I just finished reading a short article in a periodical I no longer pay any attention to unless someone suggests I look at something of particular interest. The article advocates an annual preaching calendar, which is essentially planning a year ahead of time what will be preached (prayerfully, I presume). The author suggests that there are many reasons for planning an annual preaching calendar. I would suggest three reasons why a pastor should not plan an annual preaching calendar.
First, the approach of the most effective and famous Gospel preacher of the 19th century was undeniably C. H. Spurgeon, long-time pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London. I once read that throughout his ministry he preached one sermon series, of two sermons length. The reason why Spurgeon did not use a preaching calendar was the same reason he was the most relevant preacher of his day and why preachers who do use preaching calendars are usually not relevant preachers. In a word it is feedback. Spurgeon was habitually committed to learning from his auditors, something that is rarely done these days. Spurgeon realized that more important than what he actually said to his audience in his sermons was what they thought he said. How to find out what they thought he said? Ask them. And ask them he did when those troubled souls who sought his counsel and who were referred to him by his ten helpers scattered throughout the auditorium when he preached. When Spurgeon detected a common thread among those he elicited feedback from he knew he was on to something, something that invariably led to one of his sermons the following Sunday. Had he an annual preaching calendar that he adhered to he could never have achieved the relevance he was noted for. Sadly, most preachers these days have little contact with those they preach to for the purpose of providing counsel to troubled souls and at the same time obtaining much-needed feedback to obtain the pulse of the congregation. Looked at in this way an annual preaching calendar might be seen to be more of a hindrance than a help to effective pulpit ministry.
Second, consider the tidal wave of contemporary momentum advocating verse by verse exposition of books of the Bible. Almost every preacher who is orthodox in his theology advocates verse by verse expositional preaching. I engage in such exposition, though I do so with trepidation as I ponder the ministry of the most famous of the 20th century’s verse by verse expositors, David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, whose own Church went quickly charismatic soon after the doctor’s retirement despite decades of Bible exposition by a man singularly opposed to the charismatic movement. May I suggest that the benefits of expositional preaching through books of the Bible may be overblown? Frequently, expositional preaching isn’t preaching at all but is boring drudgery that only pretends to be preaching. I am not suggesting Lloyd-Jones was boring, but neither you nor I am Lloyd-Jones. As well, expositional preaching is sometimes a lazy man’s replacement for prayerfully agonizing as you wrestle with God for your next sermon. Messages that God wrings from a man are usually better for everyone than the bland expositions that are pasted together by a spiritually lukewarm pastor. If a man is going to preach through books of the Bible I will urge him to do one thing while considering another thing: First, the one thing to do is preach vigorously for a response, and when auditors respond be sure to seek their feedback. Second, the other thing, if you get good feedback make use of it to consider addressing an apparent need rather than continuing in the exposition. You can always get back to it the following week, but your opportunity to be relevant is a soon-to-close window of opportunity.
Finally, consider that the reasons why a preacher may want to preach verse by verse through a book of the Bible may not be reasons that are appealing to his auditors. Preachers are drawn to verse by verse expositions for several reasons: First, it makes the decision about your next sermon easy. Second, it encourages you to study how the verses connect with each other to form the message of the book you are preaching through. Third, you end up learning things you would not otherwise learn if you preached topical or textual sermons. That is all well and good, but do your Church members care in the same ways you care? I suggest to you that they do not, for the most part. Auditors want sermons that are first and foremost interesting. They also want sermons that apply to their daily lives. Both of those interests are more difficult to provide for when preaching verse by verse exposition, and most who preach expositional style sermons are far less capable preachers than those who do so less frequently. Is it because guys who are less capable preachers are inclined to depend on expositions as a replacement for being interesting, or are really interesting preachers who do not preach so much of the expositional style sermons just so much better at reading the interest of their auditors?
Be mindful of two things when you prayerfully decide the approach to sermon preparation you plan to use: First, it is a sin to bore people with the truth. First and foremost your sermons must be interesting in both their delivery and their content. Second, be very reluctant to pass up opportunities to obtain feedback from your auditors because it doesn’t so much matter what you say to them as it matters what they think you say to them. How will you know what they think you said if you do not purposefully seek to find out?
