Are My Sermons Too Long?

Hello Church,

What is the Holy Spirit Calling you to do?

I like preaching.  Over the years it has come easier and easier for me.  It wasn't so easy in the beginning.  I essentially would sit down and type an 8-page paper as college and seminary put me in the habit of doing.  Then I would read that on Sunday morning.  I was not a boring reader, as far as that goes, but it was still reading.

My anxiety around preaching was multi-layered.  Did I know what I was talking about?  Will the congregation agree with me?  How many people will I upset?  Is it too long?  Not long enough?  Are my arguments logically sound?  Is it too mushy?  Too illogical?  Not mushy enough?  Is it biblically sound?  Where are the loopholes?  Can I fix the loopholes?  Am I talking loud enough for everyone to hear?

Over the years I have crossed off many of those questions.  This is because many of those questions speak to my self-confidence more than anything else.  As I started agreeing with God that preaching is a Calling, I got more brazened.  I stopped typing out 8-page papers and making outlines.  Then I went from outlines to a few notes.  Now, sometimes, I don't even use my notes.

My point isn't that I have improved as a preacher.  My point is that when we believe.... truly believe... that God has called us to something, the more we can lean on God and not ourselves.  The more I got to know God; the character of God; the habits of God; the attitude of God, the more I could allow God to speak through me.  My confidence didn't just come from experience.  It came from my faith that God knew what He was doing when He said, 'Joe, go preach'.

What is the Holy Spirit calling you to do?

Consider that whatever it is, it is more about God and less about you.  Your confidence, know-how, attitude, etc; are certainly important.  But God's confidence, know-how, attitude, etc; is much more important when He is the one deciding that you can be good and useful at something.

So I became a preacher.  I learn how to improve at it because I decided to believe that God has my back.

When you believe God has your back on something, go do it and learn to do it really well.  What I learned throughout the years is that it does matter what other people think, but when you commit yourself to your Calling, it matters much less than you think.

God is Good,
Pastor Joe