theology & leadership
My family has spent a lot of time in the hospital. I mean a lot. My son, Kaleb, has spent more time in the hospital than anybody I know. From the time he was born, until the present day, hospitalizations have been a common part of his life. Hospital stays have ranged from a day,... Continue Reading →
To develop people who can preach takes time and effort. Like a bad diet is easier than eating healthy, it is easier not to raise up new preachers and just keep a heavy load of preaching. It is the path of less friction. To form a preaching team requires commitment.
There is no such thing as neutrality. This means that nobody is unbiased. There are no neutral people. Everyone has views on what is true, good, and beautiful.
Ministry is tough. The daily work is a thankless job. You rarely see the progress you desire. Organizational change takes time. People do not mature overnight. Leadership is already hard, but when you add our tendency to compare ourselves with others, it grows more difficult.
Every leader wants to be highly productive and fruitful. It is in our DNA. We want to know we used our time and energy for the maximum results. Yet most of us do not end our day or our week feeling we achieved those goals. That is probably why you are reading this article.
If we make it our aim to help people, which should be the driving force behind our sermon prep, then there are a few benchmarks along the way we need to make sure we cover.
"How much time do you give to sermon prep each week?" I regularly get asked this question by other pastors and ministry leaders. The trouble with this question is that it doesn't have a one-size-fits-all answer. Some pastors preach multiple sermons each week.
Your wake up time shapes your day and success. When do you get out of bed? Do you attack the day or sleep until the last minute? This leaves you playing catch up the rest of the day.
Our adversary the Devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking to devour people (1 Peter 5:8) who answer the question this way. How so? Because he is halfway from getting you to curse God.
