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.
Aeons ago, I spent few years teaching High School. I had no trouble keeping the kids' attention for the entire class period, which sometimes exceeded 1 hour.
I accomplished this several ways ... Each lesson had a purpose, a beginning, an end, an exposition in between. I also made the lesson interactive ... rhetorical questions are pointless. If I asked a question, I expected an answer ... if one was not volunteered I called students by name.
Some ministers attempt to employ interaction; too often it elicits only choruses of "MMMM-Hmmmm" and "Amen".
Interesting // Thanks for sharing that.
I think there have been studies on teaching classes that show anything beyond about 45 minutes the students stop being able to retain as well and/or start to lose information. I’d put it at 35-45 myself just for that reason.
It would seem most pulpits are failing to deliver His message so in that sense they should probably be shorter...
St John the Evangelist later in life supposedly would just say “love one another”. And to quote Shakespeare “Brevity is the soul of wit”.
When I fall asleep, it’s too long. I’ve heard preachers that could preach for 1 & 1/2 hours and keep me on the edge of my seat. Other guys ought to shut up after 15 minutes.
Our pastor limits his to 45 minutes so they’ll fit on a single audio CD, for those that are absent any given Sunday.
Aye, there’s the key: a successful speech with memorable content. The problem I hear with most sermons is that they fail to deliver a point. Yes, they cite scripture; yes, they elucidate what Christians should do; yes, they expound on key elements of faith. What they do not do is effectively tell people how the message applies to them and their lives. People leave the pews thinking they have been educated; what they haven’t been is convicted!
30 to 50 minutes.
Bingo!
Amen. Let the Holy Spirit guide and minister through you. There may be just one person that needs a Word from God that day, and you might be their last opportunity to hear it.
I would rather hear one timely and inspired Word from God, than 40 minutes of cool anecdotes the minister found on the Internet concerning the topic du jour.
I’m fond of the quote attributed to St. Francis of Assisi:
“Preach the gospel always; when necessary, use words.”
RE: St John the Evangelist later in life supposedly would just say “love one another”. And to quote Shakespeare “Brevity is the soul of wit”.
Whew, I’m glad I went back and read it a second time. For a moment I thought he actually quoted Shakespeare ( that would have really been a far-reaching vision :)
Faith comes by hearing…
Paul
Old saying from a parish priest, There are no souls saved after 15 minutes.
Haha, that sounds absurd, but I'm sure it's true. He was something else, wasn't he?
My father was in North Africa (Rommel), then Anzio. He saw a lot of our Allied losses. He also got malaria while in North Africa. He survived but it damaged his heart. And THAT finally did kill him at 58 years old. Not enougn years.
The message can be delivered in fabulous speeches, decent rhetoric, even singing and people may listen with all the attention possible. But FOLLOWING those words of our good Lord...different story.
The Ten Commandments aren't the "Ten Suggestions" but do we follow them? No or not enough. We have free will and too often do what WE want to do and/or listen to the evil one.
We already KNOW what we ought to be doing and the priests can only deliver the message...
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