How Important is Good Preaching?

Dr. Paul Borden
Executive Minister, GHC
Email Paul
February 2012

Pastors have a special opportunity for leadership unavailable to those leading most other organizations: the weekly sermon. Every week the people who make up the organization, the congregation, come together to hear their leader speak to them for twenty to forty minutes. That is why good preaching is a key element for pastors in becoming good leaders. Wise pastors understand that the better they preach, the easier it is to lead, and they continually work on their ability to preach well.

Good preaching conveys competency. The more competent a leader seems to be, the more influence that leader has. Fair or not, most people in the congregation see the pastor’s preaching ability as a key area of competency. Pastors who do not communicate well are viewed as incompetent in a significant area of responsibility and thus begin behind the proverbial eight ball with congregational leaders. Preaching well or poorly does not make one a good or bad leader, but if a pastor preaches well, then many will assume the pastor is competent in other areas of leadership and will more readily follow.

Good preaching is good stewardship. If the congregation averages one hundred in worship each week and the pastor preaches thirty minutes on average each week, the pastor is responsible for fifty people-hours on a weekly basis. Boring people with the word of God is poor stewardship of everyone’s time. As a pastor I stand before any congregation as God’s representative bringing a message from God. Failing to work at this responsibility says I really don’t take it seriously.

Of course there are times the Holy Spirit takes my sermon and me and does wondrous things for the congregation that I never planned or thought would happen. That is the sovereign work of God, but putting my trust in that work week after week while shirking my responsibilities is presumption, not faith. I also know from years of experience that the Holy Spirit is present and active during the week when I’m preparing and therefore does not have to do the miraculous Sunday after Sunday because of the work I’ve done Monday through Friday.

Good preaching helps to lead change. Preaching allows the pastor to create urgency, cast vision, and articulate a biblical basis for values, the mission, and behaviors that align. The pastor can challenge the congregation collectively to follow the commission of Jesus Christ to go and make disciples. Good preaching complements good leading, and good leaders use the pulpit well in leading systemic change.