Sharpen your voice. Strengthen your message.

Before he preaches, every preacher needs to ask: am I a generational native, or a generational immigrant? Each of us is naturally designed to preach to our own generational cohort. If you are a Gen X’er like me, you speak the language, you get the references. You are a native. But every other cohort? You might as well be a missionary in another country.

This five-part series of blog posts will explore five principles you can bring to your preaching that will more effectively help you communicate as a generational immigrant.

Preachers today face a cultural divide when communicating the timeless truths of the gospel to generations that are not their own. The first principle for effective preaching to a different generational cohort is to understand and embrace cultural differences by contextualizing sermons specifically for them.

Why Contextualization Matters

Contextualization bridges the gap between the biblical message and the lived experience of a particular culture or cohort. Scripture offers examples of this approach: both Peter and Paul adapted their messages to the cultural contexts of Jews and Gentiles.

Just as missionaries can communicate more effectively by immersing themselves in the culture to which they are called, preachers must study and understand the culture of different generational cohorts to connect meaningfully.

Understanding Context

Each generation is shaped by the experiences of their lifetime. Older generations may value stability, tradition, and loyalty. In contrast, younger generations often display skepticism toward institutions and authority figures, having been influenced by political controversies and religious scandals.

These realities shape their perceptions and their receptiveness (and resistance) to faith. Books like Generational IQ by Haydn Shaw and Engaging Generation Z by Tim McKnight can help.

Moving Beyond Assumptions

Preachers cannot assume their listeners share the same cultural reference points or spiritual background they do. The church no longer has a home-field advantage.

Today, preaching is an “away game,” requiring intentional effort to cross cultural and generational boundaries.

Practical Steps for Contextualizing

Here are four ways preachers can start to contextualize their preaching:

• Learn listeners’ language and culture: Engage with their media, values, and experiences to understand what matters to them.
• Be present: Spend time with people who are different than you—both in person and digitally—to build relationships and understanding.
• Incorporate relevant illustrations: Your reference to that John Wayne movie might not connect. Use stories and examples that resonate with listeners’ context.
• Address real-life challenges: Speak to the issues your listeners face, such as anxiety, financial pressure, delayed adulthood, or caring for aging parents.

By practicing contextualization, preachers can become cultural translators who make the gospel accessible, relevant, and transformative for everyone.

“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” (2 Timothy 2:2)

My Biological Ancestry

My family’s American experience began ten generations ago when my seventh great-grandfather, Johann Jacob Weller, arrived in America in 1737. Four generations later, my third-great grandfather—Johann’s great-great grandson—moved to northeast Indiana. That’s where he and four successive generations of Wellers rest at Cedar Chapel Cemetery. It’s where they’ll lay my bones one day to await Christ’s return.

My Spiritual Ancestry

As fascinated as I am with my family’s genealogy, I am more intrigued with my spiritual family tree. I wish there was a good website for tracing the ancestry of my spiritual fathers and mothers.

I learned about Jesus from my dad, Larry Weller. My childhood preacher, a man named Jim Platner, led my father to faith in Christ. Jim tells me he became a Christian through the influence of, among others, a preacher named Hank McAdams.

That’s as far back as I can trace my spiritual heritage.

If Brother McAdams were still living, I’d be fascinated to find out who told him about Jesus. And who told that person. And the one before.

In eternity I think I’ll have all the time in the world to meet every person in that long line reaching all the way back to Jesus. Jesus discipled Peter, who told Clement about Jesus, who told Ignatius, who told Polycarp, who told Irenaeus, who told someone, who told someone else, all the way down the line to Hank McAdams, Jim Platner, Larry Weller, and eventually me.

Christians Stand in the Middle

That’s because all those folks lived according to 2 Timothy 2:2—“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”

If you’re a follower of Jesus, you’re called to stand in the middle between the generation who led you to Christ and people who have not yet become followers of Jesus.

Preachers Stand in the Middle, Too

In 2020 I began meeting with a group of younger preachers for coaching and encouragement. These guys ranged from their late twenties to early thirties, and each were first-time preachers.

By that time, I had been preaching nearly every Sunday for twenty-three years, so I had a lot to say. I’ll leave it to them to decide whether I had much to offer.

We talked about preaching. We explored leading in the context of a complicated time in our nation’s history (remember, it was at the start of the pandemic). Our topics ranged from the mundane—like how to prepare a sermon—to deeply personal subjects like how being in ministry impacted our wives and children.

As I move into my fifties, investing in the next generation of servant leaders feels more important to me than ever.

There was a slogan on the wall of the chapel at the college I attended: “God give us preachers.” This rallying cry is as relevant and needed today as it was forty years ago when I first read it.

It is a prayer, but it is also a reminder that I am the answer to that prayer, because I stand in the middle between the preachers who taught me and the ones who will pick up the mantle of proclaiming God’s Word to a new generation.

Evangelism is the responsibility of every Christian. But it’s important that preachers understand their responsibility to stand in the middle pulpit.

Preachers have beautiful feet. You read that correctly. Before your thoughts turn to hammer toes and plantar warts, consider this: Scripture agrees with me. Paul quoted Isaiah to the church in Rome, “As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:15)

He was talking about preachers. In the verse just before his podiatric metaphor Paul wrote, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:14–15)

Paul was thinking specifically of his Jewish brothers and sisters in this text. Despite his calling as the Apostle to the Gentiles, Paul began the chapter declaring “my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.”

The Evangelical Imperative for Preaching

God’s heart still breaks for the lost. Even though some think preaching is foolish business (1 Corinthians 1:18–21), God still wants everyone to be saved and understand the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). How does God do that? Through preaching.

Charles Spurgeon, one of England’s greatest preachers, credited a sermon he heard on Isaiah 45:22—“Young man, look to Jesus Christ”—for becoming a Christian when he was 15 years old.

Louis Zamperini was a hero and World War II prisoner of war. In 1949 he attended a Billy Graham crusade in Los Angeles where Graham’s sermon on forgiveness and salvation led him to surrender his life to Christ. He went on to forgive and reconcile with his former captors and became an evangelist himself.

Johnny Cash was addicted to pills and booze and even though he grew up in a Christian family had walked away from God. It was gospel preaching that led him to rededicate his life and shape his public witness as a Christian artist.

Introducing the Better Preaching Podcast

God loves the lost—and preaching leads them home. That’s why we began the Better Preaching Podcast. Better preaching helps more people find the God who loves them.

The Better Preaching Podcast is founded on four assumptions:

• Preaching matters – God uses preaching to change lives. (Romans 10:14–15)
• Better preaching – One can become a better preacher. (2 Timothy 2:15; 4:1–3)
• We’re better together – Learning from the past leads to the future. (Jeremiah 6:16)
• Great sermons are timeless. (Psalm 119:1–5)

My Story

It was a long list of preachers who changed my life. I learned about Jesus from my father, Larry Weller. He became a Christian because of the preaching and witness of a minister named Jim Platner. Jim became a Christian through the influence of preachers like Hank McAdams.

I’m not only a preacher because of this spiritual ancestry, but I am a better preacher because of the example of preachers like Dr. Gary Carpenter, Bob Russell, and many others.

Lost people matter. So preach like it.

The Better Preaching Podcast can help.

In today’s world, where personal gain often outweighs compassion, the challenge of being a good man is real. But goodness is not about perfection—it’s about action.

Start by identifying ways you can help others daily. Small deeds—sharing knowledge, listening without judgment, assisting those in need—accumulate into significant change. Practice honesty in all interactions, and stand up for fairness even when it’s uncomfortable. Good works aren’t limited to people you know; even strangers can benefit from your kindness.

Surround yourself with positivity, and learn from others who inspire goodness. Remember, integrity is contagious. When you act with humility, empathy, and courage, you become a beacon in a world often clouded by selfishness. Each act of goodness strengthens the social fabric, proving that even one person’s consistent efforts can shape a better world.