Here's a question for pastors: how long do you preach?
I'm not sure what the optimal time is. Ultimately, I guess it's saying no more or no less than what God has laid on your heart. And certainly it depends on who is talking and who is listening. But what is your target time?
My target time is 35 minutes but I've gone 42 minutes the last three messages. Part of it is that I feel so full of God right now. I'm speaking out of what God is doing in my heart. But to be honest, my natural tendency is to say more than say less. And this blog is probably a subconscious way of processing my guilt for preaching too long. I'm half-kidding. Actually, I think you need to just do your level best to say what you think God wants you to say. And you should never apologize for that.
One of my defining moments as a young preacher was when a U.S. Senator who attended our church who I greatly respected said to me, "That was a great series of messages on Sunday." I wasn't sure if that was a compliment or an insult? He explained, "I loved the first half of your message but the second half was even better so I forgot the first half." Things that make you go hmmmm! Sermons can hit a point of dimishing return. And I really do believe that more is less and less is more. But I also know there is a time to let it rip. It's just hard knowing how to balance the clock and the anointing.
By the way, I'm not of the school that equates service length with revival. Sometimes they equate. You need to pray through at an altar. But sometimes you just need to get out of there as fast as you can and actually do something about what you've heard.
While we're on it, I'm also not of the school that believes that God just anoints in the moment. He can. And if He wants to call an audible I need to adapt. But some preachers use the anointing as a cop out for laziness. Listen, God can give you an idea two months ago for today! You need to do your homework. God will bless it and anoint it.
Alright, I'm done preaching!
I'm not sure what the optimal time is. Ultimately, I guess it's saying no more or no less than what God has laid on your heart. And certainly it depends on who is talking and who is listening. But what is your target time?
My target time is 35 minutes but I've gone 42 minutes the last three messages. Part of it is that I feel so full of God right now. I'm speaking out of what God is doing in my heart. But to be honest, my natural tendency is to say more than say less. And this blog is probably a subconscious way of processing my guilt for preaching too long. I'm half-kidding. Actually, I think you need to just do your level best to say what you think God wants you to say. And you should never apologize for that.
One of my defining moments as a young preacher was when a U.S. Senator who attended our church who I greatly respected said to me, "That was a great series of messages on Sunday." I wasn't sure if that was a compliment or an insult? He explained, "I loved the first half of your message but the second half was even better so I forgot the first half." Things that make you go hmmmm! Sermons can hit a point of dimishing return. And I really do believe that more is less and less is more. But I also know there is a time to let it rip. It's just hard knowing how to balance the clock and the anointing.
By the way, I'm not of the school that equates service length with revival. Sometimes they equate. You need to pray through at an altar. But sometimes you just need to get out of there as fast as you can and actually do something about what you've heard.
While we're on it, I'm also not of the school that believes that God just anoints in the moment. He can. And if He wants to call an audible I need to adapt. But some preachers use the anointing as a cop out for laziness. Listen, God can give you an idea two months ago for today! You need to do your homework. God will bless it and anoint it.
Alright, I'm done preaching!
36 Comments:
IMHO it depends on the pastor (and whether his message is anointed of God, or just lots of words), and on the congregation's readiness to receive that message.
I've sat in 20-minute sermons that were dreadful and I was ready to leave after 2 minutes! And (in other countries) sat with other hungry people for a 3-hour sermon (preceded by over an hour of praise and worship!) and left wishing the pastor hadn't stopped!
I go for 25 to 30 minutes of preaching. I figure, "if I don't say it all in one sermon, I still have many more years to come back to it." Make a point. Make it stick and move on.
I agree Mark, I think that we preachers also need to watch the congregation! We should be able to tell when people have reached their saturation point! In many cases, less is certainly more!
I shoot for 27 minutes 52 seconds. My sermons generally are 24-30 minutes on most weeks. When I start to go over 35 I loose all the clock watchers. I don't let them dictate how I preach, or how long I preach, but I generally try to keep it under 30 minutes because that is what we
allow for within our programming.
This week I'll be in the 22 minute range because we have a baptism to take care of as well!
Chris Meirose
Because I said so blog
I agree with you and the previous comments. If the audience isn't tracking with you, you might as well end it. I've had plenty of times, however, when what I said wasn't in the prep! (a.k.a. Anointing)
My baseline is this: "If I can't say it in 30 minutes, I probably can't say it." Still, I usually go 30-33 minutes...
I think Hybels said to rate yourself 1-10 and give yourself five minutes per. That probably means that most of us are in that 20-30 min range.
I'm a very young guy, and that could be part of it, but every time I preach/teach I can never break 20 minutes. I feel like if I talk more than that then I begin to ramble and babble. It may be from my age and inexperience, but that's how long I preach.
I don't think the issue is time as much as it is style. Part of being sensitive to our culture is understanding that people today listen in short bursts. We're used to commercial interruptions every 7 minutes. Whether we like to admit it or not, that changes the game. People will tune out a long sermon IF the preacher doesn't do his job of illustrating well or using narrative to bind the content together. (Big emphasis on 'if')
Personally, I aim for 30-35 and try to think through my message in 7 minute marks.
Personally I don't preach, but I've noticed your blog posts being longer recently. Any connection?
I aim for 35 minutes but have gone as far as 50 minutes. Tough when you feel the Holy Spirit taking over but I am still learning.
JZ
Here in the Northeast, it seems like the culture is extremely fast. For that reason, I really try to hit the 30 minute mark on most Sundays. However, as it's been mentioned over and over, when the quality is high, people don't look at their watch and don't care if you go over. This is where we need the Holy Spirit to give us eyes that are not our own!
I'm usually around 35 minutes . . . we have some margin built into our services, but I do know that if the entire service starts running much over 1:10-15,that we are not being respectful of our children's ministry and what they're seeking to accomplish.
More important to me than time in preaching is, am I preaching out of overflow. If it's just me - 2 minutes is way too long. If it's overflow of what God is doing in my life then time is a less substantive issue (within reason :)
It all depends on the subject / text. While it is true that looooooong sermons leave more of an impression on the seat than on the soul, it is also important to realize the need to teach God's people and do them justice.
I have heard both sides of the agruement, but truth be known, I don't think you can make a "general rule"... it also depends on the maturity level of the congregation as a whole. If you do multi-services you'll notice that the maturity level of the different meetings are, themselves, different.
Having said all that, I allow myself roughly 40 minutes. I "pre-preach" my sermon to get all the rabbit trails out (which normally works).
Hope that helps brother.
I preach about 40 minutes but there is always altar ministry after so I am normally on the mic over an hour every week.
What I really wanted to comment on was your last point.
Early in my ministry I would wait on a specific word from God before preparing. Often God would speak to me right before the service and I would preach it with unction. But time and again I wished that I had prepared more for the message.
At some point, I decided that I was going to prepare something and if God wanted to change the message near the end of the week He could. And sometimes He does. But more often then not, he guides my preparation. I may not be fully aware of the point He is trying to convey until the end of the week but by then I have done all the research and have a full theological grasp regarding the subject I am going to preach on.
This is a really big concession for a pentecostal/revival preacher. But not preparing because of the anointing is an excuse. Preachers should be studying all the time. It is what we do for a living!
Great post. Keep pressing in for more!
I once heard "the mind can absorb what the seat can endure." I try to go as long as I have something to say and don't repeat. That is about 5 minutes. Ha. Seriously, I am in the 25 minute range. But I really want to say something about that last thought. There is no substitute for preparation. There is a local pastor who doesn't believe in it. "God will inspire me." I think it is an excuse for laziness. As for preparing ahead: we have just had a situation in our fellowship and since I prepare 4 weeks (at least) ahead it has allowed me to broach the subject with clear thinking and no axe to grind. Even the folks know it.
Usually our messages are around 22 minutes. Sometimes it might go 35. If it's much over 35 I will break it up into two or three parts in the service. We break it up with music or a testimony. It seems to help people stay focused.
Slightly off subject, I've found that having someone share a testimony that relates to a point I want to make can be much more affective than me making the point. Who can argue with personal experience.
Thanks for a great conversation Mark.
This is a topic I always get questions about from pastors (when I'm leading conferences).
I remember several years ago being interviewed by Christian Science Monitor for an article on sermons getting shorter - they had interviewed several New England mainline preachers who told them you couldn't hold an audience over 12-15 minutes these days. I messed up the trend by pointing out that most of the largest, fastest-growing churches in America regularly had sermons 35-45 minutes or longer.
It's not the number of minutes you use; it's what you do with them that counts. A sermon that is thoughtfully-prepared, has effective illustration and insightful application, and is preached with passion will hold a congregation's interest.
Good post, Mark!
(Michael Duduit, Preaching magazine)
I've been running 45 to 55 minutes, but my new goal is to consistently be under 40 minutes. I was about 35 today and felt pretty good about it. But there are some sermons where longer is appropriate.
started a series on the parable of the sower last week. last night, God called an audible while I was having dinner with my wife. will finish up the parable of the sower next week. am preparing for a series on the wild goose chase after that. just ordered a case of books from ya. bless ya bro.
love what duduit said above. let's stop putting God in a box and trying to restrict His impact with a time limit (min or max). let's let God do what He wants to do through us each week. we'll do our part via prep and prayer and let's let Him do His part.
We aim for 30 minutes, but I am longer than that nearly every week. This week it was 37 and I've been between 35-40 most weeks for the last few months. It's a challenge because I can cut a whole page of notes and still land at 35 minutes.
Preaching length is very culture-bound, not only ethnicity, but the culture of the church--what people are used to.
I do find it interesting that "the seat" can endure a two-hour movie, a three-hour football game, and even 60-to-120 minutes in a college class room, but "the seat" can't endure more than 30 minutes of the Word.
My last pastor never preached under 60 minutes and it flew by: deep truth related practically to life. My current pastor never preaches under 45 minutes, and often over 50. Again, it flies by: truth related to life.
The two churches are very different in size, location (we moved), etc. However, they are very similar in expectation and commitment. And both churches are growing, reaching people, etc.
There's a whole new, younger generation insisting, thankfully, on content-related-to-life, and less concerned with the clock. That's not to deny that there are many clock-watchers--and there are many churches they can attend.
My old time goal was right on 30 minutes, but that was because we were airing on TV in a half hour slot. Now that we're not doing that anymore, 30 minutes is just a rough estimate. Sometimes it's a few minutes under, but most of the time it's 5-10 minutes longer. I don't like to rush what I have to say, so I make sure to tell everything God has laid on my heart to say. I definitely feel it's a you-move-with-God thing. He's in charge of the message, in all respects. If you're doing any of that for or of yourself, you're in trouble.
I did have a little old lady tell me once that I went way too long. "Any preacher worth anything can say what he needs to say in 20 minutes." I just smiled and walked away, which is less than what I wanted to do/say. I decided not to let little old women dictate my preaching style.
On the campus where I primarily preach, I'm in the 20-22 minute range. We have a full service with communion every week and 20-22 minutes seems to be the sweet spot. On our Main Campus, we're suppose to have no more than 12-15 minutes ... guess who NEVER hits that mark:)
In my church we allot 30mins for youth service and 45mins for the adult services.
Loved this post...I remember sitting thru a sermon (A.V. Henderson for those Baptists) that was 15 minutes and half of the congregation (about 500+ came to the altar (this is when churches had altars up in the front :) I think its about the power of the Holy Spirit speaking thru the preacher...great post Mark, keep em coming.
I preach for about 25-30 minutes. No complaints. Except from those who wish I preached longer. ;)
27min.... for my general audience... this is my target wkly---
I used to shoot for about 30 minutes, but something happened. One, I didn't hit it and found myself speaking closer to 40 and two, nobody seemed to care or notice AND they started applying and living out what we were learning. So like you mentioned...I just go until I get the sense that we're done. Been as short as 5 minutes and as long as 52. God moved in both those extremes.
20-25 minutes. To me a sermon should be one point rather than 3 or 5 points. You can talk on 1 point for hours, but what will people retain? I think it depends on your audience for sure. I always manuscript and I practice by actually speaking it. I usually time the first run or two. 8 pages (double spaced) is about 20 minutes for me.
tim
I preach 30-40 mins, if you engage your audience the time passes by fast. Andy Stanley's Communicating for a Change has upped my skill in communication truth in an easy applicable way. As long as you are confusing people they will always start to look at their watch :-)
Great post Mark. Thanks!
Ray (from Japan)
We're supposed to 35 min on a Sunday morning. My natural length is 40-45 min.
A very experienced preacher once told me that there are 30 minute preachers, 40 minute preachers, etc. If a 25 minute preacher tries to talk for 40, it won't work; if a 40 minute preacher tried to compress into 20, it may not work either.
I shoot ofr about 30 minutes. I speak almost exclusively to students. I am worried that I will not make 30 minutes but usually go over. So most of thes folks preach in the 25-40 minute range.
How much time do you spend in prep, writing, reasearching, and or practicing?
I heard of one pastor that goes 27.5 minutes every time and spends one hour per minute of message in prep.
What say you?
Hey Chris,
Tough question! I think it really varies. If you count "strategic reading" then my prep time is pretty high. As you grow and mature as a preacher, I don't think you have to study as much because you have lived it. It's less study and more life. That isn't an excuse for not studying. But it becomes an expression of your life. So it isn't just "study time" but the cumulative effect of a life well lived.
If you pinned me down, I'm probably in the neighborhood of twenty hours for a message, but it varies greatly. Rarely is it less than 10-12 hours. Sometimes as much as 30-40 hours.
My two cents,
Mark
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