Comments on: 10,000 Hours of Preaching: Outliers

By: Will Smith

Will Smith — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 18:58:53 +0000

I’m not a preacher, but when I read your post I immediately thought of how this principle applies to other disciplines, like evangelism. Though God can, and does, use every evangelistic encounter, the best way to get “good” is to just get out there and do it! Study is fine, but only when done in the context of regular practice.

By: Alex Costa

Alex Costa — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:31:35 +0000

Brent, I bet that there are probably plenty more opportunities to preach than Sunday mornings… unless, of course, everybody in your community is converted. If so, please disregard this comment.

By: alvin reid

alvin reid — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:27:20 +0000

Thanks JD. I prefer to quote the older Methodist man of prayer E.M. Bounds who said it takes 20 years to make a sermon because it takes 20 years for God to make the man. Same point Gladwell is making.

On a related note, years ago an older saint named Jack Stanton told me he wrote very little because he fretted so much over getting it just right. He challenged me to write books if I had the chance and not to wait until they were just right. That really hit me because I had (and still have) insecurities about my ability as a writer. I decided to write, and now over ten books later my books may not help a lot of folks, but they have helped some. And now, finally, I may have learned enough to say something worth reading. I am sure I have spent 10,000 hours writing and well more than that speaking!

By: 10,000 Hours of Preaching: Outliers « The Thlog Blog

10,000 Hours of Preaching: Outliers « The Thlog Blog — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 05:32:51 +0000

[...] 10,000 Hours of Preaching: Outliers [...]

By: Joshua Allen

Joshua Allen — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:39:02 +0000

Right on! The actual experience of doing the thing is often more valuable than the direct benefits that we suppose we are getting.

By: Alex Costa

Alex Costa — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:47:09 +0000

I have thought the same exact thing! I think that for people who want to write a book on anything theological, they should spend 10,000 hours reading theology. As far as preaching is concerned, if you spend 5 hours a week for 40 years preaching, you’ll get your 10,000 hours, plus a little more. I know that plenty of pastors spend more than 5 hours a week doing that. I hope to one day be able to say I preached for 10,000. It’s funny that you mention this, because I blogged on the same subject from the same book last month.

By: Brent Hobbs

Brent Hobbs — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:20:02 +0000

So if I preach for 30 minutes it’ll take me twice as long as a guy who preaches for an hour? Or some guys who preach the same sermon 4 times a weekend. Just playing devil’s advocate.

Us guys that only preach one sermon a week are in trouble! If I preach an hour (which I don’t), once a week, 52 times a year, it’ll only take me 192 years to preach 10,000 hours.

I guess if you include prep time, that really levels the playing field. If you work a 40 hour a week job, 52 weeks a year, then it would take you about 5 years to reach that 10,000 hour mark.

But your point is well-taken. Nothing can replace experience and any preacher will get better as he continues to preach and work.

By: Dave Miller

Dave Miller — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:37:14 +0000

That 10,000 hours is a lot easier to reach for long-winded preachers like myself! That’s really encouraging.