Pastor Joseph “Gives Himself The Business”

I recently made the passing comment to a member in our church that I fear ever being boring. I feel this way when teaching in community groups, Sunday school classes, but especially in preaching God’s Word. You frequently hear me exhort the congregation, so I thought I would turn the tables this week and present an article exhorting myself on how not to be a boring preacher. I hope it will clarify both my heart for preaching and also explain why I approach preaching the way I do. So, sit back and enjoy listening to me “give myself the business” on how not to be a boring preacher.

 

Why should I avoid being a boring preacher?

I could simply point to the Greatest Commandments to answer this question, for failing to magnify God’s Word appropriately is a failure to love him appropriately. And boring people is certainly failing to love them. However, it would be helpful to be more specific in explaining how one fails both God and people when a boring sermon is preached.

 

Boring Preaching Fails Both God and Man

Any preaching worth its salt is an exposition of God’s Word. It is not an encomium of a great philosopher, nor is it a chreia of a well-known proverb. It is infinitely more. It is the explication of God’s Word. The God who created everything ex nihilo by his Word, has packaged that very Word for us in lettered form. This is the very same “word of power” that is being presented to the people in a Sunday sermon (Heb 1:3; Rom 1:16; 1 Cor 1:18) . If people are excited by fireworks, they should be enthralled at hearing the authoritative life-giving words of their Creator. So, the very nature of God’s Word demands a proclamation concurrent with its nature.

Moreover, just as God brought man to life by his Word, he continues to sustain man through his Word.  Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Deut 8:3). God’s Word revives the soul, makes the simple wise, rejoices the heart, enlightens the eyes, and it is altogether true (Psalm 19). Nothing on earth has the power to accomplish such things in man. Everything that man needs for life and godliness is provided by God’s Word (2 Pet 1:3) God’s Word also sustains men, providing endurance and encouragement as we await the coming of the Lord. For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Therefore, the preacher of God’s Word can be confident that what the preacher says will always be profitable to one who has ears to hear. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. (2 Tim 3:16). If God’s word can accomplish all these things, how could any explanation of it be boring? It is antithetical to its very nature. Preaching a boring sermon would be like trying to sell melted ice, or spiceless salsa. It would sound like a hilarious joke if we weren’t considering God’s word.

If God’s word provides people with all these blessings, not only is God dishonored, but the preacher is also failing the people to whom he is ministering. He is keeping them from the fount of all life. They have come for spiritual sustenance and instead of whetting their appetite, he is ruining the meal.  The preacher does not need to make the word entertaining, he just needs to expose the value of what is already there. Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones admonishes:

The preacher must never be dull, and he must never be boring…there is something radically wrong with dull and boring preachers….How can a man be dull when he is handling such themes? I would say that a “dull preacher” is a contradiction in terms; if he is dull he is not a preacher. He may stand in a pulpit and talk, but he is certainly not a preacher. (Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preachers and Preaching)

 

How to Avoid Being a Boring Preacher

The preacher needs to find what he is preaching on personally profitable first. The preacher represents God’s Word to his people. Therefore, if the preacher is not moved by what he learns, why should anyone else be? He needs to go beyond merely recognizing what the text says, to recognize the profound implications that that text has on his own life. He can only sincerely speak with the intensity to which he has already been personally moved by the text.

The preacher needs to remember that God’s Word is what people ultimately need. He needs to be reminded of the desperate needs of the people to whom he is ministering, and he needs to recognize that God’s Word alone can satisfy their deepest needs (Is 55:1; John 4:10). 

The preacher also must be diligent. It might take time to discover both the meaning as well as the implications of a text. He needs to be willing to put the sweat equity into his sermon preparation in order to draw out the riches that people need. If one simply scratches the surface of Scripture he will only rake leaves that are quickly blown away by the wind. But if he takes the time and energy to dig deep enough, he will find diamonds in the text before him. The preacher needs to constantly recall Paul’s exhortation to Timothy—Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15)

The preacher needs to be purposeful. In developing his sermon, he needs to spend his time helping people see the diamonds that he has discovered and labor at helping people see their need for those diamonds. He needs to be cautious not waste his time telling people how he discovered the diamond, he just needs to give people the diamond. People need to be told what God’s Word says and therefore what he demands of them; they do not need to be inundated and befuddled by the details.

The preacher needs to preach with authority. Again, because he is speaking God’s Word the preacher can be confident in its authority and power. But, because of the Bible’s authority, the preacher needs to prepare well. Even though the listeners do not need to be concerned with all the details of exegesis, the preacher needs to be. A thorough job in preparation will bring confidence that what he is preaching is accurate, and thus will free the preacher to preach the Word with appropriate authority—reproving, rebuking, and exhorting (2 Tim 4:2).

Finally, the preacher also needs to be clear. A passionate preacher can bore people if people simply struggle to follow what he is saying. The preacher needs to know specifically what he is trying to communicate and identify the best ways to communicate that message clearly. Having a clear propositional statement and corresponding outline will greatly assist in this endeavor.

I frequently recall the advice Charles Spurgeon gave to the young preacher who wanted tips on how to be more compelling in his preaching. Spurgeon suggested— “Dash yourself with gasoline, strike a match, set yourself on fire, and people will come just to watch you burn”.