In preaching, teaching, counselling, and leadership, there is something to be said for saying less.  I am not suggesting that we become aloof and mysterious.  But there is a danger that we can say so much that people start to miss what they most need to hear.

Saying too much is a danger for people who are new to their role.  A young preacher will tend to feel insecure and assume that they have to prove the value and depth of their study by sharing everything they learned during preparation.  A new leader can feel tempted to speak because they are the leader and hope the many words will prove their wisdom.

But this can also be a danger for experienced folks too.  It takes work to evaluate material, cut content, and sharpen a presentation.  Sometimes, as we get older, we can lose the energy and discipline needed to filter a good message into a better one.

Whether it is insecurity, laziness, or another reason, there is a danger that we say more than we should and the listeners miss the part they needed to hear.

Good preaching, teaching, leading, and counselling require not only knowing what to say, but knowing what not to say.  Cutting material is not an admission of weakness; it can be an act of love toward the listeners and good stewardship before God.

Tempted to say everything

In ministry, you will often have a lot to say.  A lot of accumulated knowledge, a lot of research for a message, a lot of ideas and stories that you could share.  In fact, when you prepare to preach a sermon, you should have more material than can fit into the message – a good message never comes from working until you have enough to fill the time.  To really study a passage will mean gaining contextual awareness, textual detail, geographical insight, theological connections, relevant cross-references, and a host of potential applications.  It is tempting to try to say everything, in part, because everything you learned was a blessing to you.

Good things can be distracting

Perhaps you prepared prayerfully and studiously for a counselling meeting with a person in your church.  In counselling, you have the added dimension of needing to listen and direct the conversation in a helpful direction.  But still, you have a big stock of ideas, suggestions, stories, and teaching you might choose to share.  Whether it is a sermon, a counselling session, or another ministry setting, you need to be selective in what you share.  The hardest things to cut will be good things: a useful illustration, a memorable story, an interesting historical detail, a relevant theological insight, a surprising cross-reference.  It is not enough to ask, ‘is it true?’  We need to ask, does this really serve the central goal of this ministry opportunity?

Saying less can make the main thing clearer

Let’s imagine having a hundred potential items to include.  Every one of them, if included, will compete for attention.  People cannot process a hundred thoughts, ideas, stories, and pieces of information.  Think of the familiar bed-of-nails demonstration.  A single nail can be dangerous, but spread the weight across hundreds of nails and the pressure is distributed. Something similar happens with communication: when we scatter people’s attention across a hundred thoughts, none of them receives much weight.  So it is with our presentation: don’t press people with a hundred thoughts; penetrate with a sharpened point.  If everything is said, nothing is particularly heard.  If everything is emphasized, nothing is emphasized.  Work to remove whatever does not belong, then subordinate some of your material so it supports and reinforces the main thing you want to make clear.

Cutting material requires humility, love, and effort

Sometimes we may be tempted to keep something because it demonstrates our preparation.  But “I worked hard on this” is not a reason to make people hear it.  Some of your best research will be left in your study.  It takes humility not to prove your effort or knowledge.  It takes love to prayerfully hone your material for the best impact on your listeners.  It takes effort to go through the message again, sharpen it one more time, and work on individual points until they are as clear as they can be.

What should make it through the cutting process?

If a particular passage is the focus of this moment of ministry, then the main truth of that passage should make it through the cutting process.  The unique impact of that passage may not be considered again for years, so you don’t want to miss the moment now.  What helps people understand that truth?  What helps them feel its weight?  What helps them to respond appropriately?  And even ministry that isn’t offered under the label of a single passage, such as a counselling session or a leadership presentation, will benefit from similar clarity and focus.

We are not called to prove our competence, show off our knowledge, or justify our efforts in preparation.  We are called to serve.  Put in the work to build up too much material, then put in the work to hone it down for maximum impact.  The ministry of saying less isn’t about having less to say.  It is about caring enough to decide what most needs to be said.  We don’t need to sound like a mysterious guru.  Let’s try to be as on target as we can be.  Less noise, more impact.  Because sometimes the most pastorally loving thing we can say is less than others might expect.  After all, the goal is not for people to hear us, but by God’s grace, through us, to hear Him.

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