Kenton C. Anderson advocates crock-pot sermons in a microwave world. Some suggest that swift pace is essential to keep the listener's attention. But Anderson, assistant professor of applied theology at Northwest Baptist College and Seminary in Langley, British Columbia, disagrees. Instead, he says, preaching is easier to digest when it's slow-cooked.

Why preach a slow-paced sermon?

In the kitchen, time can be a useful ingredient for deepening a rich and full-bodied taste. You don't want to rush things in the pulpit, either. Listeners often consume their sermons slowly, more slowly, at least, than preachers want to serve it.

The problem is the rate of delivery. We preachers take hours in preparation meditating on the text. By the time we're ready to preach, we want to offer everything we've gathered. Yet while we have had the advantage of hours in the study, the listener has to process the whole thing in 30 minutes. It is just too much for many people. There often is an enormous difference ...