I am sure I am not alone in this, but here are my ten tips for pastors and ministers:
- Reduce the number of electric guitars - go on, you know you want to.
- Stop trying to get down with the kids in the ‘hood - you are probably the same age as me.
- Use fewer quotes from Christian “celebrities” I have never heard of in order to justify the points in your sermon.
- Move your main service to a Sunday afternoon.
- Have less sitting in rows and more interaction, less speaking at me and more discussion with me.
- Stop targeting young people or vulnerable groups because they are more likely to “convert”.
- Stop presenting your opinion as a shared orthodoxy when you haven't asked anyone in your church what they actually think.
- Make your sermons shorter - if your sermon takes longer than twenty minutes then you are probably not a good enough communicator. Some books of the bible take less than twenty minutes to read. There is a reason for this.
- Encourage real sincerity. Don’t have a “welcomer” come up to me and say that they have been told by the pastor that they should make people feel welcome.
- Don’t ask me for money.
