A New Goal for Preachers: Peaceful Productivity (A Guest Post)
Recently, I guided participants through a process to make space for sermon prep for the multiple sermons they’d be writing for Holy Week and Easter. I encouraged three steps, and while there was some resistance to the third, once completed, I sensed a shift in energy and renewed sense of enthusiasm for the tasks ahead. Read on to energize your own sermon prep with this 3-step scheduling process.
X Marks the Spot: Blocking Time for Yourself (A Guest Post)
We’re tempted to believe the spirit moves by whim in un-scheduled and unpredictable ways. But Peterson models, and I’ve experienced, that the inspiration and insights of preaching are more often rooted in practices that make space for us to invite and hear the spirit.
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.
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.
To Do or Not to Do: The Hidden Costs of Ministry Decisions
Every time we assume responsibility for a plumbing leak, a pastoral care request, a new bible study, the church bulletin, an email newsletter or blog, a staff meeting, a new initiative, etc., something else is lost. The problem comes when we keep saying yes without recognizing the corresponding no. As a result, we say goodbye to any semblance of a sabbath, to family togetherness, or to the peace of mind on Sunday mornings that comes from delivering a well-prepared sermon.
My Three Preaching Resolutions for 2020
I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions. January 1st has always felt like an arbitrary date to begin the things I know I need to do. However, three goals of mine happen to coincide with January 1st as the start date. Perhaps these goals—or resolutions—will inspire you and your preaching.
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!
This Christmas, Preach about Jesus's Wheelhouse
Aiding your listeners to enter 2020 with clarity about their wheelhouses might be the very best gift they receive this Christmas.