Good and bad preachers
05/06/16 05:15
I don’t know if other ministers are this way, but I can be fairly harsh in my judgment of my colleagues. I understand that there are many differences in our skills and abilities and that God calls all kinds of people into positions of leadership. I know that different gifts are given to different people. I know that some things come easier for some. And I think that I am pretty tolerant and accepting of differences in ability and skill. What I am intolerant about is what comes off as a lack of effort and preparation.
I know that my judgment of those things is likely to be faulty. What comes off as a lack of preparation might be a person doing the best that they are able. Some people have to work much harder at certain tasks than others. Public speaking is a clear example. For some the rhythm and flow and vocal variety that make for a good public speaker are natural abilities. For others they are difficult challenges. A “sing song” voice that rises and falls without relationship to the content of the speech is often a sign of nervousness. The difference between repetition for emphasis and meaningless repetition is very fine and not every public speaker can achieve that balance easily.
A church meeting is a good place to hear a variety of speakers. We were led by clergy and lay people throughout the weekend and many different voices offered many examples of both effective and ineffective speech.
The keynote speaker for the event was a skillful and engaging preacher. It was obvious that she had put a lot of effort into the organization and content of her presentations. She was practiced and knew how to get her listeners involved in what she was saying. She encouraged us to think and participate. It was a pleasure to listen to what she had to say and I felt challenged and led by her presentations.
Another speaker at the event was trying to be inspirational, but really fell short of my expectations. What was supposed to be a casual style came off as a lack of organization and preparation. At one point the speaker even told a personal story about preparing for the presentation in which preparation has begun less than a a week before this major once-in-a-year event. I wasn’t impressed.
My notes about the content of the second person’s presentation were taken from the 1st speaker’s synopsis of the presentation given in a later talk to the gathered conference. I had assumed that there wasn’t anything worth remembering in that speech until later when the gifted preacher lifted up some of the content of the other’s talk.
I suppose that I should work on learning to listen more carefully.
The problem is that our denomination, and many other mainline denominations, has been losing members at an alarming rate. The overall membership of our denomination is less than 50% of what it was when I began my career as a minister. I have served congregations in rural and urban communities, in growing and shrinking population areas and never been called to serve amidst membership decline. There have been ups and downs, but the rapid decline of the denomination hasn’t occurred in the congregations I serve. I have watched colleagues, however, who have pastored a lot of decline. One of the big factors are the “hit and run” pastors who never stay in a community for very long. They come to a church, stay for a while and then leave, never really witnessing the impact of their departure on the congregation. Pastors leaving and conflict over pastors generally has a devastating effect on church membership.
Where I am harshest about my judgment, however, is when a minister seems to focus entirely on trying to be the center of attention. Some can tell the stories of our people. Others seem to be only able to tell their own stories. Some can enable us to see ourselves in their presentations. Others want to talk about themselves.
A preacher’s job is not to be remembered by the congregation, but to have the congregation remember the Gospel. As a preaching professor put it when I was in school, “Do you want people to go away thinking what a good preacher you are, or remembering the Gospel and how good God is?”
A good preacher always leads us beyond themselves into relationship with God.
Perhaps one of the purposes of the Conference gathering is to see the distinction. A group of preachers get together with lay delegates and we spend a weekend listening to a lot of other preachers and are able to observe what is good and what is not so good. Perhaps the experience is a teacher that will influence how we speak to and treat the congregations we serve.
An older colleague and mentor said to me early in my pastoral experience, “When you go on vacation, get someone who is a poor preacher to fill the pulpit. That way they’ll appreciate you when you return.” Actually I disagree with that advice. I think that we should always seek the best available leadership for the church and that our people deserve the best preaching possible every Sunday. After all the experience of worship isn’t about the preacher in the first place. Those who continually seek to be the center of attention often fail to communicate the Gospel.
I’ve taken enough psychology classes to know that bluster often is a cover for insecurity. I know that blow hards often have huge self doubt. I am sure that there are reasons other than incompetence that account for the differences in the quality of presentations. Still, I am convinced that this calling requires hard work and disciplined preparation and I am quick to react when it appears that a pastor has simply failed to prepare properly for the work to which that person has been called.
The theme of our conference was visionary leadership. The presenter who demonstrated visionary leadership will have much more long term impact than the one who simply talked about it.
I know that my judgment of those things is likely to be faulty. What comes off as a lack of preparation might be a person doing the best that they are able. Some people have to work much harder at certain tasks than others. Public speaking is a clear example. For some the rhythm and flow and vocal variety that make for a good public speaker are natural abilities. For others they are difficult challenges. A “sing song” voice that rises and falls without relationship to the content of the speech is often a sign of nervousness. The difference between repetition for emphasis and meaningless repetition is very fine and not every public speaker can achieve that balance easily.
A church meeting is a good place to hear a variety of speakers. We were led by clergy and lay people throughout the weekend and many different voices offered many examples of both effective and ineffective speech.
The keynote speaker for the event was a skillful and engaging preacher. It was obvious that she had put a lot of effort into the organization and content of her presentations. She was practiced and knew how to get her listeners involved in what she was saying. She encouraged us to think and participate. It was a pleasure to listen to what she had to say and I felt challenged and led by her presentations.
Another speaker at the event was trying to be inspirational, but really fell short of my expectations. What was supposed to be a casual style came off as a lack of organization and preparation. At one point the speaker even told a personal story about preparing for the presentation in which preparation has begun less than a a week before this major once-in-a-year event. I wasn’t impressed.
My notes about the content of the second person’s presentation were taken from the 1st speaker’s synopsis of the presentation given in a later talk to the gathered conference. I had assumed that there wasn’t anything worth remembering in that speech until later when the gifted preacher lifted up some of the content of the other’s talk.
I suppose that I should work on learning to listen more carefully.
The problem is that our denomination, and many other mainline denominations, has been losing members at an alarming rate. The overall membership of our denomination is less than 50% of what it was when I began my career as a minister. I have served congregations in rural and urban communities, in growing and shrinking population areas and never been called to serve amidst membership decline. There have been ups and downs, but the rapid decline of the denomination hasn’t occurred in the congregations I serve. I have watched colleagues, however, who have pastored a lot of decline. One of the big factors are the “hit and run” pastors who never stay in a community for very long. They come to a church, stay for a while and then leave, never really witnessing the impact of their departure on the congregation. Pastors leaving and conflict over pastors generally has a devastating effect on church membership.
Where I am harshest about my judgment, however, is when a minister seems to focus entirely on trying to be the center of attention. Some can tell the stories of our people. Others seem to be only able to tell their own stories. Some can enable us to see ourselves in their presentations. Others want to talk about themselves.
A preacher’s job is not to be remembered by the congregation, but to have the congregation remember the Gospel. As a preaching professor put it when I was in school, “Do you want people to go away thinking what a good preacher you are, or remembering the Gospel and how good God is?”
A good preacher always leads us beyond themselves into relationship with God.
Perhaps one of the purposes of the Conference gathering is to see the distinction. A group of preachers get together with lay delegates and we spend a weekend listening to a lot of other preachers and are able to observe what is good and what is not so good. Perhaps the experience is a teacher that will influence how we speak to and treat the congregations we serve.
An older colleague and mentor said to me early in my pastoral experience, “When you go on vacation, get someone who is a poor preacher to fill the pulpit. That way they’ll appreciate you when you return.” Actually I disagree with that advice. I think that we should always seek the best available leadership for the church and that our people deserve the best preaching possible every Sunday. After all the experience of worship isn’t about the preacher in the first place. Those who continually seek to be the center of attention often fail to communicate the Gospel.
I’ve taken enough psychology classes to know that bluster often is a cover for insecurity. I know that blow hards often have huge self doubt. I am sure that there are reasons other than incompetence that account for the differences in the quality of presentations. Still, I am convinced that this calling requires hard work and disciplined preparation and I am quick to react when it appears that a pastor has simply failed to prepare properly for the work to which that person has been called.
The theme of our conference was visionary leadership. The presenter who demonstrated visionary leadership will have much more long term impact than the one who simply talked about it.