Marks of Bad Preaching - Spencer Smith

Marks of Bad Preaching

I have had the privilege of hearing hundreds of men preach through the years. Most have been a great blessing to me. I have made some great spiritual decisions by hearing men of God preach the Word of God to me. Through the years I have also heard some sermons that helped me very little. Some did absolutely nothing for me. Here is a list of common attributes of bad preaching.

1. Powerless Preaching

"Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts." (Zech 4:6). There is a difference between a man that preaches about something he's heard and a man that preaches about something he's lived. One man preached like he knew the sermon, the other preached like he knew the Shepherd. They said that Jonathan Edwards lived in eternity 6 days a week, and on the 7th day he came down and told everyone what he saw. I want to preach like that. 

2. Passionless Preaching 

Jeremiah said that God put a FIRE in his bones, but some men preach as if they have FROST in their bones. Instead of burning passion they have bland passiveness. People will always go where they find passion. Sport stadiums are always full because they are passionate about their team. Churches are empty because many of them have no passion behind the pulpit. If you catch fire for God, then people will come watch you burn.

Bible truth is exciting! Preach like it!

3. No/Little Bible

Not many people can gather a crowd every week to have their opinions heard, but several can gather a crowd to hear the bible. God has called you to "preach the word", not share your opinions. I have heard men speak for 30 mins before ever opening the bible. I actually heard one man preach for 40 mins and NEVER once opened a bible. I wasn't helped.

4. Scattered Delivery

Preach on a subject and stick with that subject. I heard a man one time that started preaching on God's holiness, then preached on music, then how much he liked fried chicken, then what time him kids go to bed at night, then about the KJV bible, then he mentioned his early morning walks, then he mentioned the amount of abortions in America. It was bizarre and, needless to say, I wasn't helped. Rabbit trails are fine AS LONG AS YOU GET A RABBIT!

5. No Illustrations

Jesus used illustrations. Illustrations are windows that help me to more clearly see and understand a bible truth. Use them often and use them again. Topics like the grace of God can be hard to understand without an illustration. The love of God can be greatly understood with an illustration. Illustrations are like a handle by which I can grasp a bible truth. Please use them.

6. No Humor

Some men just aren't funny, and that's ok, but humor can be a great tool. Someone once said, "If you are going to tell people the truth, you'd better make them laugh or they'll kill you." Humor is a skill that can be used to keep the attention of the average listener. Work at it.

7. Too Long

The mind can only absorb what the seat can endure. A sermon does not have to be eternal to be effective. There is a fine line between a long sermon and a hostage situation. I personally try to stay under 40 mins max.

8. No Application

The worst sermons are those that give a load of religious information with no application. I'm glad that you know the sequence of the feasts and the blood moons, but what does that mean to me? Dr Runion shared with me a valuable lesson about preaching. He said that when he was pastoring, he was going very deep into prophecy for months. During one sermon, he looked up and saw farmers, housewives, and children all staring at him with a blank stare. It dawned on him that they were literally getting NOTHING out of this sermon series because they didn't know how it applied to their day to day life.

Give me something that I can use.

9. No Verdict

A sermon should cause me to make a decision. It is a call to action. The sermon should present a bible truth, apply it to my life, and then give me the choice to obey it or disobey it. It should not be an entertainment exhibition. There should be information, but it should cause me to obey what I hear.

10. No Humility

I have heard some men use their sermon to promote themselves, and I have heard some men use their sermon to promote Christ. A sermon that points you to the preacher won't help you spiritually. We need to see Jesus in every sermon.

There is a difference between a man that is doing a great work for God, and a man that thinks he's great because of the work he's doing for God.

Be down on yourself and up on Jesus!

Disqualified Preachers

 

Unfortunately, there are some men in the Baptist world who have adopted a philosophy of ministry where they believe that ministry men who have sinned greatly, can and should be restored back into ministry. This philosophy is sin, heresy, and is unbiblical. Men can disqualify themselves from ministry, and they should never stand in a pulpit again. Here are some texts that they use to justify their philosophy, and why they are wrong:

1. "The Gifts and Calling of God are Without Repentance." (Romans 11:29) This verse is so laughable out of context that it proves these men to be biblically ignorant. That verse is about the national election of the nation of Israel, not a man who cheated on his wife, and wants to keep his church...and his paycheck.

2. "Ye Which Are Spiritual, Restore Such An One" (Galatians 6:1) This verse speaks about restoring a brother in Christ back to fellowship because he was overtaken in a "fault", not a felony. I have seen this verse used to justify the restoration of a pedophile back into ministry. A pedo belongs in a prison cell, not a pulpit. Anyone who would use this verse to justify putting a perv back in a pulpit doesn't know God or his Bible.

3. "David Sinned With Bathsheba" (2 Samuel 11) David was an Old Testament King of Israel, not a New Testament Bishop. He ran a nation, not a church. There were many heathen men who were kings of Israel, but the church is to be ruled by a blameless, sober, holy, and temperate man. (1 Timothy 3, Titus 1). If a man commits adultery, he is disqualified from the New Testament office of a bishop.

I hate that this even needs to be said, but there are men who have adopted a pragmatic view of ministry where they think "more men preaching = more ministry being done = more people being saved", when that is not the case. I'm afraid they have let loose upon the church a mob of unqualified men who have done much more harm than they have done good. People have been hurt. Lives have been destroyed. Churches have been soured. The testimony of Christ has been damaged by these men.

It's time for these men to sit down forever. We can restore you back to fellowship, but never back to leadership. You are disqualified. Even the Baptist ones in Florida.

The Winds are Blowing! Get Ready! - Spencer Smith

 

Years ago, an up and coming "Independent Baptist" was doing a livestream about his upcoming conference called "Idea Day". He wanted to know what topics he could cover during the conference to help your church. There were probably 30 people in the live chat. Not a big deal.

A few guys asked some basic questions about church growth, and I asked "what can I do to help keep emergent church principles out of my church". He skipped my question several times. He even said at the end, "if there are no more questions, then we are going to go". I asked my question three times again and again. He paused, squinted at the screen, and said "Well, since there are no more questions, I guess we will go. See you all at the conference." It was obvious that he was ignoring my question.

Today that guy is a left wing evangelical. He used to preach in chapel in Independent Baptist Bible colleges in California, but now they won't even touch him. He even wrote an entire blog post about his disdain for Ernest Pickering. Yikes.


The winds of this stuff are blowing, and you would be a fool to ignore the fact that these things are coming to a pew near you soon. Pastors need to be aware and do the work of an evangelist, and be "vigilant" to prepare yourself and your people for the day that this comes into your church. If not, then you absolutely could lose your entire youth department to these issues. Don't fall asleep on this. It's coming. The music is just the start...