Transcript
If I would look back on the early days of my preaching and I would say, "Here are errors that I made," I would say, probably, the first one was I was all too aware of the good preachers that were out there and fell into thinking my calling was to be like those guys, and it's a defeating thought.
Do Not Try to Be Piper or Keller
You know, maybe John Piper is a preacher for his generation or a Tim Keller. Perhaps that's not what God has called me at all to. Benefit from good preachers, but don't try to be them. Don't try to compete with them. Don't try to be something that God hasn't designed for you to be. Be natural. Be yourself. If you're preaching and it's your calling, you've been given adequate gifts for your calling. And hear this, no one, no one is more committed to the use of your gifts than the Giver is.
Second thing I think I did, I think my preaching was harmed by my pride. I really tried to take on more than I was able to take on. I can remember preaching a sermon on pride that I was convinced was the ultimate statement of pride. Actually, it was the ultimate example of pride. It was a prideful sermon.
And so, know that you're going to grow. Know that this is on-the-job training. Know you're going to communicate better. Do what you're able to do. Listen, if you're at a point in your experience where you do best with 25-minute sermons, preach 25-minute sermons. Your Savior won't condemn you for that.
Preach to Your Capacity and Grow
Don't try to preach a 50-minute sermon if you're not capable of developing that content; and then allow yourself to mature, allow yourself to grow. Sometimes, people say, "You just seem so comfortable and so skilled as a preacher," and I just laugh and say, "Because I've done it 50,000 times."
And God has designed His church in such a way that people in ministry are in the midst of their own growth and growth in preaching is something's going to happen. Don't be defeated by the skill of other preachers and don't take on more than you are now able to do given your level of maturity in pastoral ministry.
