7 Pastoral Leadership Lessons from a Pastor Turned Journalist
What can pastors learn from journalism? Drawing from over 50 years of ministry and newsroom experience, David Crosby shares practical pastoral leadership lessons on preaching clearly, listening deeply, building trust, and connecting more effectively with people and communities.
How 50+ years of ministry and a city desk newsroom shaped one pastor’s approach to preaching, listening, and reaching people well.
There is a version of pastoral ministry that looks like this: you prepare your sermon, you preach it faithfully, you shake hands at the door, and you do it all over again next week.
It is not a bad version. But it is an incomplete one.
Dr. David Crosby has spent more than five decades serving local churches across Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. He spent 22 years as pastor of First Baptist Church New Orleans, leading his congregation through Hurricane Katrina and all the chaos that followed. He has also written editorials for major publications, published six books, and along the way, worked as a reporter on a city desk.
That last part might seem like a footnote. It is not.
In a recent Tithely webinar, David shared how lessons from journalism reshaped the way he pastors, preaches, listens, and leads. What he described is not a technique. It is a posture. And it is one that any pastor, in any size church, in any community, can adopt starting this week.
1. Stop Burying the Lead
When David first started writing for a newspaper, he thought he was pretty good. He had a journalism degree. He had been writing books and articles for years.
Then the copy desk started sending his stories back covered in red ink.
“The copy desk came over and said, ‘You buried your lead. It’s in the thirteenth paragraph.’”
He took that lesson seriously. And he carried it straight into the pulpit.
“I try not to bury the lead anymore, even when I’m preaching. Make sure that people know what’s up when I start a message.”
It is a small shift with real consequences. When your congregation knows from the first few minutes what you are trying to say, everything that follows lands with more clarity and purpose.
Try this:
Before you write your next sermon, finish this sentence: “Because of this text, I want my people to ___________." That is your lead. Do not bury it.
2. Preach for the Twelve-Year-Old
When David was pastor in New Orleans, seminary professors would show up on Sundays. Theologians. Academics. People who had spent their careers in the text.
His approach did not change.
“I told them upfront: I’m trying to reach your twelve-year-old when I preach. If the twelve-year-old can understand me, probably the professor can too.”
Journalism trained him to write in short sentences, plain language, subject-verb constructions. He brought that same discipline to the pulpit. Not dumbing down the Gospel, but clearing the path to it.
Accessible preaching is not weak preaching. It is generous preaching. It makes room for the curious newcomer, the skeptic in the back row, and the longtime church member who is exhausted and just needs to hear something true.
For more practical ways to sharpen your sermon clarity and craft, see 10 Practical Ways to Get Better at Preaching This Year and How to Write a Sermon: A Simple Step-by-Step Guide.
3. Learn the Who, What, Where, and Why of Your People
Good reporters are trained to gather the facts. But David noticed something that separated good reporters from great pastors: what you do with those facts after you have them.
“I’ve become pretty tuned into the who, what, where, and why of people and their journeys. It’s important to remember the troubles people have shared with you and to be able to ask later: how is that son of yours doing?”
He admits his memory is not what it used to be. So he writes things down. Sticky notes. On the bathroom mirror.
“Sunday morning, while I’m brushing my teeth, I’m going over names and trying to remember who they are and their stories, what I know of them, how they’re connected, what they’ve shared with me.”
That is pastoral care. Not a program. Not a follow-up email sequence. Just a pastor who pays attention and refuses to let people feel forgotten.
If sticky notes on the mirror are not cutting it as your congregation grows, Tithely People gives you a simple way to track exactly this kind of information, names, connections, and context, right alongside your giving data, so nothing slips through the cracks.
4. Stop Making Assumptions About People
One of the most striking stories David shared involved a woman who showed up at First Baptist New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. She was wearing clothes that did not fit, the kind you might find at a rescue mission. David assumed she was homeless. He assumed she needed a handout. He assumed he knew her story.
He did not.
It turned out she had a PhD from Tulane, had taught at several universities in the area, and had run for governor of Louisiana. Hurricane Katrina had taken everything, including, for a time, her ability to think clearly. She became known around the church as Raggedy Annie. She died of cancer, surrounded by the church family that had welcomed her in.
“You never know where people come from. Everybody’s got a story.”
The assumptions pastors make about their congregation, and their community, are often the very thing keeping them from truly connecting. The billionaire needs a pastor. The woman in borrowed clothes might have a doctorate. The guy who has never been to church might have grown up fifteen miles from where you are standing.
Stop making assumptions. Start asking questions. And if you want to explore how storytelling can help you create space for those stories in your preaching, Why Storytelling Works in Church is a great place to start.
5. Go Off the Beaten Path
“We develop paths as pastors that are familiar to us. We drive the same way to church from the house and the same way back. And we need to change that if we’re going to know our communities.”
David has served in cities and small towns. The method looks different depending on where you are, but the principle holds everywhere: there are invisible people in every community, and they will stay invisible unless you go looking.
In New Orleans, that meant preparing 300 backpacks of food for kids in seven different schools. It meant sending volunteers to tutor in public schools. It meant showing up at parks, Bourbon Street clubs, and battered women’s organizations.
In Goldthwaite, Texas, population around 1,700, it means driving down unfamiliar streets and making random visits. It means striking up conversations in the waiting rooms of medical clinics. It means calling a coworker a church member mentioned is going through a hard time, even if it feels like a cold call.
“If you make yourself available, you will get many invitations.”
Where could you drive this week that you have never driven before? For more practical ideas on reaching the people around you, check out Church Outreach Strategies: Reaching Your Local Community.
6. Let People Talk
The most practical thing David said about becoming a better listener was also the simplest.
“A lot of it’s just letting them talk.”
He suggested developing a few go-to questions. Not theological questions. Not church-related questions. Just human ones.
How are you doing today? Tell me about how you got to this place.
“If they can start talking about their journey, you will learn more about how the insights of the Gospel can meet them where they are.”
Journalism trains you to ask questions and then get out of the way. Ministry works the same way. The more you listen, the more you learn. The more you learn, the more effectively you can preach, shepherd, and love.
7. Build Love Into the Structure
Near the end of the conversation, David was asked what he hoped pastors would remember when it comes to reaching people. His answer was worth writing down.
“Those people need to be loved, and they need to see the practical action of love in the Church of Jesus Christ. If we’re going to be known as followers of Jesus by our love, that has to be on the front.”
But he did not stop there. He pushed further.
“I don’t think we can leave that to the personal preference of the person in the pew. We need to work the love of people into the church calendar, the church budget, the church staff, the church organism and organization, so that it’s not an afterthought.”
Love, in other words, is not a feeling you hope your congregation catches. It is a decision you build into the bones of how your church operates.
For a deeper look at the systems that support that kind of intentional growth, 13 Church Growth Strategies That Actually Work is worth your time.
The t-shirts around his church in Goldthwaite say it simply: The church has left the building.
A Word of Encouragement
David has been in ministry for over 50 years. He is still learning. He is still going off the beaten path, still writing names on sticky notes, still walking into rooms where he does not quite fit, still trusting that everyone he meets has a story worth hearing.
That is not a technique. That is a calling lived out, one conversation at a time.
If you are trying to preach more effectively, build deeper trust in your community, and truly understand the hearts of the people you shepherd, the place to start is simpler than you might think.
Get out of the office. Drive a different route. Ask a question. Then stop talking and listen.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can pastors better connect with their congregation?
Connection starts with attention. Learn names. Remember what people share with you. Ask follow-up questions weeks later. David Crosby’s practice of reviewing names and stories on Sunday morning before church is a simple but powerful habit any pastor can build. Tools like Tithely People can also help you keep track of those details as your church grows.
What can pastors learn from journalism?
Journalism teaches you to lead with what matters, use plain language, ask good questions, and listen before you speak. All of those habits translate directly into better preaching, better pastoral care, and a deeper understanding of the people in your community.
How do you find the invisible people in your community?
David’s advice is simple: change your routes. Go to places you would not normally go. Sit in waiting rooms. Walk into stores. Show up at civic meetings. Invisible people are not hiding. They are just in places most pastors are not looking.
How can a pastor preach more clearly?
Start by writing one sentence that completes this thought: “Because of this text, I want my people to ___________." That is your lead. Build everything else around it. Journalism calls it not burying the lead. Preaching calls it clarity. They are the same thing.
How do you build trust with your church community?
Trust is built through consistency, authenticity, and showing up. People trust pastors who remember them, who tell the truth about their own struggles, and who are present in the community beyond Sunday morning. As David put it, if you make yourself available, you will get many invitations.
Want more practical resources for pastoral leadership, preaching, and church growth? Explore the Tithely blog for weekly tools, ministry insights, and encouragement designed to help pastors lead well.
Sign Up for Product Updates
Tithely provides the tools you need to engage with your church online, stay connected, increase generosity, and simplify the lives of your staff.
With tools like text and email messaging, custom church apps and websites, church management software, digital giving, and so much more… it’s no wonder why over 53,000 churches in 50 countries trust Tithely to help run their church.
How 50+ years of ministry and a city desk newsroom shaped one pastor’s approach to preaching, listening, and reaching people well.
There is a version of pastoral ministry that looks like this: you prepare your sermon, you preach it faithfully, you shake hands at the door, and you do it all over again next week.
It is not a bad version. But it is an incomplete one.
Dr. David Crosby has spent more than five decades serving local churches across Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. He spent 22 years as pastor of First Baptist Church New Orleans, leading his congregation through Hurricane Katrina and all the chaos that followed. He has also written editorials for major publications, published six books, and along the way, worked as a reporter on a city desk.
That last part might seem like a footnote. It is not.
In a recent Tithely webinar, David shared how lessons from journalism reshaped the way he pastors, preaches, listens, and leads. What he described is not a technique. It is a posture. And it is one that any pastor, in any size church, in any community, can adopt starting this week.
1. Stop Burying the Lead
When David first started writing for a newspaper, he thought he was pretty good. He had a journalism degree. He had been writing books and articles for years.
Then the copy desk started sending his stories back covered in red ink.
“The copy desk came over and said, ‘You buried your lead. It’s in the thirteenth paragraph.’”
He took that lesson seriously. And he carried it straight into the pulpit.
“I try not to bury the lead anymore, even when I’m preaching. Make sure that people know what’s up when I start a message.”
It is a small shift with real consequences. When your congregation knows from the first few minutes what you are trying to say, everything that follows lands with more clarity and purpose.
Try this:
Before you write your next sermon, finish this sentence: “Because of this text, I want my people to ___________." That is your lead. Do not bury it.
2. Preach for the Twelve-Year-Old
When David was pastor in New Orleans, seminary professors would show up on Sundays. Theologians. Academics. People who had spent their careers in the text.
His approach did not change.
“I told them upfront: I’m trying to reach your twelve-year-old when I preach. If the twelve-year-old can understand me, probably the professor can too.”
Journalism trained him to write in short sentences, plain language, subject-verb constructions. He brought that same discipline to the pulpit. Not dumbing down the Gospel, but clearing the path to it.
Accessible preaching is not weak preaching. It is generous preaching. It makes room for the curious newcomer, the skeptic in the back row, and the longtime church member who is exhausted and just needs to hear something true.
For more practical ways to sharpen your sermon clarity and craft, see 10 Practical Ways to Get Better at Preaching This Year and How to Write a Sermon: A Simple Step-by-Step Guide.
3. Learn the Who, What, Where, and Why of Your People
Good reporters are trained to gather the facts. But David noticed something that separated good reporters from great pastors: what you do with those facts after you have them.
“I’ve become pretty tuned into the who, what, where, and why of people and their journeys. It’s important to remember the troubles people have shared with you and to be able to ask later: how is that son of yours doing?”
He admits his memory is not what it used to be. So he writes things down. Sticky notes. On the bathroom mirror.
“Sunday morning, while I’m brushing my teeth, I’m going over names and trying to remember who they are and their stories, what I know of them, how they’re connected, what they’ve shared with me.”
That is pastoral care. Not a program. Not a follow-up email sequence. Just a pastor who pays attention and refuses to let people feel forgotten.
If sticky notes on the mirror are not cutting it as your congregation grows, Tithely People gives you a simple way to track exactly this kind of information, names, connections, and context, right alongside your giving data, so nothing slips through the cracks.
4. Stop Making Assumptions About People
One of the most striking stories David shared involved a woman who showed up at First Baptist New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. She was wearing clothes that did not fit, the kind you might find at a rescue mission. David assumed she was homeless. He assumed she needed a handout. He assumed he knew her story.
He did not.
It turned out she had a PhD from Tulane, had taught at several universities in the area, and had run for governor of Louisiana. Hurricane Katrina had taken everything, including, for a time, her ability to think clearly. She became known around the church as Raggedy Annie. She died of cancer, surrounded by the church family that had welcomed her in.
“You never know where people come from. Everybody’s got a story.”
The assumptions pastors make about their congregation, and their community, are often the very thing keeping them from truly connecting. The billionaire needs a pastor. The woman in borrowed clothes might have a doctorate. The guy who has never been to church might have grown up fifteen miles from where you are standing.
Stop making assumptions. Start asking questions. And if you want to explore how storytelling can help you create space for those stories in your preaching, Why Storytelling Works in Church is a great place to start.
5. Go Off the Beaten Path
“We develop paths as pastors that are familiar to us. We drive the same way to church from the house and the same way back. And we need to change that if we’re going to know our communities.”
David has served in cities and small towns. The method looks different depending on where you are, but the principle holds everywhere: there are invisible people in every community, and they will stay invisible unless you go looking.
In New Orleans, that meant preparing 300 backpacks of food for kids in seven different schools. It meant sending volunteers to tutor in public schools. It meant showing up at parks, Bourbon Street clubs, and battered women’s organizations.
In Goldthwaite, Texas, population around 1,700, it means driving down unfamiliar streets and making random visits. It means striking up conversations in the waiting rooms of medical clinics. It means calling a coworker a church member mentioned is going through a hard time, even if it feels like a cold call.
“If you make yourself available, you will get many invitations.”
Where could you drive this week that you have never driven before? For more practical ideas on reaching the people around you, check out Church Outreach Strategies: Reaching Your Local Community.
6. Let People Talk
The most practical thing David said about becoming a better listener was also the simplest.
“A lot of it’s just letting them talk.”
He suggested developing a few go-to questions. Not theological questions. Not church-related questions. Just human ones.
How are you doing today? Tell me about how you got to this place.
“If they can start talking about their journey, you will learn more about how the insights of the Gospel can meet them where they are.”
Journalism trains you to ask questions and then get out of the way. Ministry works the same way. The more you listen, the more you learn. The more you learn, the more effectively you can preach, shepherd, and love.
7. Build Love Into the Structure
Near the end of the conversation, David was asked what he hoped pastors would remember when it comes to reaching people. His answer was worth writing down.
“Those people need to be loved, and they need to see the practical action of love in the Church of Jesus Christ. If we’re going to be known as followers of Jesus by our love, that has to be on the front.”
But he did not stop there. He pushed further.
“I don’t think we can leave that to the personal preference of the person in the pew. We need to work the love of people into the church calendar, the church budget, the church staff, the church organism and organization, so that it’s not an afterthought.”
Love, in other words, is not a feeling you hope your congregation catches. It is a decision you build into the bones of how your church operates.
For a deeper look at the systems that support that kind of intentional growth, 13 Church Growth Strategies That Actually Work is worth your time.
The t-shirts around his church in Goldthwaite say it simply: The church has left the building.
A Word of Encouragement
David has been in ministry for over 50 years. He is still learning. He is still going off the beaten path, still writing names on sticky notes, still walking into rooms where he does not quite fit, still trusting that everyone he meets has a story worth hearing.
That is not a technique. That is a calling lived out, one conversation at a time.
If you are trying to preach more effectively, build deeper trust in your community, and truly understand the hearts of the people you shepherd, the place to start is simpler than you might think.
Get out of the office. Drive a different route. Ask a question. Then stop talking and listen.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can pastors better connect with their congregation?
Connection starts with attention. Learn names. Remember what people share with you. Ask follow-up questions weeks later. David Crosby’s practice of reviewing names and stories on Sunday morning before church is a simple but powerful habit any pastor can build. Tools like Tithely People can also help you keep track of those details as your church grows.
What can pastors learn from journalism?
Journalism teaches you to lead with what matters, use plain language, ask good questions, and listen before you speak. All of those habits translate directly into better preaching, better pastoral care, and a deeper understanding of the people in your community.
How do you find the invisible people in your community?
David’s advice is simple: change your routes. Go to places you would not normally go. Sit in waiting rooms. Walk into stores. Show up at civic meetings. Invisible people are not hiding. They are just in places most pastors are not looking.
How can a pastor preach more clearly?
Start by writing one sentence that completes this thought: “Because of this text, I want my people to ___________." That is your lead. Build everything else around it. Journalism calls it not burying the lead. Preaching calls it clarity. They are the same thing.
How do you build trust with your church community?
Trust is built through consistency, authenticity, and showing up. People trust pastors who remember them, who tell the truth about their own struggles, and who are present in the community beyond Sunday morning. As David put it, if you make yourself available, you will get many invitations.
Want more practical resources for pastoral leadership, preaching, and church growth? Explore the Tithely blog for weekly tools, ministry insights, and encouragement designed to help pastors lead well.
podcast transcript
Tithely provides the tools you need to engage with your church online, stay connected, increase generosity, and simplify the lives of your staff.
With tools like text and email messaging, custom church apps and websites, church management software, digital giving, and so much more… it’s no wonder why over 53,000 churches in 50 countries trust Tithely to help run their church.
How 50+ years of ministry and a city desk newsroom shaped one pastor’s approach to preaching, listening, and reaching people well.
There is a version of pastoral ministry that looks like this: you prepare your sermon, you preach it faithfully, you shake hands at the door, and you do it all over again next week.
It is not a bad version. But it is an incomplete one.
Dr. David Crosby has spent more than five decades serving local churches across Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. He spent 22 years as pastor of First Baptist Church New Orleans, leading his congregation through Hurricane Katrina and all the chaos that followed. He has also written editorials for major publications, published six books, and along the way, worked as a reporter on a city desk.
That last part might seem like a footnote. It is not.
In a recent Tithely webinar, David shared how lessons from journalism reshaped the way he pastors, preaches, listens, and leads. What he described is not a technique. It is a posture. And it is one that any pastor, in any size church, in any community, can adopt starting this week.
1. Stop Burying the Lead
When David first started writing for a newspaper, he thought he was pretty good. He had a journalism degree. He had been writing books and articles for years.
Then the copy desk started sending his stories back covered in red ink.
“The copy desk came over and said, ‘You buried your lead. It’s in the thirteenth paragraph.’”
He took that lesson seriously. And he carried it straight into the pulpit.
“I try not to bury the lead anymore, even when I’m preaching. Make sure that people know what’s up when I start a message.”
It is a small shift with real consequences. When your congregation knows from the first few minutes what you are trying to say, everything that follows lands with more clarity and purpose.
Try this:
Before you write your next sermon, finish this sentence: “Because of this text, I want my people to ___________." That is your lead. Do not bury it.
2. Preach for the Twelve-Year-Old
When David was pastor in New Orleans, seminary professors would show up on Sundays. Theologians. Academics. People who had spent their careers in the text.
His approach did not change.
“I told them upfront: I’m trying to reach your twelve-year-old when I preach. If the twelve-year-old can understand me, probably the professor can too.”
Journalism trained him to write in short sentences, plain language, subject-verb constructions. He brought that same discipline to the pulpit. Not dumbing down the Gospel, but clearing the path to it.
Accessible preaching is not weak preaching. It is generous preaching. It makes room for the curious newcomer, the skeptic in the back row, and the longtime church member who is exhausted and just needs to hear something true.
For more practical ways to sharpen your sermon clarity and craft, see 10 Practical Ways to Get Better at Preaching This Year and How to Write a Sermon: A Simple Step-by-Step Guide.
3. Learn the Who, What, Where, and Why of Your People
Good reporters are trained to gather the facts. But David noticed something that separated good reporters from great pastors: what you do with those facts after you have them.
“I’ve become pretty tuned into the who, what, where, and why of people and their journeys. It’s important to remember the troubles people have shared with you and to be able to ask later: how is that son of yours doing?”
He admits his memory is not what it used to be. So he writes things down. Sticky notes. On the bathroom mirror.
“Sunday morning, while I’m brushing my teeth, I’m going over names and trying to remember who they are and their stories, what I know of them, how they’re connected, what they’ve shared with me.”
That is pastoral care. Not a program. Not a follow-up email sequence. Just a pastor who pays attention and refuses to let people feel forgotten.
If sticky notes on the mirror are not cutting it as your congregation grows, Tithely People gives you a simple way to track exactly this kind of information, names, connections, and context, right alongside your giving data, so nothing slips through the cracks.
4. Stop Making Assumptions About People
One of the most striking stories David shared involved a woman who showed up at First Baptist New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. She was wearing clothes that did not fit, the kind you might find at a rescue mission. David assumed she was homeless. He assumed she needed a handout. He assumed he knew her story.
He did not.
It turned out she had a PhD from Tulane, had taught at several universities in the area, and had run for governor of Louisiana. Hurricane Katrina had taken everything, including, for a time, her ability to think clearly. She became known around the church as Raggedy Annie. She died of cancer, surrounded by the church family that had welcomed her in.
“You never know where people come from. Everybody’s got a story.”
The assumptions pastors make about their congregation, and their community, are often the very thing keeping them from truly connecting. The billionaire needs a pastor. The woman in borrowed clothes might have a doctorate. The guy who has never been to church might have grown up fifteen miles from where you are standing.
Stop making assumptions. Start asking questions. And if you want to explore how storytelling can help you create space for those stories in your preaching, Why Storytelling Works in Church is a great place to start.
5. Go Off the Beaten Path
“We develop paths as pastors that are familiar to us. We drive the same way to church from the house and the same way back. And we need to change that if we’re going to know our communities.”
David has served in cities and small towns. The method looks different depending on where you are, but the principle holds everywhere: there are invisible people in every community, and they will stay invisible unless you go looking.
In New Orleans, that meant preparing 300 backpacks of food for kids in seven different schools. It meant sending volunteers to tutor in public schools. It meant showing up at parks, Bourbon Street clubs, and battered women’s organizations.
In Goldthwaite, Texas, population around 1,700, it means driving down unfamiliar streets and making random visits. It means striking up conversations in the waiting rooms of medical clinics. It means calling a coworker a church member mentioned is going through a hard time, even if it feels like a cold call.
“If you make yourself available, you will get many invitations.”
Where could you drive this week that you have never driven before? For more practical ideas on reaching the people around you, check out Church Outreach Strategies: Reaching Your Local Community.
6. Let People Talk
The most practical thing David said about becoming a better listener was also the simplest.
“A lot of it’s just letting them talk.”
He suggested developing a few go-to questions. Not theological questions. Not church-related questions. Just human ones.
How are you doing today? Tell me about how you got to this place.
“If they can start talking about their journey, you will learn more about how the insights of the Gospel can meet them where they are.”
Journalism trains you to ask questions and then get out of the way. Ministry works the same way. The more you listen, the more you learn. The more you learn, the more effectively you can preach, shepherd, and love.
7. Build Love Into the Structure
Near the end of the conversation, David was asked what he hoped pastors would remember when it comes to reaching people. His answer was worth writing down.
“Those people need to be loved, and they need to see the practical action of love in the Church of Jesus Christ. If we’re going to be known as followers of Jesus by our love, that has to be on the front.”
But he did not stop there. He pushed further.
“I don’t think we can leave that to the personal preference of the person in the pew. We need to work the love of people into the church calendar, the church budget, the church staff, the church organism and organization, so that it’s not an afterthought.”
Love, in other words, is not a feeling you hope your congregation catches. It is a decision you build into the bones of how your church operates.
For a deeper look at the systems that support that kind of intentional growth, 13 Church Growth Strategies That Actually Work is worth your time.
The t-shirts around his church in Goldthwaite say it simply: The church has left the building.
A Word of Encouragement
David has been in ministry for over 50 years. He is still learning. He is still going off the beaten path, still writing names on sticky notes, still walking into rooms where he does not quite fit, still trusting that everyone he meets has a story worth hearing.
That is not a technique. That is a calling lived out, one conversation at a time.
If you are trying to preach more effectively, build deeper trust in your community, and truly understand the hearts of the people you shepherd, the place to start is simpler than you might think.
Get out of the office. Drive a different route. Ask a question. Then stop talking and listen.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can pastors better connect with their congregation?
Connection starts with attention. Learn names. Remember what people share with you. Ask follow-up questions weeks later. David Crosby’s practice of reviewing names and stories on Sunday morning before church is a simple but powerful habit any pastor can build. Tools like Tithely People can also help you keep track of those details as your church grows.
What can pastors learn from journalism?
Journalism teaches you to lead with what matters, use plain language, ask good questions, and listen before you speak. All of those habits translate directly into better preaching, better pastoral care, and a deeper understanding of the people in your community.
How do you find the invisible people in your community?
David’s advice is simple: change your routes. Go to places you would not normally go. Sit in waiting rooms. Walk into stores. Show up at civic meetings. Invisible people are not hiding. They are just in places most pastors are not looking.
How can a pastor preach more clearly?
Start by writing one sentence that completes this thought: “Because of this text, I want my people to ___________." That is your lead. Build everything else around it. Journalism calls it not burying the lead. Preaching calls it clarity. They are the same thing.
How do you build trust with your church community?
Trust is built through consistency, authenticity, and showing up. People trust pastors who remember them, who tell the truth about their own struggles, and who are present in the community beyond Sunday morning. As David put it, if you make yourself available, you will get many invitations.
Want more practical resources for pastoral leadership, preaching, and church growth? Explore the Tithely blog for weekly tools, ministry insights, and encouragement designed to help pastors lead well.
VIDEO transcript
How 50+ years of ministry and a city desk newsroom shaped one pastor’s approach to preaching, listening, and reaching people well.
There is a version of pastoral ministry that looks like this: you prepare your sermon, you preach it faithfully, you shake hands at the door, and you do it all over again next week.
It is not a bad version. But it is an incomplete one.
Dr. David Crosby has spent more than five decades serving local churches across Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. He spent 22 years as pastor of First Baptist Church New Orleans, leading his congregation through Hurricane Katrina and all the chaos that followed. He has also written editorials for major publications, published six books, and along the way, worked as a reporter on a city desk.
That last part might seem like a footnote. It is not.
In a recent Tithely webinar, David shared how lessons from journalism reshaped the way he pastors, preaches, listens, and leads. What he described is not a technique. It is a posture. And it is one that any pastor, in any size church, in any community, can adopt starting this week.
1. Stop Burying the Lead
When David first started writing for a newspaper, he thought he was pretty good. He had a journalism degree. He had been writing books and articles for years.
Then the copy desk started sending his stories back covered in red ink.
“The copy desk came over and said, ‘You buried your lead. It’s in the thirteenth paragraph.’”
He took that lesson seriously. And he carried it straight into the pulpit.
“I try not to bury the lead anymore, even when I’m preaching. Make sure that people know what’s up when I start a message.”
It is a small shift with real consequences. When your congregation knows from the first few minutes what you are trying to say, everything that follows lands with more clarity and purpose.
Try this:
Before you write your next sermon, finish this sentence: “Because of this text, I want my people to ___________." That is your lead. Do not bury it.
2. Preach for the Twelve-Year-Old
When David was pastor in New Orleans, seminary professors would show up on Sundays. Theologians. Academics. People who had spent their careers in the text.
His approach did not change.
“I told them upfront: I’m trying to reach your twelve-year-old when I preach. If the twelve-year-old can understand me, probably the professor can too.”
Journalism trained him to write in short sentences, plain language, subject-verb constructions. He brought that same discipline to the pulpit. Not dumbing down the Gospel, but clearing the path to it.
Accessible preaching is not weak preaching. It is generous preaching. It makes room for the curious newcomer, the skeptic in the back row, and the longtime church member who is exhausted and just needs to hear something true.
For more practical ways to sharpen your sermon clarity and craft, see 10 Practical Ways to Get Better at Preaching This Year and How to Write a Sermon: A Simple Step-by-Step Guide.
3. Learn the Who, What, Where, and Why of Your People
Good reporters are trained to gather the facts. But David noticed something that separated good reporters from great pastors: what you do with those facts after you have them.
“I’ve become pretty tuned into the who, what, where, and why of people and their journeys. It’s important to remember the troubles people have shared with you and to be able to ask later: how is that son of yours doing?”
He admits his memory is not what it used to be. So he writes things down. Sticky notes. On the bathroom mirror.
“Sunday morning, while I’m brushing my teeth, I’m going over names and trying to remember who they are and their stories, what I know of them, how they’re connected, what they’ve shared with me.”
That is pastoral care. Not a program. Not a follow-up email sequence. Just a pastor who pays attention and refuses to let people feel forgotten.
If sticky notes on the mirror are not cutting it as your congregation grows, Tithely People gives you a simple way to track exactly this kind of information, names, connections, and context, right alongside your giving data, so nothing slips through the cracks.
4. Stop Making Assumptions About People
One of the most striking stories David shared involved a woman who showed up at First Baptist New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. She was wearing clothes that did not fit, the kind you might find at a rescue mission. David assumed she was homeless. He assumed she needed a handout. He assumed he knew her story.
He did not.
It turned out she had a PhD from Tulane, had taught at several universities in the area, and had run for governor of Louisiana. Hurricane Katrina had taken everything, including, for a time, her ability to think clearly. She became known around the church as Raggedy Annie. She died of cancer, surrounded by the church family that had welcomed her in.
“You never know where people come from. Everybody’s got a story.”
The assumptions pastors make about their congregation, and their community, are often the very thing keeping them from truly connecting. The billionaire needs a pastor. The woman in borrowed clothes might have a doctorate. The guy who has never been to church might have grown up fifteen miles from where you are standing.
Stop making assumptions. Start asking questions. And if you want to explore how storytelling can help you create space for those stories in your preaching, Why Storytelling Works in Church is a great place to start.
5. Go Off the Beaten Path
“We develop paths as pastors that are familiar to us. We drive the same way to church from the house and the same way back. And we need to change that if we’re going to know our communities.”
David has served in cities and small towns. The method looks different depending on where you are, but the principle holds everywhere: there are invisible people in every community, and they will stay invisible unless you go looking.
In New Orleans, that meant preparing 300 backpacks of food for kids in seven different schools. It meant sending volunteers to tutor in public schools. It meant showing up at parks, Bourbon Street clubs, and battered women’s organizations.
In Goldthwaite, Texas, population around 1,700, it means driving down unfamiliar streets and making random visits. It means striking up conversations in the waiting rooms of medical clinics. It means calling a coworker a church member mentioned is going through a hard time, even if it feels like a cold call.
“If you make yourself available, you will get many invitations.”
Where could you drive this week that you have never driven before? For more practical ideas on reaching the people around you, check out Church Outreach Strategies: Reaching Your Local Community.
6. Let People Talk
The most practical thing David said about becoming a better listener was also the simplest.
“A lot of it’s just letting them talk.”
He suggested developing a few go-to questions. Not theological questions. Not church-related questions. Just human ones.
How are you doing today? Tell me about how you got to this place.
“If they can start talking about their journey, you will learn more about how the insights of the Gospel can meet them where they are.”
Journalism trains you to ask questions and then get out of the way. Ministry works the same way. The more you listen, the more you learn. The more you learn, the more effectively you can preach, shepherd, and love.
7. Build Love Into the Structure
Near the end of the conversation, David was asked what he hoped pastors would remember when it comes to reaching people. His answer was worth writing down.
“Those people need to be loved, and they need to see the practical action of love in the Church of Jesus Christ. If we’re going to be known as followers of Jesus by our love, that has to be on the front.”
But he did not stop there. He pushed further.
“I don’t think we can leave that to the personal preference of the person in the pew. We need to work the love of people into the church calendar, the church budget, the church staff, the church organism and organization, so that it’s not an afterthought.”
Love, in other words, is not a feeling you hope your congregation catches. It is a decision you build into the bones of how your church operates.
For a deeper look at the systems that support that kind of intentional growth, 13 Church Growth Strategies That Actually Work is worth your time.
The t-shirts around his church in Goldthwaite say it simply: The church has left the building.
A Word of Encouragement
David has been in ministry for over 50 years. He is still learning. He is still going off the beaten path, still writing names on sticky notes, still walking into rooms where he does not quite fit, still trusting that everyone he meets has a story worth hearing.
That is not a technique. That is a calling lived out, one conversation at a time.
If you are trying to preach more effectively, build deeper trust in your community, and truly understand the hearts of the people you shepherd, the place to start is simpler than you might think.
Get out of the office. Drive a different route. Ask a question. Then stop talking and listen.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can pastors better connect with their congregation?
Connection starts with attention. Learn names. Remember what people share with you. Ask follow-up questions weeks later. David Crosby’s practice of reviewing names and stories on Sunday morning before church is a simple but powerful habit any pastor can build. Tools like Tithely People can also help you keep track of those details as your church grows.
What can pastors learn from journalism?
Journalism teaches you to lead with what matters, use plain language, ask good questions, and listen before you speak. All of those habits translate directly into better preaching, better pastoral care, and a deeper understanding of the people in your community.
How do you find the invisible people in your community?
David’s advice is simple: change your routes. Go to places you would not normally go. Sit in waiting rooms. Walk into stores. Show up at civic meetings. Invisible people are not hiding. They are just in places most pastors are not looking.
How can a pastor preach more clearly?
Start by writing one sentence that completes this thought: “Because of this text, I want my people to ___________." That is your lead. Build everything else around it. Journalism calls it not burying the lead. Preaching calls it clarity. They are the same thing.
How do you build trust with your church community?
Trust is built through consistency, authenticity, and showing up. People trust pastors who remember them, who tell the truth about their own struggles, and who are present in the community beyond Sunday morning. As David put it, if you make yourself available, you will get many invitations.
Want more practical resources for pastoral leadership, preaching, and church growth? Explore the Tithely blog for weekly tools, ministry insights, and encouragement designed to help pastors lead well.
Sign Up for Product Updates
Tithely provides the tools you need to engage with your church online, stay connected, increase generosity, and simplify the lives of your staff.
With tools like text and email messaging, custom church apps and websites, church management software, digital giving, and so much more… it’s no wonder why over 53,000 churches in 50 countries trust Tithely to help run their church.
You Might Also Like
More Resources
From increasing giving, managing your congregation, and engaging your church, our collection of resources will keep you up-to-date on the latest church and ministry trends.
Free Resources
.jpg)
