In his classic book, Lectures To My Students, Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Scarcely one man in a dozen in the pulpit talks like a man.” This is a problem all too common today.

Some preachers feel inclined to take certain routes in their sermon preparation, leaving them to be very unnatural in their delivery, as if they are trying to be something, or someone, else.

Here are four arguments for why a preacher must find his own voice in the pulpit.

1. Our people need to hear our voice.

Good preachers understand the needs of their congregations. Your congregation needs the preacher that God has sent them: you. Paul charged Timothy in the presence of God to “preach the word” in Ephesus where Timothy was serving (2 Tim. 4:2). Paul didn’t say, “Preach what I said, the way I said it.”

Surely, Timothy imitated Paul in some aspects (1 Cor. 11:1). God intends us to imitate our fathers in the faith, but God does not intend us to be clones. Preachers should be men of authenticity, leading the charge for the specific flocks that God has entrusted to them. In trying times, churches don’t want a word from the pastor of First Baptist Church (Fill in the Blank). They want their pastor.

A preacher should be elated to know that God has sent him to a specific church. While it is helpful to listen to other preachers and study their ways, those men don’t know your congregation like you do. Those men don’t know the marriages, deaths, sicknesses, financial struggles, and depressions like you do. Ultimately, God can use you in a way that is different from anyone else. The Lord may want you to read and learn from another preacher’s ministry, but he doesn’t want you to be another preacher. God wants you.

2. Your inside voice and outside voice must be the same.

Pastors should understand that preaching is not the only speaking event in their job description. There is as much, if not more, conversation that takes place outside of the pulpit. Pastors often counsel, teach, preach, pray, converse with members, talk to family, etc. And all of these voices must be the same.

In Scripture, Timothy was told to be an example “in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim. 4:12). The same man who is to speak in the pulpit is the same man who is to speak out of the pulpit. If the preacher isn’t careful, he can easily find himself in an identity crisis. Good preachers do not have dual identities like the many superheroes we watch on television. They speak clearly, in all of life, with one voice.

As this fallen world is changing from day to day, people need the everlasting word of God and a preacher who feeds it. Christians need solid churches that are grounded in the Bible, led by preaching which finds the hero to be Christ.

3. Preaching is corporate, yet personal.

It is amazing that two preachers can take the same text and deliver faithfully different sermons. Why? Every preacher has a different past, a different present situation, and a different church relationship. These variables will inevitably affect sermons. Knowing this should allow freedom in sermon preparation.

Let’s be clear. Every biblical text has been authored with deliberate intentions and every passage points to Christ (Luke 24:27). The Bible is objective truth with a specific message for mankind. But, before a word is spoken at the pulpit on Sunday, God’s Word has been stirring in the preacher. This will change the way the message is delivered. As Warren Wiersbe has said, “The preacher is not only a herald, but also a witness.”

Some water nozzles have options for different spray patterns, such as: mist, cone, jet, shower, etc. Various spray patterns are determined by tiny, little holes where the water exits the hose. The water is all the same, but it just may be delivered differently. The message of Christ’s salvation can be delivered in diverse ways. Preacher, be amazed that God intends for you to preach Christ in your own way, in your own voice.            

4. There are not many voices preaching today.

We can easily doubt our calling, assuming that nobody wants to hear us because we are terrible compared to others. “Why would anyone want to listen to me when they can hear amazing preaching from ____________?” Know that this is a lie and a satanic ploy to close your mouth.

God wants your mouth open speaking about his wonderful Son, Jesus! And no matter what you may think, there are not many voices out in the world preaching today. Remember, the workers are few to reap the harvest (Luke 10:2). Several churches are closing their doors and many others are desperately searching for a pastor to feed them with God’s word. People are dying who have never heard the name of Jesus.

Christ commands his people to preach (Mark 16:15).

Thankfully, the world doesn’t need another MacArthur or Piper. God made you who you are, with your skills, and your desires, and your personality. God has been using the mouths of men to proclaim his wonderful message throughout the years like Charles Spurgeon and John Stott. But, before them God used the voices of Peter, Paul, Malachi, and Moses. This long list should not intimidate us. We should be encouraged that normal, imperfect men are used as agents of God’s will.

Please, do not try to be someone you’re not. Be authentic. Give yourself to laborious study, diligent prayer, intense brainstorming, personal creativity, and practice, practice, practice. You have a voice, and it is no one’s voice but yours. God has placed you somewhere to preach the same gospel message that faithful men have proclaimed for centuries. Marvel at the fact that God has called you to join them in this heavenly duty.

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Cheston Pickard is a master of divinity student at SBTS and intern in the Office of the President. He serves as associate pastor of youth ministry at Sunnyside Baptist Church in Shepherdsville, KY. Cheston and his wife, Megan, have two beautiful children, Carson and Delaney.