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April will mark one year of preaching almost every week . . . I have developed my style and I have been enjoying the personal growth that comes through intense study of God's Word, but that has not kept me from being plagued by a significant question within myself that has been reaching epic proportions recently . . . How Long is the ideal sermon?
A google search reveals so many opinions that it isn't even humorous . . . from the Pastor who said in response to the question, "How long do you preach?" with "I preach until I am done." (nice.) To the definitive and unsubstantiated claim that research has proven that 22 minutes is the ideal sermon length. One of my personal favorites was, "If you've struck oil after 10 minutes . . . stop boring!" I love the double meaning there, and yet I am also very afraid of the double meaning there. If I even thought for a minute that I was making the Word of God boring . . . I would just sit down and call it a day!
You see, I am discovering that preaching is a weight that I gladly and joyfully bear, but it is VERY heavy nonetheless! Within the realm of preaching, there is an extremely wide variety in delivery, styles, philosophies, and commitments. For my particular style of exposition (using the Word of God itself as the outline for my message) the variables are narrowed. There is the Word, the congregation, and God Himself. My commitment is to try to communicate the meaning of the text in such a way that God is pleased and the congregation MOVED in their hearts to action!
So one year in, I am preaching long sermons . . . this blog doesn't come out of any complaints, but a nagging sense of lack of control over this. I let the text dictate the length of my sermons . . . this week for example Jesus addresses three spiritual activities: giving, praying and fasting, and contrasts how hypocrites do these things and then how his followers should do these things. All three points with one final conclusion that makes it hard to break up into three separate sermons.
My question is difficult and nuanced and I recognize fully that it opens me up to significant criticism . . . but how long is the ideal sermon? I want to be faithful to carefully and respectfully teach Scripture, but I also want to connect it with my audience. I am NOT on a personal crusade to lengthen attention spans (even though some pastors on blogs that I read this morning literally stated that as a goal!!)
I think my average sermon length right now is about 45 minutes but as much as I try to pare that down it seems to grow! Some would accuse me of being under-prepared which leads to longer sermon lengths . . . study with me, read with me, and spend a week with me and I believe that you would see that I take study seriously!
I really do want your opinions on this and will not take any comments personally unless you indicate that I should do so! :) But I am honestly seeking your interaction . . . maybe you have a comment on attention spans, maybe you want to share a story about long or short sermons you have experienced . . . maybe you want to download one of my sermons from the podcast page and listen and give me some feedback . . . I am open to learning and will never grow without the help of others! |
