Recently, I wrote Developing the Preaching Gift where I listed five steps I am taking to grow as a communicator. One of the steps is to (periodically) review Communicating for a Change by Andy Stanley and Lane Jones (for more on this book, see my post, One-Point Preaching). I am in the process of reviewing… Continue Reading »
No matter what our gifts are, we should constantly work on developing them. That certainly includes those of us called to the work forming and equipping followers of Jesus Christ through the proclamation of God’s Word. Unfortunately, too many people believe the old adage, “practice makes perfect.” I once heard John Maxwell say, “Practice doesn’t… Continue Reading »
This morning, I was reading in Luke 4. As I read the account of Jesus’ first recorded sermon, I thought about how “successful” it was in light according to the way we often think of success (i.e., whether or not it produces some positive response). In a Nazareth synagogue, located in the community where Jesus… Continue Reading »
I recently finished reading one of the books on my list of things to read/do before ordination (see 150 Days of Preparation for Ordination and 75 Days of Preparation for Ordination). The book is John Wesley: A Preaching Life by Michael Pasquarello, who teaches at Asbury Theological Seminary. I was interested in the book because… Continue Reading »
In the 1784 edition of the Discipline (as well as a number of subsequent editions), which includes the list of Rules for Preachers, also includes a list of “smaller advices which might be of use to us.” Here’s the list (with original, archaic spellings) … Be sure never to disappoint a congregation. Begin at the… Continue Reading »
The worship song, “Change My Heart, Oh God” (by Eddie Espinosa, 1982) has been a meaningful and challenging song for me ever since I first heard it a couple decades ago. Lately, I’ve been thinking about it in regard to sermon preparation. A common pitfall for preachers is to preach to others but not to… Continue Reading »
Over the last three years, I’ve written several posts on preaching, including: StoryMapping, One-Point Preaching (two of the most popular links on the blog), It Takes 20 Years to Make a Sermon, The Role of Preaching, The Preaching Challenge, The Preaching Process, 5 Stages of Sermon Preparation, and What is Preaching?. Five years ago, I… Continue Reading »
Lately, I’ve been reminded about a fairly common idea/phrase — leading/ministering out of the overflow. This is why preparation — ongoing personal growth — is so important. Last fall, I wrote about preparation in one of my posts on “The Nines” (specifically The Nines Marathon; see also More on the Nines) and continued the reflection… Continue Reading »
Ikeep thinking I’ve written my last post in this series, but here’s yet another one. Maybe it’ll be my last (for a while). I’m posting another update mainly because the week after the last post, I made significant changes to it — more in structure/grammar than in content. I think it feels more natural this… Continue Reading »
Ihave been chewing on the question, what is preaching, for a while. Is preaching simply teaching people about the Bible or giving an inspirational message, or is it more than that? This isn’t an exhaustive discussion on the nature of preaching, of course, but I’ve been thinking about preaching as communicating, proclaiming (i.e., good news),… Continue Reading »