I was just engaged in an on-line conversation with a fellow preacher who asked "how long should a sermon be." Obviously, the various Christian traditions answer this differently as the sermon is of more or less central importance in different forms of worship. Here is the answer I gave. I would be interested in hearing from you all, whether you are a preacher or not, what you think. How long do you think you should preach? How long do you like to be preached to, if at all?
I've been preaching weekly for about seven years now, and was preaching every other week for three years before that. I know that my preaching has evolved over the years. The most important thing, to me, about that evolution has been that my subject has increasingly been on Christ and the Gospel.
As far as time, I'm all over the map. Preaching in a liturgical (Anglican) church lends itself to shorter sermons. On Sundays I've preached 13 minutes and I've preached 27. 18 is always my goal, and 20 is where I usually end up. Oddly enough, I never look at a clock or a watch while I preach.
I asked an experienced and excellent preacher many years ago what he thought of sermon length. He said something very freeing. He said that every preacher, in his estimation, was a certain "length" of preacher. He said that he was a 30-35 minute preacher. That's how long it took him to do what he needed to do, and he had accepted that about himself. He told me to just go and preach over and over again, and that I would figure out what kind of preacher I was. So, I say I'm a 20 minute preacher. I wouldn't want any further rule than that.
7 comments:
It's funny, I used to think "the longer the better", but no longer than 45-60 minutes, but as I've grown in my faith I don't think length matters as much as content. If the Gospel is proclaimed and Christ is glorified then I think any length is appropriate.
Our pastors preach about an hour. Sometimes it feels too long, other times I want to hear more. CJ Mahaney, who frequently speaks at our church, often has to cut out his last point due to the time constraints (although he usually blames his own tendancy to spend too much time on other points to where he runs out of time to finish). But he's a preacher I love listening to. Piper and Driscoll are two others. My parents old church had sermons last about 20 minutes, but they were full of fluff and, frankly, pretty worthless unless you were looking for a self-help message.
I hope that answers your question. My question to you is, where can I download your sermons? :-)
A look to the right would have answered my question. I'll be subscribing to the sermon podcast when I get home (if I can remember). :-0
Usually, I try for 20 minutes but I end up cresting 30-35 minutes. I guess I'm a 30-35 minute preacher as well. Length also depends on the topic and if I stick to my outline. Sometimes, I get into the longer sermons because I took a detour from the notes.
As a hearer, I don't mind a longer sermon. After an hour, I'm lost though. I think that's pretty common.
I think that many preachers are able to more ably wield their words as they mature in their practice and consequently what had previously taken longer can be accomplished in less time. Too many (not all) 30-45 minute preachers are sloppy in the construction of their sermons or in the delivery--if a preacher jumps off on too many tangents the lack of focus can really take away from what is being preached--especially when it is not just unfocused but also too long.
People can only take in so much and I've witnessed many who preach long because their outline simply covers too much ground. Not always the case, but it's not uncommon either.
Thomas...good thoughts. I'd agree with the sentiments expressed here. However, more than 40 minutes and I think you need some interaction. Not that any longer is bad, it seem a bit much from week to week. Corporate worship takes in the whole experience and the preaching is part of that but not all of it.
Tony Heringer
Where did you get that photo/drawing of the smoking priest dude? reminds me of Dylan in a way...
Hey Karen,
That is an image from a graphic novel/comic book series called "Preacher." I loved that series when I was younger. Google Image the word "preacher" and he comes up a lot.
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