Preaching “God Loves You?” Don’t Miss The Essential Ingredient
What signs or symptoms or evidence can we offer that God’s love isn’t a made-up thing “to placate the masses”—or just make us all feel better?
What to Do If You Think Your Fellow Preachers Aren’t Doing Their Jobs
It came up again this week in light of the horrendous shootings in El Paso, TX, and Dayton, OH. Some preachers are concerned their fellow preachers aren’t doing their jobs.
Two Essential Ingredients to Effective Preaching
Information will help us preach knowledgeably. But to preach authentically—to preach transformationally—we need more than information.
Risking Your Job to Preach The Gospel: Two Questions to Ask First
We often preach a message people already agree with, a message that reinforces what people already believe. When we preach to the choir, we probably don’t feel vulnerable about the anticipated reaction: we expect more kudos than pushback. But what happens when we preach against the choir?
Easter Retreat for Preachers (Free Download)
After you’ve poured yourself out through Holy Week and Easter, here’s our guided retreat for you and the Risen One. You don’t even have to leave home to enjoy it. It’s structured for your choice of ninety minutes, three hours, or six. Enjoy every slow, quiet minute of it.
Lenten Preaching: Why Change is So Hard
We preachers often wonder whether our words have any effect. The people we preach to and the world around us pretty much look the same week after week. It doesn’t often look like the Good News has caught fire in people’s hearts. It doesn’t look like the reign of God is being built. For all our efforts to preach the Good News, how come it looks like nothing much is changing?
Preach Like an Amateur
To be an amateur means you do what you do for the love of it. Not because you have to. Not because you get paid for it. And not because you have a deadline to meet. You do it because you love it. The “greats” in any craft become great because they’re amateurs first. They pursue their craft with joy, zest, and fascination.
"Why Do You Want to Preach?"
If someone asked why we’re called to preach, we’d likely have a ready answer. We’re practiced in the art of the spiritual answer, abdicating the role of our “self” in arriving at ministry’s doorstep, preferring to lay responsibility at the feet of a divine, outside call. And that’s true. But perhaps not complete.
Free Christmas Retreat Guide for Preachers: Renew Your Own Spirit After Renewing Others’
Christmas is a glorious feast, and yet it can leave us drained, longing for a few minutes alone with that sleeping baby boy. We, too, need to fall on our knees to adore God. To help you renew your spirit, I’ve created a stay-at-home, guided retreat you can “take” on any quiet day during Christmastide. Designed to accommodate your choice of three schedules—one hour, three hours, or six—this retreat will guide your feet into the way of peace.
How Do We Preach When Values Conflict?
We regularly preach our values without stopping to name them. Of course, our listeners have their own values: their own running themes they take from Scripture and uphold as most important. What happens when the preacher’s cherished values differ from our members’ cherished values?
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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.
I just have to say WOW. I'm so grateful that I made the investment and joined The Collective. These Thursday [workshops] are a game-changer for me.
—Andrea M.