Five Steps to Take Now to Right-Size Your Ministry Schedule
There is always more work to be done, and there are precious few of us to do it. To make up for it, preachers do more work. And more work. And more work, until our schedules are bulging at the seams. But I suggest that if our schedules are bulging at the seams, there’s something else going on.
Too Many Sermon Ideas? 3 Ways to Find Your Message Fast
When there are so many potential themes, ideas, characters, and overlap with our world, it can be impossible to know where to start! Here are three strategies to try when you feel stuck because you have TOO many ideas—with a specific process for each.
Getting the God’s-eye view of your ministry
Dedicated planning time helps me step out of the day-to-day to work on my ministry so I have a clearer vision of what to work on in it. It’s what helps me sing—more often and more wholeheartedly—“alleluia” for the gift of serving in Christ’s name. And it helps me sing fewer notes of lament. This kind of practice is transformative, so here are my best suggestions for how preachers can harness the power of planning time outside the ministry.
For the Love of Preaching: Sermon Prep Pandemic-Style (3rd in a 4-Week Series)
While we’re building the kingdom of God, however, most of us in the West “drink the kool-aid” of the productivity-equals-success/respect/love poison our society ladles out for us during our construction breaks. Even though the drink tastes bitter, and we say the Church is in the world and not of it, and we say we hate the stuff, we preachers keep going back and holding out our cups for refills.
While we drink, we look with dismay at that partially constructed kingdom and see all the work left to be done. So we double our efforts, squeezing more tasks into the cracks of time, adding a patch here, pouring cement there, but seemingly to no avail. Because the work is never done and the task lists only seem to grow larger. And that’s in a non-pandemic year.
Encouraging Corporate Bible Study Among Parishioners (A Guest Post)
Consider more particularly how you create spaces for collaborative study relative to the Sunday lectionary readings. The key to empowered participation is to equip people to dig deeply into Scripture and then to really listen to and affirm their input.
Tough Passage? Preach What the Gospel Says (Not What You Wish it Said)
Sometimes the principalities and powers of this world need to be named because they are in need of God’s redemption. However, if we name the same principalities and powers every week people will tune out the urgency. Instead, help people hear the context and need for God’s redemption revealed by the text itself. Let people wrestle with angels through questions posed— without giving answers. Then trust God will convert any willing heart to love Jesus most.
Preaching and the Cornavirus/COVID-19
None of us has lived through anything similar to this before. Certainly none of us has preached into circumstances like these. But Jesus lived with the same kind of daily uncertainty that we’re living in. So as preachers in this new reality, we can follow the model of Jesus, who’s gone before us in crisis.
Resurrecting the Easter Story
You can resurrect the impact of Easter by learning to tell its story more effectively. By helping us empathize with a character’s desires, you’ll pull us in. When you tease out what’s at stake and the conflict it creates, you’ll keep us engaged. Add sensory details, and we’ll live the story with you. Then show us the resolution and the transformation so we’ll see change—a new way of living—is possible.
Save Time This Week With these Lenten Resources
Since this is a tight week with extra sermons, I'm sharing with you our resources for the First Sunday of Lent—for both the Revised Common Lectionary and the Narrative Lectionary. I hope these resources inspire your preaching and streamline your process.
Happy Preaching New Year! A Wish & A Challenge
If your preaching schedule in 2019 felt out-of-control, all-consuming, or even non-existent, this is the challenge—and year—for you. It’s likely a few strategic tweaks can help you enjoy (and improve!) your preaching life without feeling like it’s running your life. Begins January 7th. Join today!
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I participated in the Lectio study today with a complicated and double-speak Gospel (John 17:6-19) and WOW! I received so much great insight and am headed in a direction I feel really good about. Thank you to all my colleagues! If you are wondering if this is worth it, wonder no more. It is.
—Donna G.
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The Gospel People Don't Want to Hear: Preaching Challenging Messages was written to aid preacher’s in understanding what’s at stake for their listeners so they can craft sermons their audience can receive, even if they challenge cherished beliefs.
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