Learning to be yourself as a preacher: tips from someone who is still trying to do it

When Phillips Brooks defined preaching as «the communication of truth through personality,» I truly believe he was talking about your own personality, not someone else’s.

It took me a while, but I finally feel like I’ve learned to be myself in the pulpit. Whether my sermons are better or worse now, I can’t say. But being myself means my sermons are becoming more sincere, comfortable, and consistent. I know I still have a lot to learn, and I hope that in ten years I’ll still be getting those awkward but true compliments—«your sermon has really improved over the years.» But I feel like I’m finally preaching the truth through my own personality.

Trap 1: Puritans, Latin, and Outdated Grammar

Like most young preachers, I struggled to find my «voice.» When I was in college, I began to read voraciously the Reformers and Puritans. Everything I read seemed to have been either written or translated hundreds of years ago.

As a result, my sermon (I didn’t preach much back then) sounded like I was trying to win an award for «best Latin translation.» My sentences were often gigantic. The grammar was outdated, and there were simply too many words.

A wonderful professor encouraged me to write for my own century, not for the century of my heroes. At the time, it was painful advice. After all, isn’t it a sign of piety to use words like «slander,» «slander,» and «confound»? It turns out not. I have to be myself and not try to create Puritan mannerisms.

Trap 2: Professor Clones and Imitation Heroes

In seminary, I began to notice that many of my classmates sounded a lot like their homiletics professors. I still find that to be true. Part of the blame may lie with the professors, who place too much emphasis on their preaching style, but part of the blame also lies with the students. We are so eager to grasp at a model that we end up copying exactly what we see from those we respect.

At Gordon-Conwell, I saw many «mini-Haddon Robinsons.» This doesn’t mean that all of these students will make bad preachers, but they need to realize that there is only one Haddon Robinson. And they are not him!

I was more inclined to imitate other preachers. I’m sure that in the early years of my ministry I sometimes sounded like a (very) poor version of John Piper. I listened to so much Piper that I probably had a lot of prayers, themes, and even the way I said the word «joy!» that sounded like his.

I don't deny that I learned from Piper and was influenced by him. But he would probably be the first to say, "Preach the same Gospel that I preach. But you don't have to preach the same way I preach." It took me a few years, but I think I've finally accepted that I'm not John Piper.

Along the way, there were other famous preachers I wanted to emulate:

• Go through the text and use humor like Alistair Begg (with an accent, of course).
• To be as creative in your thoughts and culturally sensitive as Tim Keller.
• To be as cheerful and humble as S.J. Maheni.
• To preach as directly as Driscoll, or to be as intelligent as Carson.

Finding your authentic method

Over the years I have experimented with several different delivery methods. I have preached without an outline, with a minimal outline, and with a full outline. But what works best for me and my style, at least at this point in my ministry, is to preach from a full outline, alternating handwritten notes with «chicken scribbles.» Homiletics professors will probably hate me for this, but sometimes you just have to figure out what works for you. I am sure there are certain principles that define any good sermon, but there is also a lot of «I don’t know why, but it works for me.».

Since I was ordained in 2002, I estimate I have preached nearly 500 times. And I think it took me about 450 sermons to find my voice. That is not to say that all of those sermons were bad or insincere. But it took me that long to realize the wisdom of Paul’s confession:

«But by the grace of God I am what I am» (1 Cor. 15:10).

Conclusion and encouragement

One of the hardest things for any preacher, especially a young one, is to simply be yourself. Don’t try to imitate someone else’s passion, humor, or knowledge. And don’t dismiss your own individuality because one of your heroes doesn’t quite share it. Learn from the best, but your church needs to hear you on Sunday, not an impression of the preacher you want to be. Let your personality be continually refined by the Spirit of God, and let the truth of God’s Word shine through your own personality.

Preach as a dying person, for dying people. And don't forget to be yourself.