Lately, I’ve been reading through Brian D. Russell’s work on missiological readings of Scripture. I can already see how these articles will seriously affect the way I teach and preach in the future.
As I was reading, I found this interesting quote from Erwin McManus. Brian asked him if there was a particular style of sermon that connected best with others, and this was his enlightening response:
Brian, in a lot of ways, I think what it comes down to is one simple thing: Does the person listening view you as the kind of person that they would like to in some way become? If the answer is no, no new approach of preaching is going to help you. If the answer is yes, it’s amazing how much people will adapt to your style.
mattjudkins.com 
I’m sure both of those people are smarter than me, but I don’t buy it. I listen to sermons by people whom I know I can’t become like, in either large or small ways, and still gain from them. And I’ve heard some sermons by pastors whom I admire and whose faith and I life I seek to emulate, yet I would have to nail my shoes to the floor to listen to them preach more than five minutes.