You Can Preach A Good Sermon Without Love, But Not A Great Sermon

I heard a quote that changed the way I preach forever. It is about something that no seminary training or public speaking class can teach you. 

Around ten years ago, I was at a gathering of pastors, and the guest speaker said, “You can preach a good sermon without loving your people, but you will never preach a great sermon without loving them.”

I don’t remember the name of the pastor who said it, but I immediately wrote the phrase down and chewed on it for a while.

Can pastors really preach good without love?

The more I thought about it, the more I realized it is true.

There are plenty of pastors who preach good sermons without love for the people they are preaching to. They preach well, because, although they don’t love people, they love preaching.

Their people even say afterward, “That was a good sermon.” Because by all accounts it was.

The timing and delivery were good. The illustrations were well rehearsed. The pastor was likable. The interpretation of scripture was solid. But “good” is all their preaching will ever be.

There is just something missing. Something that cannot be measured, but it can be felt. Love.

Polished sermons don’t move hearts. Love does. 

On the other hand, there are other pastors who preach the same level of a sermon, perhaps even less polished, but they have a genuine love for the people they are preaching to.

Their love is obvious. It flows through them. You hear it in their voice. You feel it in their stories. You see it in their body language. It shapes the entire tone and tenor of the sermon. 

The way they preach cannot be taught, but it is easy to see.

First, you must love God. That should be a given. But you can tell when a pastor is indifference or lacking conviction about the God they are talking about. If your relationship with God is starved or dwindling, start there.

Second, you must love people. 

A genuine love for people transforms an otherwise good sermon into a great one.

Why You Need Love to Preach Well

When you love your people, you know them. Your application points will hit your people exactly where they are. You speak on a different level because you have taken the time to understand and care about what your people need to hear.

It is like how the way I speak to my wife, my son, and my daughter is different from the way I speak to a stranger.

I speak to my family differently because I know what they need to hear. I speak to my family unlike I speak to strangers because I know how they need me to communicate so that they will understand. To a stranger, I will be polite and communicate as best I can, but it will never be on the same level.

There are many good preachers who can turn a phrase and spin great stories. They are engaging, energetic, and interesting. But without love, they will never reach their full potential.

In fact, for many preachers who “make it big” online, their love for themselves and lack of love for people often plays into their downfall.

Love alone will not make you a good preacher. You still need to put in the work. You still need to learn to communicate effectively. But, without love, you will never be a great preacher.

I think Paul said it best in 1 Corinthians 13:1-2 (ESV): 

”If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”

There’s nothing wrong with seeking to speak with a golden tongue or with prophetic power or a mastery of logic and wisdom or mountain-moving faith. Go for it! That sounds amazing! But don’t miss the point: without love, it’s all useless. 

A preacher without love is nothing. You are just one among many other noisemakers out there making noise without making a difference.

Do you love the people who you are preaching to? Do you love them as Jesus commands you to love them? 

Or like too many pastor’s I’ve seen, has the difficulties of ministry caused you to preach with anger towards them, frustration towards them, indifference towards them? Or perhaps has a love for yourself caused you to preach with a prideful sense of arrogance at them? Like your sermon is really saying, “Just be more like me.”

Does your love for God first and love for your people second show? 

Love your people.

Really love them.

Your preaching may be “good” without love, but it will never be great.

(This is an update of an article originally published 9.5.14)