Posted on 07/30/2014 2:02:22 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
What is the trend? Are church members and church leaders saying sermons should be longer or shorter? The answer is "yes."
If my answer is confusing, I understand. But the reality is there are two major trends taking place related to sermon length. I have been following these trends through anecdotal information and social media polls for three years. There are growing numbers of respondents who believe sermons should be longer. There are also growing numbers of respondents who believe sermons should be shorter. And there aren't many people in the middle of those two divergent views.
By the way, there is a smaller, but consistent, number that feel the pastor should preach "as long or short as God leads" with no constraints at all. That view is the third of the three perspectives.
I am reticent to put my numbers in statistical percentages since my social media polls of the past three years are not scientific. Since numbers, however, can provide greater clarity, I list them here with the caveat that accuracy is definitely not precise.
1. 41%: Sermons should be shorter, in the 20 to 30 minute range. These respondents see a cultural barrier related to short attention spans. Any sermon over 30 minutes, they say, does not connect with the typical mind of today, especially in Western culture. We, therefore, must keep the message shorter and pack more information into a relatively brief time period.
2. 37%: Sermons should be longer, in the 35 to 55 minute range. A solid exposition of Scripture, this perspective argues, cannot be done in just a few minutes. The sermon is the central part of the worship service, and the time allocated should be significant. We do a disservice to the Word of God when we move toward shorter sermons.
3. 9%: There should be no time constraints on the pastor's sermons. The pastor should have a sermon length that is only subject to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Anything else lacks sensitivity to God's work and involvement.
Obviously, if you add the numbers, another 13% had a variety of responses that fit none of the categories. By way, some of the responses in my most recent social media poll and in previous polls advocated sermon lengths from 8 minutes to 75 minutes. We church members definitely are not in full agreement on these issues.
Longer is better. I hate short naps.
(kidding)
While not Catholic himself, Episcopalian General Patton frequently attended Mass because a majority of the chaplains under his command were Catholic priests.
It is said that at the 10 minute mark of a sermon, Patton would draw his revolver and set it on the pew in view of the preacher as a signal time was up.
Well, if people are dozing off, maybe go shorter. Or at least snazz it up a little and keep it interesting.
I think more from the bible would be good.
Sometimes, just a scripture reading is better than a “sermon”.
I attended another church for daily Mass, and the entire Mass is less than 17 minutes. Just horrible, I can not even get me mind in the proper state to receive in that short amount of time.
I was an altar boy,, and let me tell you,,
The shorter the better..
My favorite Pastor got r done.
Haha, I wish I could do that at company meetings sometimes.
Or, just have a tape recorder in my pocket and start playing the Oscars’ “wrap it up” music when they won’t stop rambling.
Legend has it that this man said it:
“The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending, then having the two as close together as possible.”
— George Burns
As long as it needs to be. No more. No less.
It is rare that I see a speaker -- whether a minister, priest or a person giving a non-religious speech -- who can successfully pull off a 55 minute speech. You have to be a very skilled speaker to keep people's attention and give them an hours worth of memorable content. The reason the 20 minute speech is a good bet is because it includes 2 or 3 well-developed concepts that people will remember, at least for a short while.
I also give a fair number of talks and presentations in my job and the one humbling fact that you learn is that you are lucky if people remember one thing you said a week after you speak.
If that isn't actually true, it ought to be.
About 4 or 5 weeks ago, he started reading an entire chapter (we're going through the bible page by page) before beginning his message and though the chapter may be longer than a verse or two, I HAVE found it to be most helpful to the congregation to pay attention (ordinarily out of church about 12 ... now pushing 1220, 1230 .. ) and the preaching is easier (his statement) because more 'meat' is in the prelude (so to speak)
In the past, pastor would (it seemed) preach droningly because he had finished his message (IMO), but 'there was still some clock left' and it was watch watching boring.
NOW however, the message is aligned with the entire passage of scripture as opposed to a text verse or two
I'd suggest this to your pastor ... you'll be as interested as when you're reading your bible in an interesting section and you keep going until the end of David's life (f'rinstance ... or whatever)
I'm with you - I love expository preaching.
Calvin's preaching was of one kind from beginning to end: he preached steadily through book after book of the Bible. He never wavered from this approach to preaching for almost twenty-five years of ministry in St. Peter's church of Geneva - with the exception of a few high festivals and special occasions. "On Sunday he took always the New Testament, except for a few Psalms on Sunday afternoons. During the week . . . it was always the Old Testament". The records show fewer than half a dozen exceptions for the sake of the Christian year. He almost entirely ignored Christmas and Easter in the selection of his text.To give you some idea of the scope of the Calvin's pulpit, he began his series on the book of Acts on August 25, 1549, and ended it in March of 1554. After Acts he went on to the epistles to the Thessalonians (46 sermons), Corinthians (186 sermons), pastorals (86 sermons), Galatians (43 sermons), Ephesians (48 sermons) - till May 1558. Then there is a gap when he is ill. In the spring of 1559 he began the Harmony of the Gospels and was not finished when he died in May, 1564. During the week of that season he preached 159 sermons on Job, 200 on Deuteronomy, 353 on Isaiah, 123 on Genesis and so on.
One of the clearest illustrations that this was a self-conscious choice on Calvin's part was the fact that on Easter Day, 1538, after preaching, he left the pulpit of St. Peter's, banished by the City Council. He returned in September, 1541 - over three years later - and picked up the exposition in the next verse.
-- excerpted from John Piper's The Divine Majesty Of The Word
Longer if I’m there by myself, shorter if I’m there with children.
My #13
bump
A good sermon may be long, if necessary. A lousy sermon should be short, or should never be started.
He means "reluctant." I can't take seriously a person who falls into a common blunder like that. It means he is going through life half-asleep. His life is hardly worth living, in fact.
He has done it enough times, that most of the folks pay attention.
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