3. Preaching in Saul’s armor.
This comes in primarily two forms: trying to preach like your favorite preacher, and trying to preach like your professors and books say you should.
You’re not Saul, you’re David.
You’re not Long, Craddock, Buttrick, Billy Graham, Greg Laurie, Erwin McManus or Rick Warren. No, you’re not Jaroslav Pelikan, Wolfhart Pannenberg or Walter Brueggmann either.
You are you. God made you and His Spirit has gifted you “as He chose.”
So, let your own personality and insights from the text come through. Obviously, learn from others rigorously. But, be yourself.
4. Underestimating the listeners.
People come to church to encounter Christ and the Bible first. They expect you to use the Bible to help with insight. They don’t need you to bring your sermon to the level of a coloring book. They are much, much smarter than you think—and appreciate you not leaving things on the surface.
If someone bothers to come to church, they come expecting the Bible, teaching that helps them understand God and life better. If they wanted a TED talk, they know where to find one. They need a sermon. This is good news.
Don’t be afraid to communicate nuanced ideas or make people feel things. Have regard for the listener—who is smarter and more prepared to hear a strong, biblical sermon than we often give them credit for. However, we shouldn’t succumb to …
5. Giving “in theory” sermons.
These are sermons that in no way answer the questions, “What does the text want us to know/feel/do?”
”In theory” sermons tend to use lofty language straight from seminary that leaves people wondering what in the world those terms mean—not because the terms are over their head intellectually, but because the preacher doesn’t know how to use those terms/ideas. We often think the problem is the “shallowness” of the church, when the confused look on their faces has far more to do with our own homiletical malpractice.
When preaching, one can go to extreme depths, as long as one explains it CLEARLY. Two things will help with this—paying deeper attention to one’s use of language (clarity) and one’s aim (know/feel/do).
There are many more—preaching to a nonexistent enemy, hypergeneralizations and lethargy in the preparation process just to name a few. But …
What else might you add? Which of these are you most vulnerable to? For me, it’s numero cinco.
