Andy Stanley

Andy Stanley is the lead pastor at Northpoint Church, one of the top five congregations in the country.  Each week, he addresses an audience of some 2-3 thousand people live, and perhaps 5x that via simulcast in member locations.  Don’t quote me on the number, but I think at last count, the full congregation was some 30,000 people.  

Regardless of what you think of Northpoint Church (it’s not for everyone) or of religion, in general (it’s not for everyone), you have to admire the prowess of Andy Stanley.  There’s something to be said for maintaining a following of 30,000 people. 

Imagine writing a speech for professional purposes.  Public speaking is daunting enough for most of us, but, if you have some experience, or are otherwise determined you could certainly do so.  For instance, you could probably write a speech on a narrow topic in your field— "Technology Trends in XYZ Business” or “The 5 Keys to Customer Service in ABC Industry.”  With some refining and practice, you might even muster a presentation good enough to deliver at a conference to 50-150 people. 

Now, imagine having to address that same group of people every week for a month or two —drafting a talk that was good enough to keep them coming back.  Keep in mind, this is not the same thing as speaking at five different conferences or giving five different talks over a year.  In those cases you'd probably give variations of the same speech.  And you could pull it off, because there are likely new members in the audience.  Even if the core group was the same, your talks are spread out and you'd be able to refine the speech over time, keeping it fresh and updated.  

But, speaking on consecutive weeks, as pastors or other religious leaders do, is a different matter altogether.  In order to keep the same people interested on consecutive weeks, you would have to come up with different and sufficiently engaging material.  Imagine having to do this week in and week out for a year.

Now imagine, if instead of convincing 50-150 people to show up and sit still and listen, you have to convince 30,000 people.

Finally, consider how much competition there is.  Everyone goes to church on the same day, more or less at the same time. This means that you're competing with every other pastor in the area.  While you're speaking, there are perhaps 25-50 other speakers, just in your zip code, speaking on the same topic, at the same time, using--quite literally--the same book.  Your audience has no shortage of alternatives. Your own rendering and your own delivery has to be good enough to convince that audience to choose you above all of the others.