For most of my years as a Senior Pastor, I took time off during the month of July to rest, think, pray, and plan. In addition to allowing me to slow down and engage in personal renewal, I also used this time to do long-range sermon planning and study.
Read MoreIn reflecting back on nearly forty years in the pulpit, I am painfully aware that there were many things I got wrong. Everything from preaching what was trendy to pleasing special interest groups. Or the occasions when I allowed my desire to be seen as “deep” overtake the need to be heard as “practical.” But I got a few things right. Here are some that come to mind:
Read MoreI don’t know where I read it, but this statement has stuck with me for, literally, years. “Every great sermon is a function of both inspiration and perspiration.” The inspiration is God’s business. He provides the material. The perspiration is our business. We have to communicate that material.
Read MoreOne of the ongoing challenges of being a pastor is the never-ending demand of preaching. Though in my 3 ½ decades of church leadership I never tired of the privilege of preaching, I found myself all too often struggling with the responsibilities of preaching.
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