Preacher's Block

This preaching tip was shared by Preacher’s Block co-founder, Hunter Bethea. If you’re interested in joining the most focused preachers in the world and getting these tips sent to your inbox every week, sign up here.

Too often, preachers (and others) talk about things they don’t know and make a fool of themselves doing so. Maybe you’ve heard a preacher talk about “the Tiktok” or some fancy scientific concept or some celebrity and it becomes pretty clear that they heard one person talk about it and now think they’re an expert. More than just unhelpful, this diminishes the trust we have with those we are preaching to. Instead, you can do a few things:

1. Just don’t talk about topics you don’t know about. Too often, to be “relevant,” people try to talk about the next best thing without actually understanding it. Just don’t. It’s okay to not be up on the latest trends. The gospel will always be “relevant” so talk about it and use modern examples/analogies you do know about.

2. Ask someone who does know. If you want to learn about how engines work to share an analogy in a sermon but don’t know the difference between gas and electric, ask someone who does know. They’ll be honored to have contributed to the sermon and you’ll know what you’re talking about.

3. Admit that you don’t know. Just this morning, I was talking about the disciples in the boat when Jesus calms the storm and said, “Now I know next to nothing about fishing and boating but I’m going to guess it takes a few minutes to fill a boat to the point of sinking.” I’m approaching with humility that which I don’t know, but am still making an educated guess based on what I do know.

4. Learn about it. If you think you need to learn about something, then learn it! There are so many ways to learn about the latest technology, philosophical concept, or historical event. But make sure that you do the research; don’t just listen to others and parrot what they say. Ask people who do know, read a book or two, listen to some podcasts, try it out yourself.

Our congregants are giving us the rare commodity known as time. Let’s honor that by not wasting their time talking about what we don’t know!