Should preaching be the #1 factor in choosing a church?

Preaching is important: 86% of people looking for a new church say the quality of the preaching is the most important factor in deciding whether to regularly attend.

I am a big fan of preachers. I think they have a valuable and unique position in which they look to relate the modern world to a life with God. To many, their words can be crushing or encouraging, destructive or life-giving.

But is preaching truly to be the defining characteristic of a growing or shrinking church?

When looking for a church, should people be primarily concerned about the preaching, or something else?

“Something else”: a culture of caring for one another

Preaching is important, but we live in a culture milieu that needs more than another sermon or bible study.

People are more lonely than they have ever been. They are less connected and involved in community functions. They have become less and less convinced to give their time or money to their community.

What people need right now is not someone to tell them they need community; they just need community.

It’d be like going to a doctor because you are sick, and they doctor says, “you sure are sick, better go see a doctor.”

Due to the internet, I can access the best preachers from anywhere in the world. I can curate what sermon I hear in order to fit what I need right now, and it can be delivered to me from the mouth of the most gifted and intelligent speaker. The number one need for people coming to church is not another speaker, it is a loving local community.

Community is the medicine the local church provides best.

Why people search for preaching not for culture

When I invite people to church, what am I really inviting them to?

I am inviting them to hear my pastor preach and see some of my friends in a building that typically is not the most conducive to meeting new people.

All the pews are centered around a stage where one person stands up and everyone sits quietly listening.

The pastor is often the largest expense on the budget.

The pastor has the most prominent voice.

People search for preaching not necessarily because it is the most important, but because church culture has told the world that this is the thing we prioritize.

It may be time we prioritize something else so that it fits with our communities’ needs.

The future church

The future of the church will be less concerned with the one hour on Sunday that everyone gets together, but more concerned about how the church expresses themselves the other 167 hours a week.

The future of the church will be less concerned with what one, typically, middle aged white male says, and more how the Spirit speaks in and through a vibrant community that lives life with one another through the week.

The future of the church is not a hierarchy focused on supporting the vision of one paid individual, but instead is a group organized under a beautiful vision of Christ that guides them as a body to support the community they are placed in.

The future of the church will not separate the Sunday church gathering from any other sector of their life. Church will happen all the time everywhere, in different forms and venues.

The future of the church is already here, the question is are we too busy preaching and being preached at to notice?

Disclaimer

Preaching is not and should not go anywhere. I still think that preaching is an essential part of the rhythm of the church.

But our preaching needs to be a signpost to the listening community that the preaching is not the end goal of the meeting: rather our goal is to cultivate vibrant and loving communities.

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It would help me a lot. Thanks for reading!