In my early preaching days, I would estimate the number of minutes my sermon would take based on the number of pages of copy. I figured that one page of text was about three minutes of preaching.
For the record, that was way off! It was more like 5-6 minutes per page.
I had a palm-to-forehead smack of recognition when I learned we speak at about one hundred words per minute, so by using word count rather than page count, my estimate would be far more accurate—and I knew when I needed to bring that number down!
Sometimes, one small tip is powerful enough to unlock a new competency or significantly improve a skill or process.
That’s why today's blog is all tips, tips, and nothing but preaching tips—provided by sixteen of our Backstory Preaching mentors and apprentices.
As the 2021-2022 Mentorship class wraps up their program and celebrates their graduation, I asked current mentors and apprentices (mentors-in-training) to offer some of their favorite preaching tips to help you craft more effective sermons in less time—while loving the process!
Loosely organized around process, craft, and spirituality, these tips are ready to add to your toolbox.
Plus, you'll meet the guides you would be blessed to work with in The Mentorship next year should you apply.
You may even recognize a familiar face or two!
Tips on Process
Leigh Hall, APprentice
Episcopal, New York
Keep a file of sermon illustrations and latches. Hear a moving story in an NPR podcast? Put it in the file. Does the latest trending Netflix documentary illustrate transformation and renewal? Put it in the file. If you are super organized, you can even organize it with headings like "human condition" or "grace & forgiveness." This way, when you are struggling to find a latch, you have a place to look for ideas and inspiration.
Meredith Crigler, Mentor
Episcopal, Texas
Consider setting aside part of a day before each season to read/listen to the upcoming lessons. Make notes on what you notice, possible series, and what you might preach if you were called on to preach in the next few minutes. Prioritizing this time of early preparation invites the Spirit to nudge you in the days and weeks to come as the Story marinates and rests within you.
Melinda Quivik, Mentor
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Minnesota
When you are stuck, go back to the scripture text or texts. Go back to lectio, to your musings, to your wonderings. Especially look for the one thing you cannot wrap your mind around in the reading, because that is likely a place which contains a word that is hard to translate into English. There's richness there. Blessings on the process!
Eric Miller, Mentor
Episcopal, Ohio
If you find you've fallen into a preaching rut and long to get out of it, try writing at another time of the day, or better yet, write in a different location altogether. And remember, there’s no such as wasted writing. That's what editing is for: sifting through to see what doesn't support your one clear message of Good News.
Jennifer Scarr, Apprentice
Church of the Brethren, Virginia
Pick your favorite time of day to write, add your favorite drink in your best mug, and say a prayer while you light a candle. This way your sermon writing becomes its own kind of regular retreat, a time for you and God to plan the Word you’ll share together. You’ll start looking forward to it every week.
Tips on Craft
Rhonda Rogers, Mentor
Episcopal, Texas
Preach it out loud and record it. I can hear places where my sentence structure may be grammatically correct but I trip over my choice of words. It helps me hear those places where I need to pause, repeat, or emphasize a word or point. And if I'm putting myself asleep, chances are the congregation will be snoring by the end also.
Kevin Caruso, Apprentice
Episcopal, Illinois
Consider how you want your sermon to make people feel. Preaching is not just a matter of explaining things didactically. Just because we say something clearly doesn't mean we are offering people an opportunity to experience the Good News of God's redeeming Love. The stories in scripture connect to us at a visceral level. When we begin to pay explicit attention to emotions within the stories we study and emotions within ourselves, we are better able to invite others to have an experience of the Good News.
Courtney Jones, Mentor
Episcopal, Washington
Nervous? Make the first paragraph something that you can easily talk about without looking. Doing so will help you speak more naturally during the part of the sermon that is traditionally the most “jittery”.
Andrea Myers, Mentor
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Iowa
To help your listener follow your one clear message from beginning to end, pay close attention to the “breadcrumbs” you provide along the way. One technique is to set your introductory and concluding paragraphs alongside one another to see how they relate. Is there a key word or image from an introductory story that could be brought back to strengthen the conclusion? Is there a concluding point that could be foreshadowed in your introduction? If there aren’t obvious connections there's editing to do!
Susan Ironside, Mentor
Episcopal, New Jersey
Ask for insights on a text or ideas from non-preachers (the people in your church, and the folks in your community). You can always tell when a preacher has slipped into an echo chamber of receiving wisdom only from other preachers. Asking questions like “Where do you find hope?” or “What do you think the resurrection is like?” will help you better understand the people to whom you preach and will give you insights into the ways God is acting in the lives of God’s people. I have received incredible insights from the person who does my hair, parents waiting to pick up a kid at youth group, and the volunteers who pitch in around the church!
Caroline Penhale, Mentor
United Church of Canada, Ontario
Editing is the key to preaching only one message of good news. Make sure to plan time for editing, and as you go through your draft or your talking points, look for the one clear message. Bonus tip: commit to cutting 100 words from each sermon draft, each time!
Brad Sullivan, Mentor
Episcopal, Texas
Look for phrases as you write which you can repeat through your sermon. This can be done in the editing process, adding the phrase or words to points within the sermon where it fits. Doing so helps tie the sermon together and gives the listener a way to remember the one message.
Samantha Smith, Mentor
Episcopal, Texas
Saying it out loud can help with discerning the goal. Trying to zone in on one message? Preach it out loud as practice to listen for the message. Trying to fix a transition? Preach it out loud as practice to see if it flows. Not sure if its too long or too short? Preach it out loud as practice and notice your own response to the duration. Hearing your own words in your own voice before you step into the pulpit can be an incredible tool for editing and clarity.
Tips on Spirituality
Ron Wells, apprentice
United Church of Christ, New York
Share your backstory and invite your listeners to insert themselves into the text. The listeners move from being spectators into participants. The listeners are engaged and empowered to live out the text.
Dale Matherly, Apprentice
Disciples of Christ, Kansas
Take some time to go for a walk and notice the abundance of life happening all around us. This time can be like a reset for your creativity, perspective, and energy. It opens up space within our heads and hearts.
Yejide Peters Pietersen, Apprentice
Episcopal, connecticut
Journaling—even if it is sentence fragments or drawing sketches—can help one process and access feelings and complex ideas more readily. Read a novel, keep cut flowers or blooming plants in the house, take a trip to a museum or go on a quiet scenic drive; replenishing the beauty in one's life can assist creativity and deepen one's sermon writing.
How do you want to grow as a preacher?
Since our first Mentorship class of 2016, 128 preachers have grown in the process, craft, and spirituality of preaching, guided by BsP’s mentors.
Whether you’d like to revitalize your process, refine your craft, or reconnect to God, our Mentors can meet you where you’re at to help you grow and make the changes you need to love your preaching life.
What would it be like to look forward to sermon prep as your favorite part of the week?
Imagine entering the pulpit with confidence each week, excited to preach the Good News you believe and have experienced.
You can!
Learn more about our year-long program.
Hear from last year’s grads about why they recommend the Mentorship to fellow preachers.
And check out our 100% money-back guarantee. That’s how strongly we feel that a year from now, you’ll be saying, “I’m so glad I made this investment.”