10 principles for good sermon design

I am a fan of fountain pens. Recently, I scored a Lamy 2000 in a great deal on eBay. I found that this pen was designed by Gerd Alfred Muller. Muller was in the first class of industrial designers hired by Artur and Erwin Braun. These designers followed the Bauhaus Design School approach that emerged after WWI out of Germany. (Bauhaus design is popularly known "form follows function.") The Bauhaus design principles are perhaps best articulated in Dieter Rams' "Ten Principles of 'Good Design."

As I read these excellent design principles and saw them reflected in my new/used Lamy 2000 fountain pen, my mind turned toward the design of messages to God’s people from God’s word. Would these design principles help me become a better designer/crafter of sermons? I think so.

Here are 10 questions for preachers inspired by Dieter Rams’ 10 principles of good design.

Is this message creative/innovative? We don’t have a unique message. We preach the unchanging gospel of Jesus Christ. We must not innovate new theology. My former pastor Adrian Rogers used to say, “If it’s new it’s not true!” But we can present the old truths in new, fresh ways. After all, God is a creative God. He can inspire us to artistic and inventive in how we present His truth.

Is this message useful? When I went to seminary, I was inspired by Pastor Chuck Swindoll to learn to teach the Bible in practical, relevant, applicable ways. Two questions I constantly ask as I do message preparation are: “What does God want the people to know and why?” and “What does God want the people to do and why?”

Is this message aesthetic? Is the structure of the message balanced and well-crafted? Are the word choices pleasant, pleasing, inspiring, beautiful? Will people be drawn to the infinite beauty of the Savior by structure, the tone, the tenor of the message?

Is this message understandable? Pastors spend time reading and studying historic commentaries that deal with lofty theological concepts. We must endeavor to “put the cookies on the bottom shelf.” We aren't called to impress our people with our knowledge of the intricacies of Greek and Hebrew or highly technical theological minutia. 

Is this message unobtrusive? In every message from every text we want to show off Jesus Christ. Sometimes in a effort to be creative, preachers can be tempted to clutter the message with structure and verbiage that actually conceal rather than reveal Jesus. The great Apostle Paul, who certainly could have impressed with his mental and verbal acuity, said, “I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”     

Is this message honest? We must be honest about our own struggles and victories. We must be honest when we tell stories. We must not attempt to massage the truth or manipulate the audience. We must keep it real.

Is this message going to be timeless? While we must preach the truth in our current context and make application to what is happening currently in the culture, we must also preach and teach in such a way that a reader or listener can benefit from the truths shared 20 or 50 or 100 years from now.

Is this message thorough?  Pastors are limited by time when a message is delivered. Some church cultures only give 20-25 minutes for a pastor to preach. Even in a church context where a 40-45 minute message is the norm, a preacher can’t cover every nuance or answer every question that might be raised. But we should think through the big questions and objections that a skeptic might have and try to answer them.

Is this message truly helpful? We must speak the truth in love. We must speak with grace and truth. I’ve heard messages that have been spot on regarding the sins of abortion, adultery, and abuse. Yet, the communicator forgot that many people in the audience have been guilty of such sins in the past. And the way the truth was handled created further guilt and despair. We must apply the gospel of grace in a way that heals and helps, not harms and hurts.

Is this message following the “less is more” approach? Years ago at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes summer camp in Black Mountain, North Carolina, someone taught me the 5 Bs of public speaking. “Be Brief, Baby, Be Brief!”  I’m sure that the members and attenders of CVC over the last 30 years wish I had practiced that principle a lot more than I have!

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Dieter Rams’ Ten Principles of “Good Design”

After studying architecture at the Werkkunstschule Wiesbaden, the highly awarded and respected Dieter Rams landed a job at the architectural firm of Otto Apel (1953). Two years later, he left the firm and joined the product company Braun, where he created a legacy. Within the 40 years of working at Braun, Rams produced and oversaw over 500 innovative products as chief of design. Many of his designs are featured in museums throughout the world.

Good Design Is Innovative : The possibilities for innovation are not, by any means, exhausted. Technological development is always offering new opportunities for innovative design. But innovative design always develops in tandem with innovative technology, and can never be an end in itself.

Good Design Makes a Product Useful : A product is bought to be used. It has to satisfy certain criteria, not only functional but also psychological and aesthetic. Good design emphasizes the usefulness of a product while disregarding anything that could possibly detract from it.

Good Design Is Aesthetic : The aesthetic quality of a product is integral to its usefulness because products are used every day and have an effect on people and their well-being. Only well-executed objects can be beautiful.

Good Design Makes A Product Understandable : It clarifies the product’s structure. Better still, it can make the product clearly express its function by making use of the user’s intuition. At best, it is self-explanatory.

Good Design Is Unobtrusive : Products fulfilling a purpose are like tools. They are neither decorative objects nor works of art. Their design should therefore be both neutral and restrained, to leave room for the user’s self-expression.

Good Design Is Honest : It does not make a product more innovative, powerful or valuable than it really is. It does not attempt to manipulate the consumer with promises that cannot be kept.

Good Design Is Long-lasting : It avoids being fashionable and therefore never appears antiquated. Unlike fashionable design, it lasts many years – even in today’s throwaway society.

Good Design Is Thorough Down to the Last Detail : Nothing must be arbitrary or left to chance. Care and accuracy in the design process show respect towards the consumer.

Good Design Is Environmentally Friendly : Design makes an important contribution to the preservation of the environment. It conserves resources and minimizes physical and visual pollution throughout the lifecycle of the product.

Good Design Is as Little Design as Possible : Less, but better – because it concentrates on the essential aspects, and the products are not burdened with non-essentials. Back to purity, back to simplicity.