The #1 Thing You Gotta Know About Good Sermons (you can't get there if you don't know where you're headed)
"That was a good sermon."
"Wow! That sermon hit home!"
"I'm going to think about this one."
"That was your best sermon ever."
You've probably heard all of these comments.
But can you articulate what made the sermon good?
Stop and Smell the Ink: How Creative Play Makes You a Better Preacher
If you've only ever started 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.
3 Steps to Make Your Continuing Ed "Stick" (Like This Certificate in Technology in Ministry)
How come we learn great stuff but it doesn’t affect our preaching long-term? After the initial boost of energy wears off, we’re right back to our old ways. Getting learning to stick requires a plan. Master this three-step process to ensure your next investment in professional development produces the improvement you seek.
On Preaching and Patriotism: A Work in Progress
July 4th is the USA’s Independence Day, and this year it lands on a Sunday. You might not be a U.S. resident, but you probably face the same questions in whichever country you call home. People around the world blur the lines between national observances and Christian holidays, making preaching on or around those days tricky. Below is an approach to preaching and patriotism to help you preach the gospel so people can hear it.
Redefining "Normal": A Preacher's Ongoing Re-Entry Plan
As many congregations are finding their way back to in-person worship, the temptation is strong to regain a sense of normalcy. But getting back to normal is only worthwhile if the “normal” we knew before is relevant to our present realities. In other words, does what you used to do make sense now? Here are five considerations for “re-entry” after COVID.
The Books I’m Taking on Vacation: Summer Reading Suggestions for Preachers
As I prepare to go on vacation in July, not only am I making my reservations and making lists of the various types of clothes I’ll need, I’m also collecting books! I collect and read a wide variety of topics because all of it informs my preaching. Some books help me grow as a person. Some help me revel and delight in God’s creation and humans’ imaginations. Some help me better organize my life. And all good writing, regardless of genre, helps me grow in my craft. Here’s what’s on my summer reading list.
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.
Preaching to Insignificant Specks? Maybe. Maybe Not.
One event from one photo gets interpreted by two people. Those two people experience a shift in understanding. The new understanding becomes part of their backstory. Their backstory then influences their preaching.
Our backstories are always preaching. That’s what it means to be human. Are we aware of what it’s preaching?
You Should Experience This Preaching Blog
Adults (and kids—have you noticed?) don’t like to be told what to do. When we’re told we should do something, it make us feel defensive and shamed, like we don’t know what we’re doing, like we’re expected to do better or be better than we are. Moreover, shoulds can feel like yet more things to add to an already overburdened day. making us feel defeated and exhausted before we even try—even if we know engaging those activities is likely to do the opposite! How do we avoid this dynamic in our sermons?
Sermon Ghostwriters Now? There Really Is a Better Way.
“His probing questions were about trust: Were the words of my mouth really the result of the meditations of my heart—or someone else’s?”