Pastor + Author
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I’ve been wrestling with this statement, ever since I heard this from a seasoned preacher who was a couple decades older than me.
He was essentially asserting that you need to preach approximately 200 sermons…
This makes sense (more on the parallel to pitching down below). After all, sermons aren’t general evergreen content that can be re-used and re-preached exactly as-is, regardless of the context. Sermons aren’t lectures that can be honed and re-taught semester after semester either. Preaching a sermon is much more than that. Preaching is the humble act of discerning and communicating God’s timely message, to a specific people, in a particular place.
So it makes sense that you need enough reps—approximately 200—to truly understand how to prepare and preach God’s word to God’s people in a way that is true to you.
In my first four years of pastoral ministry, I preached approximately 48 times a year. This was way too many reps, and I got burned out.
So for the next five years, I went down to approximately 4-8 times a year. While this was nice for the first year or two, I eventually realized that this was too infrequent for me.
For the next four years after that, I preached approximately 20-26 times a year. This was the best rhythm by far, and essentially prepared me for my current role and load at 32-35 times a year.
While I’m still honing my voice and growing as a preacher (I never want to stop developing), I’ve noticed that after 200 sermons, I’ve finally learnt how to preach one. Steve Carter, my preaching coach, has helped me uncover my voice, my sound, and my style.
As I was wrestling with my voice/sound/style, I realized that there were a ton of parallels between preaching and pitching.
Just like pitchers have different types of pitches in baseball, like the fastball, curveball, slider, changeup, splitter, knuckleball, sinker, and cutter, so do preachers! An expository sermon is a type of pitch, as is a topical sermon, or a narrative one. Some preachers have more of a teaching style, others are more inspirational, and some are very extemporaneous and exuberant—all of these are like different types of pitches in baseball.
Not only are there different types of pitches in baseball (and styles of sermons for preachers), but there are also different types of pitchers (and preachers). Starters start the game, set the tone, and will play a few to several innings. Relievers specialize in short bursts of pitching, usually only facing a few batters or pitching for an inning or two. Closers are a type of Reliever that only appears in the final inning(s) to save the game. And then there are the Specialists: Long Relievers, Setup Man, Left-Handed Specialist, Knuckleball Pitcher, Spot Starter.
In addition to all of this fun baseball trivia, do you see the parallels between the different types of pitchers and preachers? Lead Pastors and Teaching Pastors are like the Starters. Youth Pastors, Associate Pastors, and Guest Preachers are like the Relievers, Closers, or Specialists.
The point of this article is to point out the fact that just like there’s not one type of ideal sermon (or pitch), there’s not one type of ideal preacher (or pitcher) either! So instead of comparing yourself with your role-models—or trying to imitate them—focus on getting your reps in. As you preach more sermons, you’ll discover what sort of pitches get you strikes, and what sort of pitcher God’s created you to be.
It’s like that how that old Hebraic tale goes, “Before his death, Rabbi Zusya said “In the coming world, they will not ask me: ‘Why were you not Moses?’ They will ask me: ‘Why were you not Zusya?”
Disclaimer: This article is written by a preacher for fellow preachers. If you are not a pastor, I hope that this will provide you with insight to know what your pastor might be feeling after preaching.
While that statement might be true for sports, it’s not true for preaching. The measure of a game—like hockey, football, or basketball—is ultimately determined by the number of points scored. Sure, some games might be more memorable than others because of particular plays, or extraordinary efforts by certain individuals. But when all is said and done, it actually doesn’t matter how many points one team scores, unless they’ve scored more than the other team. In other words, unless there’s a loser, there is no winner.
This obviously doesn’t apply to preaching, right? …or does it?
I recognize that your average church doesn’t have a massive Jumbotron or scoreboard in the auditorium, but why does it still feel like there is one?
Let’s just think about this for a moment, if there were an actual Jumbotron, what would be considered a “goal,” or a “point scored” in preaching?
[Read more…] about The Measure of a Sermon
This last week, as I was writing a sermon on the end of Colossians, I came across these stark words from Charles Spurgeon, aka the Prince of Preachers. It’s from a sermon that he preached on December 14, 1873. Let’s keep on reading,
Beyond all other books it will bear dissection, for it is vital in every sentence and word. Since it is a mosaic of priceless gems, you will be enriched even if you extract a jewel here and there, but to behold its divine beauty you must contemplate the mosaic as a whole. No idea of the magnificent design of the entire Scriptures can enter the human mind by reading it in detached portions, especially if those separated passages are interpreted without reference to the run of the writer’s thoughts. Let Scripture be read according to the rules of common sense and that will necessitate our reading through a book and following its train of thought. Thus shall we be likely to arrive at the mind of the Holy Spirit. I say this because I may have to disturb your idea of the meaning of a passage of Scripture this morning, for a short time. But you need not be alarmed, for after I have disturbed, I shall, most probably, confirm it. I shall pull down to build up again.
The Bible is a wonderful gift from God. It’s His words to us. Simultaneously it’s history, poetry, wisdom, prophecy, and the Gospel. It’s not lacking in anyway, and does not have to be added to. It’s complete, never changing, and irreplaceable.
Why do almost nine out of ten American households own a Bible, but more than half have read little or none of it? Why do “less than a quarter of those who have ever read a Bible have a systematic plan for reading the Christian scriptures each day”? And why is it that “a third of Americans never pick it up on their own”?
[Read more…] about Why Do We Neglect the Bible? (and what to do about it)
In the Greek, this word is translated, pistis, and it means…
In the Hebrew, this word is translated as hesed, and it means..
Those were the moments where I felt like I was being fed “meat,” rather than “milk.” Those were the moments when my ears perked up. Those were the moments that made the sermon worth it…since I couldn’t get that sort of insight on my own. Reading the Scriptures in the “simpleton language” of English just didn’t cut it. Unless I knew the Greek or the Hebrew, I could never attain the level of depth in my relationship with God that my pastor had.
How did that last paragraph make you feel? Did something feel off to you?
Without verbally saying it aloud, he was basically saying that the English language wasn’t adequate to understand the true intent of the Scriptures. In his desire to be helpful and shepherd us toward spiritual growth, he was actually going against the point of the Reformation—to make the Scriptures accessible to all.
Ouch.
Who else is guilty of this? As a pastor myself, I know I am…
[Read more…] about 3 Ways to Normalize Bible Reading