Preaching as Encounter

The difference between information and transformation and why people in your church can tell.

Maybe this story will sound familiar. I was preaching at church when I realized nobody was with me. Eyes were glazed. A deacon in the third row was doing that slow nod that meant he was definitely asleep. I had my notes, my outline, three points and a poem. I was delivering information. What I wasn’t doing was creating an encounter.

Information vs. Encounter

Most of us were trained to deliver content. Exegete the passage, outline the points, land the application. But Jesus didn’t just teach people things. He drew them into an experience of the Father. The Sermon on the Mount wasn’t a lecture. It was an invitation to see the world differently.

When we preach only for information transfer, we’re competing with podcasts, YouTube, and ChatGPT and losing. People don’t need more content. They are drowning in it. But when we preach for encounter, we’re offering something no algorithm can replicate: a Christ-saturated human standing before other humans, pointing them to the presence of God.

Your “Come From” Matters

The biggest shift for me wasn’t a technique. It was what I call your “come from”, the internal posture you carry into the pulpit. Are you preaching from anxiety? The need to impress? Exhaustion? People can feel it, even if they can’t name it.

When you preach from a place of rest, when your inner life is rooted in the Father’s love, something shifts. You carry a weight that has nothing to do with volume or technique. Call it spiritual authority: influence that flows from who you are, not just what you know.

Practices That Help

Start with story. Jesus was a storyteller. He drew people in with a picture (a sower, a prodigal, a mustard seed). Your real stories create the trust that makes transformation possible.

Name what people are actually feeling. Don’t just teach about joy. Name the specific counterfeits your people chase. When someone hears you describe their inner world accurately, they lean in because they finally feel known.

Leave space for the Spirit. Not every moment needs your words. Some of the most powerful moments in preaching happen in the pauses when you stop talking and let truth settle.

Point to presence, not just principles. Every sermon should lead people back to the vine. Not to a to-do list. Not to guilt. To the invitation: abide in Me.

The Father’s Face

I once watched my daughter go through a difficult medical procedure. She was scared. She didn’t look at the doctors or the equipment. She looked at my face. And when she saw that I was calm, that I was with her, she settled.

That’s what we’re doing when we preach. We’re helping people lift their eyes from their circumstances and see the Father’s face. We’re reminding them He’s glad to be with them. That joy isn’t something they manufacture, it’s something they receive.

So stop delivering sermons. Start creating encounters. Preach from your own abiding. Name the counterfeits. And point every person in the room back to the only source of joy that will never run dry.

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Tyler Eiland coaches pastors and church leaders toward clarity, courage, and sustained fruitfulness in ministry. He specializes in Christ-centered preaching, relational discipleship, and spiritual vitality.