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The Biggest Mistakes Old Preachers Make

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What are the common failures of older preachers? Which snares tend to threaten the seasoned?

“Resting on your laurels” at the expense of making progress can be tempting, Bryan Chapell observes in a new roundtable video with Paul Tripp and Russell Moore. “It’s easy to keep returning to the familiar rather than pressing on in personal growth and understanding.” According to Moore, another trap is viewing the younger generation as a threat. Bitterness and undue criticism of younger pastors, he suggests, are often rooted in a nostalgic view of the past that’s simply unrealistic.

Additionally, veteran preachers must beware of overfamiliarity, of losing their awe. “The more you see something, the less you really see it,” Tripp explains. “And the more you’re around something, the less you really celebrate it.” No less dangerous, he adds, is the sense of “arrival” that can emerge in which “knowledge, skill, and experience begin to define maturity in your eyes.”

Watch the full seven-minute video to see these experienced preachers discuss weariness, numbness, Messiah complexes, and more.

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