Preachers, work on connecting to your listeners

Preachers need to think about a lot of different things. It is hard work to interpret and explain God’s Word faithfully and well. A great deal of theological training goes into teaching the original languages, theology, Bible interpretation, and church history. All of this is critical. Yet preachers also need to consider how to connect well to their listeners.

Don’t mishear what I am saying here. There are many preachers who connect really well with terrific public speaking skills and rhetoric, yet what they are communicating is not a faithful explanation of the Word of God. There is a reason why some megachurches are so popular – their preachers are entertaining and easy to listen to! We must not be prepared to sacrifice faithfulness for connection. Yet connection to the listeners is a key part of what preaching is and even the most conservative of preachers needs to work on it.

I have heard some preachers say that they don’t need to include things like illustrations and applications because they believe in the Holy Spirit. God will apply His Word as long as it is preached faithfully. I appreciate that such preachers trust God a great deal which is commendable. Yet this is not the Biblical model we have to follow. Jesus’ teaching was full of illustrations and calls to respond in different ways. Paul used poets of his age when speaking to the Athenians and memorable illustrations like one body with many parts when explaining the church. Taking the time to work on connecting well is worth the effort.

Think of preaching like a bridge connecting the two sides of a river. One side of the river is God’s Word, and the other is the people who are listening to the sermon. For the people to understand and respond to God’s word, the preacher needs to explain the text in a way that they understand and is relevant to their lives. To state the obvious, this means it should be in a language they understand! But we can go further than this. It should be using words that ordinary people understand and put in a way that challenges the culture and thinking of those listening.

It is not that preachers need to make the Word of God interesting and relevant. It already is those things! It is that we need to help our listeners to see that it is interesting and relevant to them. A good sermon should not be able to be shrugged off with a “that’s nice”; it should make us think, and maybe even hurt us a little. God’s Word is living and active, and when it is communicated clearly and well, it should change the listener.

This means that there will always be an important connection between pastoral care and preaching. A preacher who knows his congregation well will always be able to explain the Bible better to them than a preacher who does not. Your own pastor knows you better than any internet preacher does, and he inhabits the same culture as you. He is in a better place to communicate God’s Word in a way that makes sense to you.

While you could write a book rather than a blog post on this topic, and many have, let me give a few brief ways preacher can connect well with their listeners:

1. Answer the questions people have in their minds. After working through the Bible passage during preparation, ask what practical issues you think your people might have around this topic. If giving is the theme, you need to deal with issues like how much to give and cost of living to do this well, even if the passage doesn’t directly answer the questions.
2. Say less and explain it better. The longer I have been preaching, the less I include in a sermon. That doesn’t mean to repeat yourself to the point that it is dumbing it down and making it hard to listen to. It means explaining a point, then illustrating it, then applying it well. That takes time. Any preacher will need to leave things out. Trying to get people to absorb 5 different big ideas is like throwing them a handful of rice. The odds are that they will catch none of it!
3. Always show what it would mean if you believed the main idea. Put flesh on the bones of your main point. Draw out some possibilities that might play out in the workplace or in the home. Show how this will change their lives. You cannot deal with every possible application, but it will help a lot in your people taking the Bible and really using it.

Sermons are intended to persuade, not only inform. A little work on connecting well will go a long way.