How do you measure Sermon Length?
- Posted on January 25, 2010
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What do you think of this quote: "Sermon length is not measured in minutes; it is measured in minutes-beyond-interest, in the amount of time the minister continues to preach after he has lost the interest of his hearers."
That's from a book entitled "Why Johnny Can't Preach" (by T. David Gordon). JD Greear shares this quote on his blog recently.
Gordon continues:
Some preaching is so bad that the best we can say about some preachers is that they themselves realize it, and are merciful in the length of their sermons (ouch!). By contrast, I've heard ministers whose sermons I was disappointed to have come to an end. These entire sermons had been so well delivered--so thoughtful, so faithful to the text without being pedantic... so well-organized as to appear seamless, so challenging and nourishing to my soul--that I just didn't want the experience to end."
What do YOU think? How do you measure the length of your sermons?
My 2 cents: Very few preachers have the communication skills to go over 30 minutes. Very few. Unless you're Andy Stanley, is it really necessary to take 50 minutes to bring home your point? (I realize this may open a can of worms, but seriously, most sermons would be 100x better if you wacked them in half. And the thing is... you don't have to cut that much content... just choose it more wisely. Am I wrong?)
Love to hear your comments...
Todd
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Michael on Fri, January 29, 2010
Again, I think with this topic.. there are no clear answers. The answer lies in who your audience is and the purpose of your service.
At the church I pastor we have Sunday morning and Wednesday night services where there is a message to the congregation. On Sunday nights we have small group classes.
On Sunday mornings, I have a diverse crowd where a lot of those just show up on Sunday mornings to get their church fix (do their good deed) and that’s it. A lot don’t have a deep, everyday walk with God. They go because they don’t want to hear their wives bug them or to please their parents.. and they can’t wait to get out. (you have them too, don’t worry). We also have the unchurched and the seeking, along with long time members. I treat this as an evangelistic time and my messages are usually not too deep and usually about 20-25 minutes long. We incorporate technology, videos, skits, testimonies… whatever, to reach those specific people.
On Wednesday night, the people there are hungry for the word of God. They love teaching and getting into the word. (And they’re not all old people who just want ‘deep’ teaching and nothing else) Some are new converts, a lot are really growing and just can’t get enough of the word, and some are from other churches who don’t get a lot of solid teaching outside of a Sunday AM service. This is a time where I can open the book and dive into it with them. Hebrew it, Greek it.. whatever. I’ll usually go about 45-1 hour.. and they love it!
On Sunday nights, we have different classes to choose from. Relationship classes, finance, new convert, theology, etc.
But my point is that our services are geared differently for the different people and different needs. My crowd determines my style of delivery. I don’t think it has to be an either/or. Give the people options. Some need milk, some meat. (the Bible teaches that). The ones who want meat, if they get milk all the time they’ll get frustrated… and if you give meat to those who need milk.. you’ll choke them to death.
So if you’re only locked into one box pastors, you might want to explore how you can start different types of services to meet people at their different levels.
We ARE called to reach those far from God… but we’re ALSO called to TEACH and make disciples. It’s not just a one way street.
Thanks for reading.
Wyeth Duncan on Fri, January 29, 2010
I appreciate your perspective, Michael.
Lawrence Robertson on Mon, February 01, 2010
Dane (on page 1) Right on!
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