God wants preachers to embody the joy of their vocation.
Joy, because we know, trust, and rely on God.
Joy, because we abide in the Word until we are so filled with it that we can’t wait to tell others.
Joy, because we get to share that Word—and people listen!
I also believe God wants us to find joy in the process of developing a sermon.
I know preachers find joy in parts of developing a sermon—but not all of them.
Many of us get stuck at certain steps along the way, and there are many steps: from praying to discerning the message to proclamation to review (yes, sermon prep continues after the sermon!).
Some of the steps flow easily.
Others? Not so much. Others are bypassed altogether.
After working with thousands of preachers, I’ve found some common reasons we get stuck.
I’ve also learned from preachers how to get unstuck.
This is the first of three in a series about getting stuck during sermon prep and how to get unstuck.
Today, we’re looking at three sneaky saboteurs that derail our sermon prep before we even get started.
Not all will apply to you.
When they don’t, know that they do for many, and pray for those who struggle. Offer compassion and empathy to your colleagues.
These common reasons we get stuck often mirror the reasons our parishioners get stuck in the steps of their own responsibilities, so you may even discover sermon ideas here.
SABoteur #1: You’re skipping prayer
Praying is essential.
Whether it’s contemplative prayer, the Daily Office, lectio or vizio divina, the Jesus Prayer, Ignatian prayer, something else or a combination of the above, payer is essential.
Not just praying about our sermon or praying for our listeners, but praying for the sake of our own spirit.
Here’s the short of it: if we’re not praying regularly, we’re missing out.
We’re missing out on the very relationship we’re preaching about.
In addition, God is missing out on receiving our full attention.
God wants to linger in our company, and hopes we want to linger in God’s.
Spending time with God restores our soul with love and grace that’s just for us. It reminds us why we offer ourselves in ministry and service. It renews our hope and trust that “all shall be well.”
We know all this, and yet many of us don’t take time to pray.
Sticking point: The Tyranny of the Urgent
We get stuck by the tyranny of the urgent. We tell ourselves that we’re too busy and have too much to do.
When we do, at root we’re saying the tasks matter more.
Perhaps for a season they do, especially when caring for children or loved ones in poor health.
But if we’re not in one of those seasons, are we telling ourselves a true story that other things are truly more important?
In addition, sometimes we set aside a time to pray as part of our daily routine and then get interrupted.
We travel for work or vacation, or the only time a committee can meet is during that time, or it’s the only time we can get into a medical appointment.
There are so many interruptions to the schedule we might wonder why we even try and give up.
Sticking point: Boredom
Nearly all of us get bored during prayer at least some of the time.
When it feels like “nothing” is happening, we can lose the incentive to stick to the practice.
Sticking point: Not Knowing How
Not all of us have been exposed to the types of prayer mentioned above, or been taught how to practice them.
Not all of us know how to pray or know where reliable sources are to learn.
Getting Unstuck
Reflect or journal on these questions:
What do you tell your parishioners about the purpose of prayer and how to practice it?
Why do you tell them this? What are your hopes for them? What do you believe are God’s hopes for them when they pray?
If a parishioner says they want to pray but don’t have time, how would you respond?
If a parishioner says that they used to pray but it “didn’t do anything for them” so they quit, how would you respond?
If a parishioner asks for ideas about beginning a prayer practice, what might you suggest?
What do your responses suggest to you?
Saboteur #2: Your physical space slows you down
Our environment enhances or gets in the way of our focus and creativity.
Some people thrive in creative chaos.
The workshop of the famous mobile sculptor Alexander Calder was legendary for its mess of tools, scraps, and clutter! It certainly worked for him!
For most of us, though, the more chaos or clutter around us the harder our minds have to work to screen it out the visual overload and stay focused.
The harder our minds have to work during sermon prep, the more fatiguing it is, and the more we might not look forward to it.
Sticking Point: Are you working in creative chaos or just chaos?
This is absolutely one of my personal obstacles.
Though I know how much better I feel working in an uncluttered space, I routinely work with and around it, and I know why: engaging in creative pursuits is just more interesting than the boredom of picking up an object and putting it away, one after the other after the other.
STicking point: You have to work in a shared space
You may not have a dedicated work space.
Your sermon prep space might be the home dining room table that you share with your kids and their homework, or a shared office with a co-pastor or administrative assistant.
Sticking point: notifications interrupt your flow
The chaos of our space isn’t only visual.
Chaos can be audible and physical, too!
These might be the notification pings on your mobile phone or computer, or banners flying into your field of view.
They might also be “notifications” from the administrative assistant or parishioners who want “just a quick moment.”
Getting Unstuck
When we want to show gracious hospitality to guests, we pick up, clean, and adjust the decor to be beautiful.
The goal is to put guests at ease so they can relax and enjoy the event.
Don’t we want the same during sermon prep? To be put at ease so we can relax and enjoy this time with God and Scripture?
Show yourself the same gracious hospitality. You’re worth it! The work is worth it!
Pick up, clean up, and adjust the decor (perhaps with fresh flowers or new candles) so you look forward to your work.
Working in a shared space?
Set up a three-fold poster board or bring a free-standing screen to the office to create a visual block.
Or is there an unusual space that you haven’t considered useable?
Susan Cain (author of Quiet and Bittersweet) actually got up very early and wrote in a home closet for years while her children were little!
As to notifications of any kind: Turn. Them. Off.
Add a “do not disturb” sign to the door and see what happens.
If all else fails, head to the local coffee shop.
Saboteur #3: You Don’t Have a Plan
Just like rules, plans are made to be broken.
And just like rules, when we don’t have a plan we don’t have a guide.
When we don’t have a guide for our time, then it causes rising anxiety as the week goes along as we wonder when we’re ever going to get the sermon written.
sticking point: you’ve given up on planning
As mentioned above, plans are made to be broken when something truly urgent comes up.
However, we can break our plan so often that we give up on trying.
The urgent always seems to win.
But are the urgent tasks truly urgent?
Or are they prioritizing others’ schedules over your own?
Or are the tasks masking themselves as a “legitimate” form of procrastination?
sticking point: Plans don’t work because You have too much to do
If you have so much work to do that it consistently gets in the way of attending to one of your highest priorities (preaching), then this is a systemic problem, not a planning or calendar problem.
Sticking point: You don’t have a plan to make a plan
Without a routine to look ahead and plan for daily, weekly, and monthly tasks, then this is what can happen: “Time is what we spend our lives with. If we are not careful we find others spending it for us” (Carl Sandburg, as told to his friend in 1951).
Getting Unstuck
Pray, reflect, journal, or head to therapy if you’re letting other people spend your time for you.
Why do others’ needs so often supersede your own?
Why are other priorities so much higher than sermon prep?
What are the expectations in your congregation, spoken and unspoken, about your role and responsibilities as a preacher?
What conversations do you need to have with the parish leadership to bring your workload down to a human-sized portion?
Start a new routine to stay an hour after church on Sunday to plan your week, beginning with your prayer and sermon prep time.
Try that as an experiment for four weeks to guard that time as assertively as you would a doctor’s appointment you’ve been waiting months for, and see what happens.
Subvert the sabotage
Before we even think about thinking about our sermon, we might have made it harder for ourselves.
Implement these three changes today to get unstuck and make sermon prep the spiritual and creative priority it deserves to be:
Renew your prayer life to get in touch with God.
Redesign your sermon prep space so you look forward to it and it supports your work.
Make a plan — and stick to it.
You’ll begin your sermon prep in a state of gratitude, remembering every time you prepare a sermon that you get to preach.
If you have suggestions for your colleagues about getting unstuck during sermon prep, please share about it below!
Want help subverting your Sermon Prep Saboteurs?
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Over the course of 6 weeks, you’ll discover how to:
root sermon prep in prayer for greater fulfillment, growth, and insight
prepare a sermon prep environment that supports your preaching
embrace your identity as a beloved child of God first—and preacher second
apply practical tools to exegesis and sermon writing for more efficient preparation
nurture a sermon prep rhythm you can rely on for years—that feeds the rest of your ministry
By the end, you’ll have established a new process that integrates your spirituality and your voice with practical tools to improve your preaching.