Every aspect of Christian ministry brings with it practical considerations. We worship God and proclaim his special revelation in the context of the created world, drawing on our understand of general revelation. Bible reading requires skills of comprehension and interpretation; children’s ministry requires an awareness of human development and behaviour management; music ministry involves technical skill, performance and technological understanding. So it is with preaching. In addition to questions of exegesis, theological synthesis, evangelistic appeal, pastoral exhortation, apologetics and ethics, there are also many matters of composition and delivery.
Preaching is a subjective craft—culture, context, personality, experience and preference shape our opinions. It also inevitably touches on questions of theology, ecclesiology and ministry practice: core values we hold about church and spirituality. Opinions about educational theory also play a large part in discussions about preaching. With that in mind, this article will not be a definitive guide but a conversation starter. It will raise questions, and make a range of practical suggestions in two areas of preaching delivery: gestures and variations in speech.
Gestures and Use of Space
Many preachers can be engaging even when locked in a pulpit or planted behind a lectern, reading off a full manuscript. Still, I want to argue for the benefits that come with a proactive use of gesture and space, where possible.
Gestures can reinforce what we are communicating and capture the attention of the congregation. You can number off items with your fingers; gesture events along a horizontal timeline (remembering to go from your right to left, so that it flows left to right for the congregation); point to up to heaven or down to hell; adopt a crucified posture; clasp hands in prayer; signal thought with a scratched head or rubbed chin; gesture to the left, “on the one hand,” and to the right, “on the other”; cast your arms wide for an inclusive gesture; roll your hands to signal momentum; and so on. In order to foster variety in gestures, I recommend thinking about how, in the course of a sermon, you might use space in every direction—above your head and down to the floor, to your left and right, behind and in front.
If the space and technology enables you to move freely, there are still further options to communicate ideas and engage the congregation. I am honestly perplexed how rarely I see preachers at large conferences move beyond the lectern, even if they are wearing a headset or lapel microphone. It strikes me as a lost opportunity. Why not walk to one side of the stage to speak with people there? Why not use the space in the service of the message, or simply in the service of the congregation’s attention span?
Combined with a thoughtful use of space, gestures can have even more communicative effect. With your gestures you can make an area to your left a place where one character in a story, or one theological idea, resides. You can gesture to this space, talk to it, interacting with an imaginary model. Then a second character or idea can be gestured to in another direction. You then have the option of showing how these two spaces (and so characters or ideas) relate to one another.
The more active you are, the more you need to be mindful of how this might be inadvertently counter-productive. Beware of wandering out of the spotlight, or moving to a position that obscures you from some of the congregation, or even falling off the stage. Beware of repetitive physical habits that become distracting if they are too repetitive, or that might just appear bizarre or grotesque. I remember John Chapman saying to a young preacher that his constant pacing back and forth made him look like a tiger, and he wanted someone to throw the preacher a hunk of meat so the “dear brother” would stay still!
I believe that slides and sermon outlines are way less important than most think—especially those full of many elements and images.[1] I am not convinced that they enrich learning or capture attention so effectively, not more than a clearly structured and well delivered sermon does already. But more to the point here, slides and outlines are often seen to be crucial for ‘visual learners’. What many underestimate is just how much the act of preaching is already visual and embodied. Good use of space, gesture and facial expression serve much the same purpose as slides. Add to this interaction with a physical Bible or Bible app and the possibility of doodling or note-taking. I am not against the use of slides or outlines, but I am an advocate of them being demoted from necessary best practice.
Variation of Speech
Sometimes a sermon seems boring or irrelevant because of how it is delivered. Very rarely does a preacher actually speak in a monotone, but the variation in spoken delivery at their disposal is so neglected that the impression created is not far off a monotone—‘like a lecture’ is a common critical description (that is unfair of those who deliver animated lectures).
Many preachers in Australia, seeking to be meek and humble, avoid any veneer of performance in their preaching. But the reality is that speaking to a group of people is not the same as speaking to a single individual. It is not, properly speaking, normal or natural to act as if it were. Speaking to a larger group requires, to some extent, a bolder form of delivery. Most Australian preachers I hear could benefit from operating on a wider spectrum of all of the following levels: volume, pace and pitch.
We can enhance our preaching and connect with the congregation by varying our volume, sometimes for a whole sentence, sometimes for a single word here and there. A sermon could at various points edge towards a bold declaration and then subside to (loudish) whispered speech. Even if those extremes don’t come naturally to a preacher or suit certain contexts, there is still plenty of range in between. Just subtly varying volume is a simple way to add emotional impact or emphasis to your communication.
Changing the speed of your speech and lengthof your pauses is a basic form of spoken punctuation and structuring—not just signalling full stops but also parentheses, paragraphs, even bullet points or the start of a new major point of the sermon. Variation of pace also brings an emotional dimension, creating a sense of urgency, anticipation, awe, grief, excitement. Speeding up the pace of speech through sections that are easier to follow can shorten the overall running time of a sermon—often a sermon seems boring because obvious things are said too slowly.
A preacher can change the pitch of their voice for emphasis and effect. Speaking at a lower register can sound solemn, a higher voice more excited. More, you can go up and down in pitch to make your sentences pleasant to listen to (although avoid a constant pattern that begins to sound artificial), and then adopt a monotone pitch where appropriate. Along with pace, pitch can also be used as a form of punctuation—most obviously in raising your voice at the end of a sentence to signal a question, but also, for example, a list can be repeated at a higher register, before the newest item to the list comes at a lower register.
Seeking to master the art and craft of public speaking enables a preacher to serve his hearers well in bringing the word of God to them, week by week.
[1] Not to mention the fact that they take up more time for the preacher, especially if they have to be provided in advance. I suppose slide preparation could now be much swifter with generative AI technology.
