At the Midwest Baptist Conference Annual Meetings a couple weeks ago,
Jerry Sheveland, the president of the
Baptist General Conference gave a
seminar on preaching. In it, he shared his personal 10 Commandments of
Preaching.

Preaching to be Heard

Jerry Sheveland

Only two things are eternal beside God: PEOPLE AND GOD’S WORD

In
Matthew
18, we read how Jesus told a story about a servant who wouldn’t
forgive his fellow servant. The punch line has so much power that you
know people heard what Jesus was saying. How do we preach so that people
hear?

Jerry Sheveland’s 10 Commandments for Contemporary
Preaching

1. Thou shalt understand how generational and gender differences affect
   the way people hear and respond.
   Each of us will naturally want to address topics that are affecting
   ourselves and to teach in ways that connect with us. But to communicate
   to all, we need to understand the others.

   One suggestion is to have a creative team working together to prepare
   weekly services.

2. Thou shalt reject a “preachy” style for a personal and natural one.
   We need to have a normal, natural conversation style when we preach, but
   that also includes the passion we might employ when debating a
   controversial topic with a friend or talking about the most recent
   sporting event.

3. Thou shalt begin where your listeners are-not where you think they
   ought to be!
   Jerry admits that in his preaching, he tends toward the “ought to”
   language, so he has to consciously adjust how he approaches things to
   help people see the path not a burden. We need to give people a pathway
   to move where they need to go, and to consider the roadblocks that
   prevent them from hearing what we are saying.

4. Thou shalt know and address your listener’s hurts, needs, and
   interests.
   Ask, “Where’s the heart-connect point that within two minutes of the
   beginning of the message, they can stop messing with the 3-year old next
   to them and realize that there’s something important for them in it?”

5. Thou shalt be real and communicate with transparency.
   How transparent is too much? Jerry’s test, “Will my transparency in this
   way distract people from receiving this truth or will it help them?”

6. Thou shalt be positive and constructive, especially when rebuking and
   correcting.
   Especially be careful with your own emotional condition when addressing
   rough issues in preaching.

7. Thou shalt tell good stories and use drama, wit, and humor freely.
   People need “comic relief” so that they can really be able to really deal
   with the truth at hand.

   You need to be able to really picture the story and get into it before
   you share it with others.

8. Thou shalt speak simply, avoiding religious cliches and ambiguous
   language.
   Pastors today are getting pretty good at avoiding the cliches, but we are
   still not very good at avoiding the ambiguous “God-talk” babble. (eg. Let
   go and let God.)

9. Thou shalt tell them how and why, not just what.
10. Thou shalt not speak down to your listeners but identify with their
    struggles, doubts, and questions.
    Jerry used a powerful illustration of a time when he was teaching and
    spoke on the topic, “Am I just a number?” It was a powerful story of how
    important people are.

    “Are you just a number? You’re lucky someone gave you a number!
    There are 40,000 students on this campus. There are 6 campuses like this
    in this city alone. There are 700 cities like this in the United States.
    There are hundreds of countries on this planet, and this planet is just
    one tiny ball in the midst of billions of stars and planets and galaxies.
    You are a speck on a speck on a speck. Are you just a number? You are
    lucky someone cared enough to give you a number!

    “So why do we scream about our significance? Why do we take offense at
    being treated like a number? Why do we long to be significant? Maybe we
    were made for God and by God.”

    It was a powerful illustration, and I think I might steal it someday.