LONG WINDED

How long a preacher should preach has recently become a hot topic in Ernest Lee’s world. What is the proper length for a Sunday morning message? According to the Master’s College blog, the average sermon length ranges from 20 to 28 minutes. That is down substantially from when Ernest Lee was a kid- then the sermons lasted at least an hour. Here are Ernest Lee’s thoughts on how long a sermon should be:

(1) It should be long enough to cover the passage adequately! The important thing is to cover the main points so people are convinced of its truth and comprehend its requirements. Some can do that in a concise way- others tend to ramble.

(2) It should not lose the attention of the listeners. Ernest Lee’s buddy John Stott said, “It doesn’t matter how long you preach, it should feel like 20 minutes.” When a preacher loses the congregation because the are chasing rabbits or pontificating to impress, they are ineffective. A good speaker is keenly aware of their audience and recognizes when they are losing interest.

(3) It should be Holy Spirit conscious. If the Lord is moving in a special way, quenching the spirit by trying to limit it to a clock is ungodly. But some preachers have a hard time bringing the plane in for a landing. Ernest Lee’s homiletics professor at seminary said a 20 minute sermon took 20 hours of preparation a 40 minute sermon took 10 hours, and an hour long sermon took 20 minutes. His point was that preparation made for a more concise, precise, succinct sermon.

Ernest Lee has a preacher friend who prides himself on preaching an hour. After one of his marathon messages, I told him, “If I had just an hour to live, I would want to listen to you preach that message.” He was elated and proclaimed, “THANK YOU ERNEST LEE!” But Ernest Lee wasn’t finished. I said- “Because that was longest hour of my life.”