Preachers, Take Note!

I am taking the liberty in this post to share with you some thoughts by the 19^th-century evangelist Charles Finney on the subject of “how to preach so as to convert nobody.” Here are 30 strategies to use if you aspire to ineffective preaching, according to Finney: 

1. Let your supreme motive be to secure your own popularity; then, of course, your preaching will be adapted to that end and not to convert souls to Christ.
2. Aim at pleasing, rather than at converting, your hearers. Aim to make your hearers pleased with themselves and pleased with you, and be careful not to wound the feelings of anyone.
3. Aim at securing for yourself the reputation of a beautiful writer.
4. Let your sermons be written with a high degree of literary finish. Let your style be flowery, ornate, and quite above the comprehension of the common people. Give your sermons the form and substance of a beautifully written, but never to be remembered, essay, so that your hearers will say, “It was a beautiful sermon,” but can give you no further account of it.
5. Be sparing of thought, lest your sermon contain truth enough to convert a soul. Make no distinct points, and take up no disturbing issues with the consciences of your hearers, lest they remember these issues and become alarmed about their souls.
6. Avoid preaching doctrines that are offensive to the carnal mind, lest they should say of you as they said of Christ, “This is a hard saying; who can hear it?” and lest you should injure your influence.
7. Denounce sin in the abstract, but make no allusions to the sins of your present audience. Avoid preaching especially to those who are present. Preach about sinners, and not to them. Say, they and not you, lest anyone should make a personal application of your subject.
8. Keep the spirituality of God’s holy law, by which is the knowledge of sin, out of sight, lest the sinner should see his own lost condition, and flee from the wrath to come.
9. Preach salvation by grace, but ignore the condemned and lost condition of the sinner, lest he should understand what you mean by grace, and feel his need of it.
10. Preach no searching sermons, lest you convict and convert the worldly members of your church.
11. Do not make the impression that God commands your hearers here and now to obey the truth.
12. Do not make the impression that you expect your hearers to commit themselves upon the spot, to give their hearts to God.
13. Leave the impression that they are expected to go away in their sins, and to consider the matter at their convenience.
14. Dwell much upon their inability to obey, and leave the impression that they must wait for God to change their natures.
15. Make no appeals to the fears of sinners; but leave the impression that they have no reason to fear.
16. Make the impression that if God is as good as you are He will send no one to hell.
17. Preach the love of God, but ignore the holiness of His love that will by no means clear the impenitent sinner.
18. Try to convert sinners to Christ without producing any uncomfortable convictions of sin.
19. Flatter the rich, so as to repel the poor, and you will convert none of either class.
20. Make no disagreeable allusions to the doctrines of self-denial, cross-bearing, and crucifixion to the world, lest you should convict and convert some of your church members.
21. Do not rebuke the worldly tendencies of the church, lest you should hurt their feelings, and finally convert some of them.
22. Make little or no impression upon your hearers, so that you can repeat your old sermons often without being noticed.
23. Be tame and timid in presenting the claims of God, as would become you in presenting your own claims.
24. Avoid all heat and earnestness in your delivery, lest you make the impression that you really believe what you say.
25. Do not rebuke extravagance in dress, lest you should uncomfortably impress your vain and worldly church members.
26. Preach the love of Christ, not as enlightened benevolence that is holy, just and sin-hating; but as a sentiment, an involuntary and indiscriminating fondness.
27. Do not preach with a divine unction, lest your preaching make a saving impression. To avoid this, do not maintain a close walk with God, but rely upon your learning and study.
28. Cultivate a fastidious taste in your people, by avoiding all disagreeable allusions to the last judgment and final retribution. Treat such uncomfortable doctrines as obsolete and out of place in these days of Christian refinement.
29. Lest you should pray too much, engage in light reading and worldly amusements.
30. See that you say nothing that will appear to any of your hearers to mean him or her, unless it be something flattering.

Note: Any preachers who have observed other methods in vogue that will almost assuredly result in the conversion of nobody, share them with me and I may post an addendum to this article in a future “You and God.” Finney pretty much covered the bases in these 30 points, but there are probably some newer, even more “effective” twists to “preaching” today.

(The article quoted above was published in The Ministry magazine, decades ago, and has been waiting in my files to be shared with you now.)

“Preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.” (II Tim. 4:2)