Preaching Holy Saturday: Proclaiming Good News from the Depths of Grief & Suffering (A Guest Post)
When preachers suffer grief, loss, illness, disability, or despair, still they preach. What does it mean to preach from these depths? What are the unique gifts of preaching from Holy Saturday, that liminal space when all seems lost and yet God continues to work?
Stewardship of Time: Preaching on the One Thing We're Embarrassed to Have More Of
Most resources we guard and amass as precious stones: money, skill, assets. But there’s one resource we give away as though its scarcity were a badge of honor…
The Uncomfortable Relationship Between Preacher, Stewardship, & Congregation: 4 Revealing Conversations
During stewardship season we preach to our parishioners about the need to offer their time, talent, and treasure.
But we preachers need a different conversation.
We need a frank, "backstory" conversation about our personal dependence on parishioners' donations, and the ways money affects our relationships with parishioners and colleagues and our capacity to preach with our whole selves.
Racism and Segregated Sundays: What We Need to Talk About (A Guest Post)
"The most segregated hour of Christian America is 11 o’clock on Sunday morning.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. offered this tragic insight decades ago.
Not much has changed since.
How did we get here? Why do we stay here?
Flat-out racism is a cause, to be sure.
But racism is not the only cause.
This guest post by Backstory Preaching mentor, the Rev. Dr. Melinda Quivik, raises questions helpful to the conversation about how we address our segregated Sundays.
From Insecurity to Impact: Embracing your genuine preaching voice
God. Called. You. To this congregation. At this time. Do you trust that call? Enough to trust your own voice?
Belonging: 5 Keys to Unlock Your Potential as a Disciple (A Guest Post)
The Rev. Karoline Lewis writes, “The Samaritan woman’s encounter with Jesus changes her life and unlocks her potential as a disciple of Jesus. In overhearing this conversation, we discover five aspects of discipleship worthy of our reflection: discomfort, wonder, trust, letting go, witness. This encounter at Jacob’s well should feel encouraging—that our own faith experiences can be trusted. That our own encounters with Jesus are worthy of reflection.“ Read this week’s guest post to better understand and preach discipleship.
Should Preachers use AI to Write Their Sermons? An ArtificIal Intelligence (AI) Primer & Discussion of the Moral Maze
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now widely available and prompting mass conversation about its implications for education, business, tech, and yes, preaching. In all fields, the question begged is: where does the ability of AI end and the need for human thought, analysis, and empathy begin? Head to the blog to read a sermon written by AI and consider where AI could or should be used in preaching—or not.
Revitalizing Your Ministry: How the Wheel of Life Can Help Preachers Thrive in Their Work (A Guest Post)
If you were thriving in your preaching life, how would you know? I define thriving as feeling a sense of vitality, confidence and peace despite whatever might be swirling around me. And that means bringing life into balance so that ministry does not swallow up the other meaningful and necessary elements of a vibrant existence. The Wheel of Life helps us quickly diagnose where life may be out of balance so we can make conscious choices to shift our attention and energy for a thriving ministry AND preacher.
Every Second Counts: The Power of the Pause in Preaching & Life (A Guest Post)
12-step recovery communities value the practice of pausing because they acknowledge sometimes our first thoughts aren’t necessarily our healthiest thoughts. That’s true for anyone, including preachers. Read on to see how the power of the pause can help preachers in sermon preparation and life.
Grounded Confidence, Meaningful Connections, and Preachers
The practice of grounded confidence helps us face our insecurities and develop meaningful connections to build the body of Christ. And we preachers need a sacred space to practice grounded confidence so we can proclaim the good news we’ve been called to preach as only we can preach it.
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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.
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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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