I recently listened to a few sessions from the last Evangelical Theological Society meetings. I’m a member and was planning to be there, but decided I’d rather teach a preaching course than attend the meetings. I have enjoyed the sessions I’ve listened to so far, but one thing stood out to me. In each of the papers that I listened to, it felt like the presenters were trying to pack the first few sentences with big words. Peer pressure, the desire to impress, the atmosphere of an intellectual atmosphere. Now as an academic I can relate to the word choices made, but as a preacher/communicator I felt very uncomfortable.

As preachers we can fall into the same trap. It is easy to choose big words when little ones would do the job. There may be the odd occasion where a big word is worth the extra effort and explanation required (such as key theological terms like justification). But often there is no real benefit to going big on the word front, and there may be real reasons not to:

Intellectual pride easily creeps in. The best sportsmen make their skill look easy, why don’t we take the same approach? Often the use of big words is partially driven by the desire to look intellectual and educated.

Communication is about communicating, not impressing. So what if people affirm the message after you’re done? So what if they take comfort from knowing that you know lots of theological stuff? The goal in preaching is not to indicate what you know, but to help them know and live out the Bible. If they don’t get the words, they won’t live the Word.

Big words can divide the church. What if some people understand the big words, while others do not? Surely a church divided along educational or class lines would undermine the very essence of the church as the New Testament presents it.

Generally speaking, when we’re tempted to use big words, let’s not.

Sometimes we have to preach tired.  Life seems to work that way.  We try to avoid it, but life happens.  So when Sunday morning comes and you’re feeling wiped out, what should you do?  Well, it seems to me that we need to be aware:

Be aware of your attitude – When feeling tired and a little cranky, it is easier to preach with the voice “frowning” than “smiling.”  A gentle nudge of an application can slip into an insensitive poke from the pulpit.  Encouragement can come across as criticism.  Humor in illustrations can take on an unhealthy edge.

Be aware of your body language – The words of the preacher are supremely important, but they can be undermined not only by tone of voice, but also by body language.  If you look tired or disinterested, then your important words are undermined.  I’m not suggesting you fake your energy, but simply give it slightly more attention than normal.

Be aware of apologies – It is always tempting to begin with some apology about your lack of energy or preparation.  After all, people will understand why my message is not up to par this time, right?  Well, it will probably undermine your message and distract your listeners.  Nine times out of ten they won’t know you were tired or distracted.  But once you apologize they are focused on you rather than your message to them.  Often the temptation to apologize is driven by pride since we want people to think highly of our “performance.”  (Also it may cause low-level resentment if their week has been tougher than yours, but you get the sympathy!)