4 popular preaching myths

7/30/2019 4 Popular Preaching Myths

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4 Popular Preaching MythsBrian Orme

What you think about your preaching while preparing your message might be just as

important as the words you say when you deliver it.

What you think about your preaching while preparing your message might be just as

important as the words you say when you deliver it.

Your preaching preparation might be influenced by many things: criticism, praise, the

current needs or trials of your people, the depth of the textbut theres one thing that

shouldn't influence us: myths.

Were all prone to wrong thinking at one time or another. Wrong thought patterns

creep in from our insecurities, our environment, or even our adversary. Thats why it

is so important to continually renew our minds on the truth of the Scripture.

These four myths, if believed, can change the direction of your preaching and impactyour effectiveness for the kingdom. Dont fall for these dangerous beliefsstay

alert, guard your mind and preach in the freedom and grace God has already given

you.

1. More study time equals better sermon delivery.

This myth seems like a logical truth: spend more time studying commentaries, reading

sermons and notes from the greats and churn out a better, more compelling message in

proportion to the time spent. Theres only one problem its not true. More prep

time can be a factor, for sure, but its not a universal truth. In fact, the law ofdiminishing returns often kicks in at some point in our prep, and more study time can

actually hurt your message. The best sermon prep is still wrapped up in experiencing

the presence of Godnot books and more study time.

Ecclesiastes 12:12:But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is

endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.
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2. One bad sermon equals less attendance next week.

I think this is the fear of many preachersthat one monumental, incredibly poor,

disastrous sermon will lead to the churchs demise. This is a false assumption based

more on fear than on fact. People are generally forgiving of a bad sermon. Thelikelihood of your attendance dropping by 1025% because you preached a wonky

sermon is minimal at best. A well-meaning preacher who loves Jesus and works hard

to prepare his sermon, but still bombs, is just not that big of a deal. Drops in

attendance happen over time typically due to many factors, not just a bad sermon. Of

course, if you preach something opposed to the gospel or sound doctrinenow, that

might equal a dropbut one sermon that didnt connect to your audience is not a

felony offense. Its better to focus on what God thinks about your sermon, anyway.

I Corinthians 3:67:I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making

it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but onlyGod, who makes things grow.

3. Open feedback will hurt your preaching.

Many preachers refuse to receive feedback or criticism because they think it will hurt

their preaching or because they feel like they might be scratching itching ears. Open

feedback can be tough, but some of the best preachers have learned to listen, receive,

filter and grow from it. If you dont have anyone who's willing to give you honest

feedback on your sermons, then your preaching is likely not as good as it could be.

Dont get me wrong; feedback and criticism are not fun, but neither is growth untilyou see the fruits on the other end. The secret to making feedback work is finding

wise counsel (other than your spouse) for regular, constructive input.

Proverbs 15:22:Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

4. Deeper teaching equals an academic or heady theological

message.

Theres a lot of buzz about deeper teaching in the church today. The fact is the

definitions that church members and church leaders use to explain deeper teaching are

typically not the same. Church leaders often equate deeper teaching with theological

depth and academic delivery, while many church members define deeper teaching in

terms of how the sermon impacts or convicts them personally.

So, whos right? On this one, its the audience. The depth of your sermon is not

dependent on your academic sources but on your ability to penetrate, convict and


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point out truth in clear and simple terms. We could argue about the simplicity of the

preaching of Jesus vs. the complexities of Pauls epistles, but the bottom line is that

deeper teaching should move us to deeper obedience. Academic sermons arent

badtheyre just not always deep. Deep sermons require an uncanny precision for

building a clear biblical context while moving the listener to a provocative response.

Paul summed up his preaching into two powerful points that change everything:Christ crucified.

I Corinthians 2:2:For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus

Christ and him crucified.

That's deep.

These are the top four preaching myths Ive discovered both in my own sermon prep

and in my conversations with other church leaders. Id love to hear your feedback

what myths would you add to the list?

4 popular preaching myths

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