Improving Preaching: Fewer, Better Words

In this conversation, Lance Ralston reflects on more than forty years of pastoral ministry and Bible teaching. He describes how he began by leading a small group of men through Scripture, and how those early days shaped the habits and convictions that still guide him today. Lance shares lessons learned over decades in the pulpit, including what has changed, what has stayed the same, and what younger preachers often need to hear.

A major part of the episode focuses on the emotional lives of preachers and congregations. Lance explains how the fall affects human emotions, how the new birth begins to renew them, and why understanding this matters for anyone who teaches the Bible. He and Mike discuss how emotions can support faithful preaching, how they can get in the way, and how both preachers and hearers can grow healthier patterns of emotional life.

Lance also speaks about one of his great passions: church history. As the host of Communio Sanctorum: History of the Christian Church, he offers a wide view of the story of Christianity and highlights a few of his own preaching heroes from across the centuries. His love for leadership, historical context, and clear Bible teaching comes through in every part of the conversation.

About Lance Ralston

Lance Ralston is the founding pastor of Calvary Chapel Oxnard in Ventura County, California, a fellowship he and others began in 1982. The church has met in several locations over the years and moved to its current Eastman Avenue facility in 1998. Lance and his wife Lynn have been married for more than thirty years and have three adult children and a growing number of grandchildren.

Lance teaches the Bible expositionally, working systematically through both Old and New Testaments. He has taken his congregation through the entire Bible four times and is currently partway through a fifth. His teaching often includes historical background that helps listeners understand how Scripture speaks to life today.

He is the author of Marriage: As It Was Meant To Be. He also has a long-standing interest in leadership and enjoys training younger pastors and ministry leaders.

Lance hosts Communio Sanctorum – History of the Christian Church, a multi-season podcast designed to make church history accessible and engaging. Season 1 contains 150 episodes covering the story of the church from the first century to the eighteenth. Season 2 explores selected eras and themes in more detail.

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