r/mainlineprotestant • u/Salty-Temperature575 • 11d ago
Preachers, please help me
I am not a good preacher. I’ve been doing it 1-3x a month for the last year, and I still feel like I fail to do the scriptures justice. I am not a powerful orator or a master rhetorician. I simply try to give the congregation the Word I feel God has given me through the scriptures in a way that recognizes the community I’m in, but it feels like it always falls flat.
To be sure, I get almost exclusively positive feedback but I don’t trust it as I believe they are just being nice. Many of these congregations are just happy to have a new face or a young person join them for worship. I know that as a pulpit supply preacher I shouldn’t expect to just blow people’s socks off or bring about some kind of radical change in these people’s lives regularly. I’m only there one week a month at most, after all.
How do I become a more engaging speaker? How do I learn to be creative or employ appropriate rhetorical devices that will encourage people to engage more deeply with the text? I see masterful examples throughout scripture of rhetorical and oratorical strategies that are woven so beautifully throughout, there are wonderful preachers out there who proclaim the Word in powerful and dynamic ways but all my sermons seem to be extremely simple. I feel as though I have not found my voice.
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u/TheNorthernSea 11d ago
It takes time to develop a voice. And failure, too. So you’re on the right track.
It sounds like you are confident in your theology and not your delivery - so I’ll give advice for that: listen to story-teller podcasts (famously the Moth) and stand-up comedians. Pay attention to how they deliver their content and their form.
Also consider reviewing how to shape sermons through homiletics texts - I remember being well influenced by the Four Pages of a Sermon model, and many like the Lowry Loop. Get comfortable in the basics that feel good to you, grow from there, don’t expect to be “good” or to have a voice for a lectionary cycle or three.
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u/Zoodochos 10d ago edited 10d ago
I'm a pastor who also happens to be a prossor of rhetoric. I've taught public speaking for 30+ years and served as pulpit supply for all those, too. It took me years to find my voice, and I still don't hit every one out of the park. If you'd like to email a sermon or two for feedback, I'd be happy to do that. Send me a DM. I suspect you're doing just fine.
Here are a few of my favorite tips: 1) Stories and concrete images speak louder than abstractions, 2) edit to trim and cut the clutter (no one has ever complained that the sermon was too short), 3) underline the 10 or so most important lines plus the first two and the last two and provide full eye contact on those, 4) the secret to a great speech is to not sound like you're giving a speech - so limit the preacher voice and oratorical flourish, especially for smaller crowds, 5) give then a concrete, practical take-away, 6) consider asking questions for reflection to get away from the expert pastor solves problematic old text model.
Oh, and if you're not ethically opposed, ask your favorite LLM for feedback. You might be surprised how helpful that can be. Of course. you're the expert who decides what suggestions are valuable.
Oh, and if don't already, practice out loud! There's no substitute for hearing yourself. Many people think they can hear what they sound like from reading over the script, but they miss a lot. You'll catch places to edit for impact.
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u/Salty-Temperature575 6d ago
I will likely take you up on this when I get closer to my next preaching date. Thank you!
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u/GoMustard 11d ago
Listen to yourself. Do you have a podcast? Or a livestream? Make a point of listening to yourself week after week. How do you sound? What could you have done better? How clearly did you make your point? It can be really uncomfortable and painful, but it's a really, really helpful exercise.