Preaching: How long is a typical sermon for you?
Watson: I have multiple services. We have three services now. Once, even when I was pastoring in Georgia, we had up to four services because of the growth of the church. With multiple services it caused me to have to take the fat out of preaching. My preaching now is about 30 to 35 minutes on average. Some of that is just because of the logistics of moving one crowd off the campus to make room for another.
I think my preaching is also shortened because the older I get…. When I was 21 I used to preach an hour, because I felt like I had to preach all of the notes and ideas that I had studied. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned that I can say more in 30 minutes than I probably could say in 45 minutes when I was younger.
I believe that the art of preaching is the art of elimination. Sermonizing is similar to sharpening a pencil. In order to put an edge on the pencil you have to eliminate wood. That’s the way I approach preaching now. I want to put a sharp edge on what I’m trying to say. Therefore it means that I eliminate things that are not necessarily germane to the sermon at the time.
Preaching: Do you normally preach in series?
Watson: Yes. I am beginning a series right now where I am preaching through the book of James. I’ll start it this coming Sunday. For me, series preaching is effective pastoral preaching. It has a connectivity. Each sermon, each week has a connectivity to the previous.
Preaching: Do you typically preach through books or do you do thematic series?
Watson: Since being at Metropolitan I have preached through Hebrews 11, on faith. I have preached a sermon series on Ruth. Sometimes I’ll do themes. I finished an evangelism series, called “Share Jesus Now,” and now I’m preaching through an epistle. I do a little of all of it.
Preaching: How far out do you plan, or at least know where you’re going to go?
Watson: Here’s one of my weaknesses: planning strategy. I wish I could say, like some preachers, that they have planned their preaching for the next two years and know each text and each subject that they’re going to use for the sermons. Mine is not that organized.
It’s more of what I sense God is saying to me in terms of what the immediate needs are for the church. It’s just a matter of how He inspires me in terms of how I plan—at least the direction I’m going to go in preaching. I’m not as disciplined as others to be able to sit down and plan out each sermon for the whole year. That’s not me.