The Surprising Key to Writing Your Sermon Faster
There are times when muscling a sermon from the blank page through gritted teeth is actually counter-productive. When more is actually less. And when effort is not proportional to results. When we find ourselves dreading the blinking cursor at the top of our empty document, we may want to try a different tool than pure effort.
Stop and Smell the Ink: How Creative Play Makes You a Better Preacher
If you usually start your sermon prep with gritted teeth, we have an invitation for you. It's time to try a new way: begin with play.
How? We'll get to that.
But first, let's convince your logical left brain why letting your right brain have a turn at the wheel might get you to your destination more effectively.
A Rule of Life for Preachers: The Preacher's Trust
At Backstory Preaching, we encourage preachers to develop and practice a type of rule of life specific to our vocation: The Preacher’s Trust. The Trust is a grace-filled structure upon which to grow as a child of God who happens to be called to preach, transforming our lives to reflect the Good News we preach. Discover the beauty of this spiritual practice for preachers.
Happy Tenth Birthday, Backstory Preaching!
Happy Birthday to Backstory Preaching (BsP)! We are TEN years old! From the most unlikely of beginnings, here we are! Truly, the Holy Spirit's imagination is so much bigger than I ever dreamed it could be.
Christmas Retreat for Preachers (2025)
The flurry of Christmas activity is over. Now it is time to rest—and rejoice! This free, downloadable Christmas Retreat is our gift to help you do just that. Whether you have ninety minutes, three hours, or a whole day, we’ve provided suggestions for flexible schedules so you truly go on retreat for as much time as you have available.
Rest. Tumble into grace and lay there for a good while. Give thanks. Rise refreshed. We'll preach the Good News in 2026 together.
Three (Merry) Christmas Sermon Themes
It is TOUGH this year! The cost of a Christmas turkey is sky-high, ICE agents will be patrolling churches on Christmas Eve, and the promise of another year of increasing chaos and dehumanization makes us want to stay in bed and not wake up to 2026.
And yet—this year, like every other year for the past 2025 of them—will still be a merry one. Why?
Today's blog offers three Christmas sermon themes that allow all of us to claim, from the bottom of our hearts, Merry Christmas, indeed.
Christmas Gifts for Preachers (2025)
Every year I compile a list of suggested gifts for preachers, perfect to send to Santa—or to drop hints for your loved ones! I have a blast perusing the internet to find gifts I know I'd enjoy and hope you would, too. In fact, there are a couple I might go ahead and splurge on myself!
Merry (Early) Christmas, Preacher!
Five Simple Steps So You Can Breathe Deeply Through Advent
As Christmas approaches, many stresses become more acute and frequent—like the pressure to produce high quality (though not-over-the-top-perfect) sermons, liturgies, and music; pastoral care needs; disagreements between church leaders; and the expectations of parishioners, your family, and, perhaps, even yourself.
Follow these five steps to have a season of calm, connection, and clarity.
Advent Quotes for your Sermons
The First Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of the new Church year, and what better way to welcome it than reflecting on quotes that will inspire our spirits and sermons for Advent and all year long.
These quotes focus on the ways God increases our faith during periods of uncertainty—kind of like now. Get your copy today.
On Preaching Advent: Forget What You Know
As we know, every year the cultural push of Christmas starts often before Thanksgiving, creating a stark disconnect between the celebration of Advent (it’s not the Christmas season yet!) and the Christmas atmosphere all around us in stores, personal preparations, and traditions.
But Advent is not a commemoration of Jesus’s birth millennia ago. It’s not yet time for the Nativity. Rather, Advent is a time of forward-looking anticipation with implications for today. Reorienting our advent preaching toward the future will help us preach with depth and meaning the messages we need right now.