those in the academic world. So it follows that many seminary students get the wrong impression about what it takes to preach effectively "in the field." A highbrow sermon may stir those in a seminary chapel but it will not work in the trenches of a local church.

Over the last forty years inductive preaching has become very popular in mainline seminaries. The impact of preaching revolutionary Fred Craddock and the rise of the "new homiletic" has led to a variety of inductive and narrative preaching styles. This style of preaching is known for turning "three points and a poem" upside down. Instead of beginning with the main idea of the scripture text and breaking it down into specific ideas, an inductive sermon begins with specific ideas and questions and concludes with a main idea. Quite often inductive sermons arrive at "open-ended" conclusions so listeners can draw their own conclusions about the message. This is a noble thought, but it's not realistic for most listeners.

There is a great deal to learn from inductive preaching. The sermons are clever and imaginative but the style and message are typically lost on average listeners. Novelty sometimes sacrifices clarity. Unless you have a congregation filled with preachers and seminary professors a steady diet of inductive preaching is not effective in most local churches. Most preachers don't have the time to create such novel art every week. More importantly, most listeners don't have the patience to sit through it. Listeners keep asking, "Is there a point?"

What I have discovered as I have taught other preachers is that many of them prepare sermons designed to reach the crowd at a seminary chapel service. They imagine their seminary professors sitting in the back pew critiquing their sermons. They have been rigorous in their research of the biblical text. They are diligent in communicating exegetical material. They quote biblical scholars and theologians to demonstrate their education. Basically, their sermons sound like a "research dump." Other preachers sound like they have just come from a creative writing retreat. They have read everything Barbara Brown Taylor and Fred Craddock have written and seek to imitate what cannot be duplicated or appreciated by most listeners.

If you are preaching every week to other preachers and professors, stick with this approach. However, if it is your goal to reach the majority of listeners in churches you must change your approach. You will never become an effective preacher looking over your shoulder for your seminary professors. If you want the gospel to connect with real people who have real needs in real life you must apply the secret. Am I saying to forget what seminary taught you? Absolutely not! All of your knowledge must be reframed in a way that connects with your listeners. With that in mind, let me tell you a secret.

The Secret

So what is the secret to great preaching? It is three simple words: Engage your listeners! You know, those people you are talking to in worship — the ones who chose not to do a thousand other things on a weekend so they might hear a relevant word from God for their lives. Let me repeat that: engage your listeners! Stick those words on your computer. Put them in your Bible. Type them on the top of your sermon notes. Write them on a card and put them on the dashboard of your car. Get a tattoo that says it ... well, just kidding. You get my point.

I know. Looks too simple, doesn't it? To tell you the truth it is deceptively simple. Many preachers ignore the secret by assuming their listeners will be engaged regardless of what they say and how they say it. This is a fatal mistake, and it's the mentality of preachers who have difficulty connecting with their listeners.

This may sting a little but if you want to be a great preacher you must accept it: "If people aren't interested they're not listening." The great pulpiteer J. Wallace Hamilton said that quote over fifty years ago. If it was true then, it is especially true today. If your listeners are not interested in what you have to say they are not going to pay attention to you. Oh, they may look like they're listening but their minds and hearts are far away. They are thinking about the talk they must have with their bosses on Monday, their grocery lists, where they are going to lunch after worship, or the texts they have received that look more interesting than anything you are saying. They have checked out and the opportunity for them to be transformed by your message has been lost.

So how do you get your listeners interested in what you have to say? Engage them! And how do you engage them? To begin with, stop thinking about your seminary textbooks, commentaries, and professors, and start thinking about the lives of your listeners. To be blunt: Don't be selfish when you prepare sermons. Think of others when you preach! Ask yourself, how will this biblical message engage those who take the time to get up, dress up, and show up to worship?

When you preach there may be a woman sitting in the back who is going through a bitter...