The Sunday I Quit Polishing Sermons

ISSUE #9   

How Choosing Presence Over Perfection Saved My Ministry

Twenty years ago, I was a sermon-polishing junkie—one minute of prep for every minute in the pulpit. Bible college and seminary beat it into me.  And not just sermons, but every program, announcement, bulletin—everything. 

Polish equals power. Appearance trumps authenticity. It's all I knew.

One Saturday, I was stretched thin—sermon half-baked, slides unfinished—when the phone rang. A guy in my church, voice breaking, said his marriage was imploding. Right now. He needed someone, not something perfect. I could've dodged it, finished my masterpiece, and trusted God to fix his marriage Monday. But that's exactly what was killing my ministry.

I hung up, closed my laptop, and drove to his house. No notes, no polish—just a pastor who chose presence over perfection.

That Sunday's sermon was a beautiful train wreck. Nobody complained. Nobody left. I quit polishing once and for all that day. I had tried in the past, but I was addicted to the show.

The Seminary Lie That's Killing Your Ministry

The lie was seminary's gift, backed by my dad's echo: "Polish makes the pastor." Design the perfect service. Craft the flawless announcement. Edit that email seventeen times. Appearance is everything—because that's the holy grail, right? (And we're still being sold that nonsense.)

They taught us, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care," then handed us a playbook that buried the caring under cosmetics. I bought it—thought my value was in the shine, not the showing up. It wasn't just killing my ministry; it was killing me. I'd become a production manager—present for the program, absent for the people—while marriages crumbled and faith faltered and I chased impressive PowerPoint transitions.

Jesus didn't play their game. Look at Mark 2—he left the crowd behind to eat with tax collectors. He chose connection when religious leaders demanded perfection. He didn't polish his way to ministry; he lived it raw among broken people. I was designing church while my congregation got a shell of me—programs—not a pastor.

Every hour you spend polishing past the point of diminishing returns is an hour stolen from the actual people God's called you to serve.

That phone call cracked it open. I chose the marriage over the manuscript, sat there as he unloaded, and delivered an unpolished message Sunday. He didn't need my brilliance—he needed me there. Nobody critiqued my slides. He grabbed my arm after, said me showing up saved his family.

What Happened When I Broke the Rule

I ditched the polish addiction for good. Next week, I hacked prep to the bone—enough to trust God—and spent the hours where they counted. A widow's heat was out; I fixed it with her kid. A teenager was spiraling; I listened over burgers. Ministry didn't collapse—it got realer, messier, better. I started breathing again.

Try it: cut the polish, show up for someone—see what shifts. Seminary's wrong—you're not a production manager; you're a shepherd. After 35 years, I'm still here, not because my ministry shined, but because I stopped dying on the altar of appearance.

The One-Week Challenge That Could Save Your Ministry

This matters because you're not built to be a polish slave—you're a pastor. And that appearance lie is eating you alive. Keep chasing seminary's ghost, and you'll miss the people who need you—your church, your family, your soul. You're not stuck yet, but you will be if you don't break free.

I quit 20 years ago—my church got better—my life got easier. Cut one hour of polish this week no matter your role in ministry—be fully present with someone instead—watch what happens.

What's your polish trap stealing from you?

What's your Sunday trap? Drop us a line—we're veterans who've kicked the habit.

Stop polishing to death. Start showing up.

Tim Eldred has been in pastoral ministry for over 35 years and coaches pastors who are ready for something better than they expected. He founded The Authentic Pastor to help ministry leaders find freedom from the systems that are killing them and their churches.