Pastor, “I’ll never be a good preacher” isn’t true. Everybody can get better.

Two pastors watch the same sermon clip from a famous preacher on YouTube. The first one closes the laptop: “I’ll never preach like that guy. I guess this is just where I am.” The second one rewinds it and asks, “What is he doing that I could learn?” Same clip. Different belief. Different future. If you’ve ever told yourself “I’ll never be a good preacher,” I want to show you why that story keeps you stuck, and what it takes to get better starting this week.

The old story: “I’ll never be a good preacher”

Maybe you’ll never be Spurgeon. Maybe you’ll never be your favorite preacher on YouTube. Fine. But here’s something I think we can all agree on: everyone can get better. You have the capacity to get markedly better if you put the work in. You agree with me, right?

The old story shows up as comparison, and then as resignation: “My preaching is good enough. It’s all right.” It feels true because the gap between you and the guys you admire looks huge. But that gap is not a fixed fact.

What it costs

Preaching is the most important thing you do every week. It’s one of the top reasons people choose a church. And it’s in your hand: study, memorization, practice, all within your work week and within your control.

Your sermon is also the new front door to your church. People may watch one, two, or three of your sermons before they ever show up as a first-time guest. Clips go out, clips pull people to the full sermon, and then they come. That means you’re competing with the greatest preachers on the internet.

So when you settle for “I’ll never be good,” you stay a five when you could be a seven or eight. Some of you are really talented guys settling for a five. Others of you need to raise your floor. Either way, settling costs people.

Breaking the old story

Every famous preacher you admire was once a much worse version of himself. Your job isn’t to become him. It’s to become the best version of you.

Start with game film. Watch your own sermons. I know: “I don’t like how I sound.” Get used to it. Your voice is your instrument.

Remember those late-night infomercials? Your dad jumping for the phone because Billy Blanks could sell ice to an Eskimo. There was nothing wrong with the product. When the gospel isn’t landing, there is no problem with the product. There’s a problem with the messenger.

Then plan. You win your Sundays on Monday, your weeks a month in advance, and your months a year in advance with a 12- to 16-month preaching calendar. If you’re still writing your sermon on Saturday night, you failed a month ago and a year ago. And don’t put the Holy Spirit in a box. If He can speak to you the night before, He can speak a month before. Stop over-spiritualizing your laziness.

Great artists learn from others. Read other pastors’ sermons and study how they build them. You can even use AI on your heroes’ transcripts to find their outlines, then build your own architecture.

Finally, internalize it. Give two preachers the same sermon and the difference is internalization. That’s what produces artistry: high and low, fast and slow, eye contact, the crescendo. Confidence is everything. And treat every sermon like a restaurant treats every meal: this one is the most important one.

The new belief: everybody can get better

Be honest. From one to ten, where are you right now? The goal isn’t to jump from a four to a ten. Can you get from a four to a five? A five to a six? Feedback, memorization, better research, trying something artistic you’ve never tried. Me becoming a better preacher may be the biggest growth lever my church has, because God honors the preaching of His word, and it does not return void (Isaiah 55:11).

What to do this week

1. Watch your game film. Even if you don’t like how you sound. Note one thing to improve.
2. Plan ahead. Plan your preaching a year ahead and each month a month ahead.
3. Preach it before Sunday. Sunday morning should be the fourth or fifth time you’ve preached that sermon. Preach it out loud Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Own it. This is your instrument and your number one growth engine. Lean into the awkward. A famous preacher once said that if you will set yourself on fire for the Lord, there won’t be rooms big enough for you to preach in. I believe that. Preach a red-hot gospel, and keep getting better.