Last night pastor Warner preached for one hour. It was a good message. But it was not one hour worth of material. It seemed like he was filling time at the end to hit a certain mark. It felt like a pop song that repeats at the end before it fades away. I was spoiled by pastor Mitchell who could say more in 40 minutes than most men can say in one hour or more.
I think that pastors who preach long do it by repeating themselves too often and by digging too deeply into material that is not that dense. When you over explain it is either because you do not feel like you did a good job explaining in the beginning or it's because you think that your audience is not smart enough to understand what you are saying.
No one is doubting the authenticity or the validity of pastor Warner or his message. When you have heard as many sermons as I have you begin to notice things beyond the giddiness of those who are hearing things for the first time. Or they act like that anyway.
There have been times when I was enthralled by words preached by pastor Warner. My prayer is that God will strengthen his mind to understand what his church needs and give him the ability to continue to minister to those needs in a way that does not wear them out in listening.
Pastor Mitchell used to tell us that the mind can only understand what the seat can endure. I was always grateful that pastor Greg set a timer when he began his sermon to tell him when it's time to end.
Don't let your enduring legacy be how long you preached but rather what you said.
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