The Role of Deliberate Practice in Preaching

Monday Morning Preacher

How can you practice deliberately as a preacher? In this episode, Matt Woodley explores that question with Jared Alcantara, associate professor of preaching at Baylor University’s George Truett Theological Seminary in Waco, Texas.

Deliberate practice in preaching is a “relentless ongoing commitment to growth.” He also cites the work of K. Anders Ericsson, a Swedish psychologist who wrote “Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise.” He identifies four commitments people often make, who become experts in a given field, like preaching or playing the violin.

• The willingness to take risks
• Constructive feedback
• Focused attention
• Concrete goals

This concept is more widely known from Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers where he popularized the 10,000 rule. The rule says that “it takes 10,000 hours of intensive practice to achieve mastery of complex skills and materials, like playing the violin or getting as good as Bill Gates at computer programming” according to Alcantara.

Check out what was referenced on the podcast:

• Gardner C. Taylor’s article “The Preacher’s Dialogue”
• Anders Ericsson’s book Peak: Secrets From the New Science of Expertise
• Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers: The Story of Success

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