Question:
When preaching, why is the preacher not more lively?

Answer:
I am not exactly sure what the inquirer has in mind when they say
“lively.” I will assume they mean “more enthusiastic” and “expressive in their words.” To be sure, one should be enthused about what they are preaching about, whether it be the gospel to the unsaved, or truth for fellow-believers. But one’s enthusiasm may not be expressed according to what we think it should be. There was not a more zealous preacher of the gospel than the Apostle Paul and yet let us see the manner of his preaching when in the city of Corinth: “And I brethren, when I came to you, came NOT WITH EXCELLENCY OF SPEECH OR OF WISDOM, declaring unto you the testimony of God…and I was with you IN WEAKNESS, and IN FEAR, and IN MUCH TREMBLING. And my speech and MY PREACHING WAS NOT WITH ENTICING WORDS OF MAN’S WISDOM, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5). We can surely believe that Paul was in dead earnest when he preached to them, but he avoided eloquence and anything which would draw attention to himself and distract from the theme of his message, which was Christ crucified (v. 2). He was not like many of today’s televangelists who strut across the stage like a proud peacock using all sorts of fancy words.
Now I am not saying that it is necessarily wrong to exhibit some excitement while preaching, but it had better be emotion produced by the Spirit of God, not by the idea that you must perform for those who are hearing the Word preached. I have seen tears well up in the eyes of earnest preachers when the sufferings of Christ were being spoken of and I believe they were produced by the Spirit of God. On the other hand, I have seen men laughing and joking while preaching the Word and it was evident that pride was at work resulting in mere entertainment (if you can call it entertainment). So then, we do want to see men speaking in earnest (which may or may not be with a lot of expression), but we should shun the desire to see a “lively” preacher who is merely seeking to draw attention to himself.