20 hours.
No. That’s not how long it will take you to read this blog post. It’s how long it takes to write a good sermon.
1 hour of preparation for every 1 minute of delivery.
Does that seem excessive to you? That’s a part-time job! That’s half a work-week! Imagine sitting down at a desk for two and a half days and doing NOTHING other than writing a speech that will be over in the time it takes you to watch an episode of The Office (or Friends, or Seinfeld, depending on how old you are…).
What else does that leave you time to do during the week? What gets sacrificed so that those 15-20 minutes go smoothly? Is it worth the cost?
I’m just a young buck, but I would say unequivocally, “YES!!”
Sure, it’s good to listen to your seminary professors. They are wise men who are teaching at the seminary for good reason. They have real, first-hand experience with ministry, and - in many cases - decades of study and research to back up their conclusions. So, when your professor tells you to spend an hour of preparation for every minute you preach, you listen.
They would also be the first to remind you that even though a pastor only works one hour a week (har-de-har-har), that one hour/week in worship on Sundays is arguably the most important hour you can spend. Because whether you belong to a congregation of 50 or 5,000, Sunday mornings represent the single greatest concentration of attentive listeners a pastor gets. This is the single greatest impact he is able to make with the Sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17) in one fell swoop. So he better not miss.
All that makes sense, and I never challenged it. But it wasn’t until I was serving a church for several years that I understood - in more than just a theoretical way - the truth that’s on the other side of that principle.
It’s important to invest that much time for the sake of the listener(s). As I think about the members of my congregation, I know they’re all worth it. I wish I could spend that much time every week crafting a sermon for each one of them.
But I also know how much I need that time. As a pastor, sometimes I feel like a pitcher of water being poured out. During worship I pour out whatever encouragement I have to share from Scripture that week. Half an hour later, I do it again in Bible class. Then again, throughout the week, in individual conversation and counseling sessions and evangelism calls. All week long I’m being emptied, and if I don’t take the time to fill myself back up with the Living Water (John 4:13,14), then I won’t have anything left to give.
Lucky for me - or, rather, blessed as I am - God’s Word is more than enough to fill me up. When I dedicate myself to study - when I truly dig in to God’s Word - I find more knowledge and encouragement and grace than I could possibly share in 20 minutes or a lifetime of preaching. The treasures that God stores up for us in his Word are countless and immeasurably meaningful.
That’s why I’ve started this blog. To share with you one or two small things from my 20 hours that didn’t make the final cut. I pray that you find them as interesting, encouraging, enlightening or refreshing as I did. If there’s one thing that I love about being a pastor, it’s the opportunity that I get to share the excitement I find in discovering and rediscovering the truth of our God and the love of his Son, which he has so graciously left for us to find and cherish in his Word.
God bless your reading and may you be filled with the grace that only God can give through his Word.