Ministry Generalist or Preaching Specialist? Know Your Call
Discerning the priorities God has called you to will help all—family, parishioners, leadership, you—establish proper expectations for your time, preaching, and ministry involvement.
"Holy Crying": The Healing Power of Lament—Even in Eastertide (A guest post)
What comes next will not be a return to what was. What comes next will be a transition period, a time of figuring out the new normal. Transitions by definition mean change, and change, even positive change, brings stress. In the coming weeks when the flowering world signals one message but your soul feels another, remember God’s gift of the Lament and let your holy tears join the rain of the season. Both bring welcomed growth.
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.
The Preacher's Easter Retreat: Hope & Holiness
Whether you have ninety minutes, three hours, or six, this free, at-home Easter retreat is intended to help you reflect on God’s holiness as the source of our hope—because nothing else is as worthy of it.
How to Tell the Story—a Simple Structure for Holy Week, Easter, and Every Sermon
A year ago I wanted to help you prepare for Easter with a series about this simple, save-you-time, quick-to-craft, sermon structure to discern and organize your message. But COVID-19 disrupted everything. I then turned my attention toward preaching into the crisis—and was never able to return to this helpful content. So now, I’m resurrecting the post to show you how to employ this simple story-structure process for Easter (or any sermon).
Palm Sunday Quotations for Preaching and Reflection
Have this collection of inspiration sent directly to your inbox via the link within.
3 Easter Sermon Examples—Based on a 4-Part Framework—to Inspire Your Preaching
As you craft your Holy Week and Easter sermons, consider this 4-part, general scaffold to discern a message for any sermon—with examples of three Easter-tide sermons to illustrate the concept and inspire your own Easter preaching.
Preaching One Year Into the Pandemic
As the U.S. comes to the end of its first year managing the pandemic, I hear frustration among preachers with each other. The source of tension? A disagreement about the best ratio between preaching lament and joy. To all preachers everywhere, I say: Yes. There is the need for lament, and there is the need for joy. And if we’re not sure about the best ratio, and if we’re feeling a little suspicious of our colleagues who tip a bit more toward one side than the other, then our parishioners are probably feeling the same way about each other—and us.
This Lent, there's only what’s in front of us
In our shrunken worlds with fewer distractions, we can be re-membered by God, reminded that it doesn’t matter what the project is, because all there is is what’s in front of us. Whether we serve in that moment to stitch together a prayer or an alternate-reality Ash Wednesday service or a humble email to confirm an appointment, there is only one thing: to serve.
Seeing the Bigger Picture: A Guest Post by The Rev'd Dr. Kenyatta Gilbert
“How you see yourself and read your Bible will dictate your politics. As you consider how to frame sermons from a justice-oriented Christian perspective… I want to [offer] with three message-crafting strategies for helping you and your listeners to see the big picture exegetically and hermeneutically.”
The sermon 52 Framework
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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.
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