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5. Consequences of poor preparation

I. People will leave your Church Often a sermon preached without preparation leads the congregation to boredom. “Preach It” tells what happens when the Pastor preach boring sermons.

People leave the church because of boring sermons. Some people can tell when a preacher is shooting from the hip or preaching to the choir. ‘…Study to show yourself approved…’ (2 Timothy 2:15). You are not going to keep some people unless your messages are getting into their heart and mind. They have come to hear a Word from God. Get one from the Lord for yourself and then give it to the congregation.

II. You make a clown out of yourself An unprepared Preacher would do any thing and everything to cover the poor condition of his sermon. In his effort to convince the congregation there’s a good chance he will sound like a joker.

III. People will loose their trust on you You can preach a thoroughly prepared sermon the next time. But you will have a hard time drawing people’s attention. They don’t trust you anymore because of the poor sermon you preached previously. IV. Immature congregation When a congregation sees that their Pastor takes God’s word for granted, chances are higher they do the same and end-up being an immature bunch of nominal Christians.

6. Excuses for not preparing

I. I am too busy This is the most common excuse Pastors give for failing to prepare. It’s true that most Pastors have a tight schedule. This is what Dr. Jeorge O. Wood says about the problem (General Superintendent – Assemblies of God, USA)

They are counseling people, visiting people, and giving attention to the day-to-day details of the church. The Pastor in a smaller church in particular does not have a staff to attend to those other responsibilities and can’t think of spending twenty four hours on one sermon. You have to find the right balance.

Repeating Dr. Wood in my own words, the Pastor is responsible for arranging his priorities.

Conclusion

Pastors must present the meat of the word. If you want to be a Pastor who connects with your congregation you must offer a solid word with integrity and excellence. This series about the importance of preparation before preaching ends today. If you are a Pastor or one training to be a Pastor and followed all the parts of this series I hope you will have a good understanding why preparation is crucial for any Preacher.

Works Cited

Rowlands, Gerald. "A Simple Guide to Preaching." Ministry Principles & Church Planting - Module 2

Wood, George O., and Randy Hurst. "Skillful Resourcing." Core Values. Springfield, Missouri: Gospel Publishing House, 2007.

Unknown, Author. "Why Do People Leave The Church? - Newsletter Issue 133." Preach It, 28 May 2009. Web. 28 May 2010. <http://www.preachit.org/newsletter.cfm?record=133&mode=31>.

Boyd, Ann. "How Not to Prepare a Bible Study - Student Leadership Journal - " Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship/USA - Home Page - InterVarsity.org. 15 Sept. 2004. Web. 28 May 2010. <http://www.intervarsity.org/slj/article/4052>.