I remember guest-speaking at a friend’s church on a Sunday where everything felt alive. When I went up to the pulpit, the congregation seemed eager to hear what was about to be preached. And my initial feelings proved correct. During the sermon, the congregation scribbled notes at every biblical point I made, laughed at every corny joke, and even muttered “Amen” to a couple of insights.

It was strangely encouraging and, in my arrogance, I thought to myself, “Man, I really brought it today.” Perhaps I was growing into the amazing preacher I had always imagined I’d be.

Fast-forward a few weeks later, I guest-spoke at another church where I preached the exact same message. But this time, things didn’t turn out as well. When I went up to the pulpit, the congregation seemed so…dead. It looked like nobody cared what I was about to say. And once again, my initial feelings proved correct. During the sermon, the congregation yawned at my biblical points, ignored every corny joke, and looked sleepy throughout. I even noticed people getting up and casually roaming the hallways to talk to friends while I was speaking!

This was strange. I mean, I preached the exact same message that supposedly “worked” before. What happened? It could be the Spirit wasn’t moving that day or I didn’t “bring it” this time. But personally, I think it might be something more simple: some churches have healthy preaching cultures while others do not.

I realize some churches develop a mature view of preaching where they expect God to do something every week at the pulpit and some churches, well, don’t. Some churches have a low view of preaching because they’ve been conditioned to have a low view. In other words, some churches simply go through the motions of sitting through a sermon because they don’t really see preaching being central. And the problem isn’t so much the preaching - it’s the preaching culture.

How do you know if your church is developing unhealthy preaching culture? Sure, there are obvious signs such as people falling asleep, playing games, or roaming the hallways during the sermon. But I think at that point, your church is just spiritually dead. There are subtle warning signs that I think churches should spot as signs of unhealthiness. What are those signs? Here are five.

1. Your Church is Only Blessed by Great Sermons