On Preaching: Questions for Preachers
I have been mapping out my preaching for 2009. It’s a fun and intense process. I thought it would be interesting to hear from others on this subject. Follow up posts are coming. I will be asking for input as well as sharing some of my own perspectives near the end. Today, questions for the preacher. If you are not a preacher, hang on, the next set of questions are for you.
For those who preach regularly, 5 basic questions:
1. Do you favor exposition through books of the Bible, or thematic series?
2. Assuming the gospel is central in your preaching, what do your people need to hear the most at this stage in your church’s life right now?
3. How long are you willing to roll with one series/book of the bible? (6 months, 1 year, as long as it takes?)
4. How far in advance do you schedule your preaching?
5. What preachers do you listen to via podcast, MP3, CD, etc.?
I’ll include my answers later.
1. definitively through books of the Bible
2. gospel witnessing through gospel transformed relationships
3. I prefer 6 months long series, maybe a year
4. would love to do it a year before… but here in Chile things work at a different timing, 3 to 6 months…
5. Piper, Driscoll, Dever, Mahaney, All Souls Church London, Sydney Anglicans Audio Podcast
Great stuff Joe. I was thinking about blogging on this any way. I’ll be watching this closely.
1. I enjoy both. Topical series can really be a breath of fresh air to people. You hit prayer hard for a few weeks or marriage. Over the last couple of years I have seen the power of preaching through books. I am in 1 Peter now and it’s awesome and before that was in Song of Solomon and it was great.
2. To distinguish between Bible Belt TX faith and true repentence and faith in the Gospel of Christ.
3. I have never gone over 4 months in a book series. Not saying I won’t just never have. I get bored mid series and start thinking about the next. I am not planned until January. It is a good discipline for me not to keep jumping to what is hot but stay focused on the book.
4. Usually I am about a series ahead. I sat down last week and prayed through the rest of 2008 because we are moving into our building and I wanted to be strategic about what we are talking about. I have tried to map out a year but I find that doesn’t always work with me.
5. Driscoll, Darrin Patrick, Matt Chandler, Neil McClendon,
1. I typically preach through books of the Bible. I have done one topical series in six years, but I do have a couple of others in mind. Even in my topical series I have a text that I work through for each sermon.
2. I find myself returning again and again to the relationship between the indicative and the imperative. Our people need to understand that who they are in Christ is the foundation for how they live in the world.
3. I determine the length of a series based on how long it will take me to cover the book by preaching through all of the units of thought. For example, I preached four weeks on the book of Jonah and 15 to 20 on Colossians. It just depends on the book.
4. I try to have a decent sketch of the next two years. That helps me know what to work on in Scripture memory and helps me plan my book purchases. I typically have the next six months in stone because I attempt to work six months ahead in my study. (notice I said attempt)
5. Mark Dever, Mark Driscoll, Matt Chandler, you, Steve (I don’t get to all of them every week)
1.) I tend to do a blend, teaching thematic series based on books or sections of books in the Bible. I personally prefer expository, but often find myself in more topical sermons.
2.) That there is more to salvation than “getting saved.” That there is a relationship with Christ that they should be pursuing. That there needs to be change.
3.) I have never actually preached a series longer than 6 weeks, but I am starting one in September with no end in sight.
4.) For the most part, a little over a year in advance. Now there are times when I will alter a series or move it, or completely trash it as I approach the actual time.
5.)Ed Young Jr.; Mark Batterson; Brad Leach; Scott Hodge; TD Jakes
1. I preach through books of the Bible. We have done one “topical” series on the atonement that was 4 Sundays.
2. Transformation…. process….. sactification… in our cultural christianity everyone thinks they have it firgured out b/c they checked a box at VBS 20 years ago.
3. I don’t have a limit. Our first year was spent in Acts. I just try to reinvent the series at different points within the book based on the theme of the unit in the text.
4. I am really bad at this… I will choose a book that we are going to go through and from there I probably know only about two weeks in advance. I really need to work on this one!
5. Driscoll, James McDonald, Piper
Great post we can all benefit from… thanks Joe!
1. All my preaching is expositional with about 70% going through a book or longer section and about 30% dealing with a topic or theme.
2. Discipleship, holiness, devotion to God, and to quote my fellow Texan above, to realize the difference between East Texas good old boy Christianity and genuine Biblical Christianity.
3. I go as long as I need to but try to be sensitive to the attention span of the congregation. I took two and a half years to preach through Genesis, but broke it up. I did the same for Matthew. Typically, I try to preach 4 to 13 weeks in a particular book or section of Scripture.
4. I do series planning in six month blocks, but always have some thoughts for the whole year.
5. Piper, Sproul, MacArthur, Dever, Driscoll, Alistair Begg, David Fairchild at Kaleo Church San Diego
1. Prefer expositional jaunts through books. I find that God is better at bringing pertinent issues to light through sequential preaching than I am through guessing.
2. That “Jesus Christ and him crucified” is the centrality of Spiritual life, not just a starting point (preaching thru 1 Cor right now)
3. As long as it takes, tho I may/will take strategic breaks so as to avoid being stale/killing our people.
4. I have a general idea for the next 2 yrs in my mind in two veins: one cyclical, one purely expositional (which means it takes how long it takes)
5. Driscoll, Mahaney, Piper, Chandler, MacArthur, Mike Haines
1. Both. In order to do big picture Biblical Theology so that people can get the grand narrative, I have done text-based thematic sermons. I enjoy exposition because the outline is embedded in the grammar and you know where you are going next. Less creativity, more predictability, lots of Bible. I also enjoy doing out of the box series to engage culture. Series on Eckhart Tolle, a new album, etc.
2. How to be a gospel-centered community, really, on mission together all the time, not just during meetings and Sundays. We are aiming for steady state community gathered around Jesus for the good of the city. However, I will preach through Colossians to convince them of this.
3. Depends.
4. Not very far. I am a church planter.
5. Don’t really do this much in an attempt to deepen my own voice. Therefore, I occasionally select a sermon and listen very closely to refine my own preaching. I have done this with Keller, Darrin Patrick, Jonathan McIntosh, pastor friends (which can be very helpful).
1. Do you favor exposition through books of the Bible, or thematic series?
I prefer to expositionally preach the themes of the books of the Bible. For instance, I preached through the missionary journeys of Paul in Acts rather than the whole book. This, for me and the congregation, keeps a focus better and grooms a better sense of expectancy.
2. Assuming the gospel is central in your preaching, what do your people need to hear the most at this stage in your church’s life right now?
Repentance. Not just of deeds done or undone, but of the heart and life.
3. How long are you willing to roll with one series/book of the bible? (6 months, 1 year, as long as it takes?)
I prefer to do series of series. I refuse to do as one preacher I know of that preached the book of Revelation for 3 years. Series of series help me to show the scarlet thread that runs through the whole canon, keeps me and the congregation from stagnating, and allows for seasonal emphasis.
4. How far in advance do you schedule your preaching?
I keep a rolling list of series topics that is typically 10-15 items long. Each series is anywhere from 2 to 10 sermons in length.
5. What preachers do you listen to via podcast, MP3, CD, etc.?
I don’t routinely listen to these media. On occasion I will listen to folks like Tozer, Ravenhill, and other “classic” recordings. I prefer to read sermons. Why? If I am going to pick up habits of other preachers it is the exegesis and exposition that I want to mimic. I do not want be heard as “another ______” in delivery style.
1. I balance the two but I usually find that I lean toward going through books of the Bible.
2. That both the moral & the immoral was to God are false gospels. And that the Gospel should rule their thoughts & lives no matter the situation.
3. Most of our series won’t last more than 12 weeks. Still,we try to take our time through a book & yet avoid a feeling of getting “bogged down.” We do that by subdividing the book along its natural breaks and thus creating multiple message series. For example, last year we did Ephesians in 16 weeks. But instead of just plowing through it in one series that lasts over four months, we divided it into two series. First, we did Ephesians 1-3 in 8 weeks. It had it’s own title, series description, artwork, etc. When that was done we did a second series on Ephesians 4-6 in another 8 weeks with a completely different title with fresh new packaging. You get the idea. Another benefit of this is that if you wanted you could take a few weeks between the series & address something else (Christmas, Mother’s Day, etc.) & then come back to the book with the next series.
4. Right now – two to three months.
5. Tim Keller, Andy Stanley, Haddon Robinson & whoever is posted on the Acts 29 site.
Wow! Great questions.
1. I do both and actually blend the two types quite a bit, although I would say that I tend more toward the thematic sermons. In my exposition of books of the Bible, I tend to use a narrative approach, trying to frame the book in the grand story of redemption.
2. I am in the very beginning stages of a church plant, so this is a great question. For my core team, I am really emphasizing what it means to follow Jesus, embracing fear and challenge and risk and attempting impossible things and living lives of sacrifice and making a difference in the world. For those we are trying to reach, my emphasis is on the fact that life can be something more than what they have right now, that they can have joy, adventure, love, meaning, in a life of following Christ.
3. I generally try to keep my series from 4 to 8 weeks. If I am going through a book of the Bible, I generally will try to identify some of the themes that run through the book and preach on one of those themes. For instance, in Hebrews you could do a series on the supremacy of Christ or on the warning passages in Hebrews. A 1 John series could deal with assurances of salvation. As I said in #1, I also try to think in terms of narrative for many of my expositions of books.
4. A general idea of the series I am going to be doing along with special dates on the calendar – 6-12 mos. Specifics of the messages within a series – 3-6 mos.
5. Batterson and Chandler are the two I listen to most.
Joe,
Good to visit your church on Sunday. I shook your hand after the service. I would have talked with you more but Sunday morning worship is for the faithful and the real visitors and I didn’t want to take up any of your time. I’ve been reading your site for over a year now and enjoy to thoughtful posts and seeing into the life of a pastor and planter. I aspire to either plant or pastor in the near future so your blog is a great resource. Keep up the good work.
1. both – about 70/30 books of the Bible to thematic study
2. to borrow Mike Bullmore’s term – making the gospel the functional center of their lives
3. long as it takes; though through some things Keller and Dever have said, I’m reevaluating that.
4. 1-3 weeks
5. Piper, Keller, Bullmore, Chandler, Sinclair Ferguson
I’m going to throw a monkey-wrench into things…..
1. More often than not I follow the Revised Common Lectionary for Sunday. I usually teach expositionally thru a book on Wednesday evenings.
2. Our folks need to see how their story connects with THE Story– how the truth of the Gospel intersects their daily lives
3. We took 9 months when I taught thru the book of Acts. It all depends…..
4. Usually in seasonal increments. I’ll plan Advent & Epiphany, then ordinary time up to Lent; then Lent; Eastertide to Pentecost, etc.
5. I listen to a pretty eclectic group: Keller, Perry Noble, Mark Batterson, some CJ Mahaney, Scott Hodge, Joe Thorn, Steve McCoy, Henry Blackaby, etc.
Joe, Thanks for the writing on this. I have been praying about this very matter off and on for two months.
1. I prefer preaching thru books of the Bible. However, the last two months I have taken one verse as a theme verse and preached related topics to it. This month I am preaching on the Promise of Romans 8:28.
2. To be servants of the God.
3. Traditionally for me as long as needed. Here lately thinking of going to 4-6 sermons at a time.
4. I currently have plans thru May of 09.
5. Driscoll, Dever, and Piper.
1. Exposition through books as the steady diet with occasional topical series that speak to issues we won’t get to during the year.
2. Our people need to hear that God is trustworthy and valuable in himself regardless of how things are going or what he is or isn’t giving you.
3. The longest I want to go is the length of a school year, and this is only for special books.
4. I have a tentative schedule through 2010 and a firm schedule that is at least a year in advance.
5. I listen to Keller, Mike Shea, Matt Chandler, Andy Stanley, CJ Mahaney, Tom Shrader
1. Both. But, it’s all expositional. In other words, the thematic series makes sense to the text it comes out of. We recently spent 8 weeks going through each phrase of our mission statement, each phrase found it’s place in single texts.
2. The Church needs to understand who they are as The Church, being the church and not inviting people to a building they call “the church.” Ephesians 2:10 is pretty key these days.
3. Yes, but a year would be tough for these folks . . . at least right now
4. Like the above question, 6 months, 1 years, as long as it takes. I know where I’m going for certain in the next year. But, I also mix it up if necessary, spending time in other texts in order to deal with current issues in the church. Sunday nights and Wednesday nights allow a lot of slack for that.
We are beginning a book series in Ephesians, this morning . . . for as long as it takes.
5. Lloyd-Jones, Piper, Tozer, Driscoll, Charles Stanley, James McDonald, John McArthur, Max Lucado, Keller, Ravi, Dr. Bill Brown Chapel messages, Andy Stanley, Adrian Rogers, Rick Mckinley, CJ Mahaney
Sorry to get to this so late.
1. I like different sorts of preaching for different reasons, but exposition is probably about 80% or more of my preaching.
2. The daily transformation the Gospel brings specifically through a renewed seriousness about daily living in the Spirit.
3. I like short series best. I’m willing to go over, but I can’t imagine doing more than 6 months a pop. My current series in Mark is about 6 months total and that has me a bit uncomfortable. Average series is probably 2-3 months. When a series is a little longer I try to find something to break it up, like a 3 week series coming up on mission in suburbia in the middle of preaching through Mark.
4. I have scheduled as late the week prior before. I typically schedule at least a couple of months ahead. Right now I have scheduled every sermon through the end of the year, and pretty much know generally what I want to do after that.
5. Current sermon podcast subscriptions: Matt Chandler, Mark Driscoll, Kaleo San Diego, Darrin Patrick, and Steve McCoy (he’s awesome!).
Great post Joe.
1. Do you favor exposition through books of the Bible, or thematic series?
MRP: I favor exposition through books because it helps me know what I’ll be preaching week-to-week. It helps my people see the unity of the Scriptures. I do one thematic series a year, usually dealing with stewardship or missions.
2. Assuming the gospel is central in your preaching, what do your people need to hear the most at this stage in your church’s life right now?
The gospel deals with all of life, not just when you come to Christ. The gospel in regards to sanctification is what our folks truly need to hear.
3. How long are you willing to roll with one series/book of the bible? (6 months, 1 year, as long as it takes?)
As long as it takes. I spent three years on Wednesday nights going through the Psalms and 2+ years going Mark. I’m spending a great deal of time right now in Luke which may take up to four years or so.
4. How far in advance do you schedule your preaching?
Three months.
5. What preachers do you listen to via podcast, MP3, CD, etc.?
Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Tim Keller, Alistair Begg, J. Vernon McGee, Chuck Swindoll, and Mark Combs.