Ministry is like most occupations: there are times when, in the immortal words of Johnny Paycheck, when you want to take this job and shove it. So what do you do when you're a pastor and Mr. Paycheck is singing to you? For you? Well, as a survivor of a few of those...
I'm not going to lie. I liked yesterday's message a lot. I liked the set up for the sermon -- a song by Don Henley & Trish Yearwood called Words Can Break Your Heart. Don and Trisha weren't with us in person, mind you, but their roles were filled more than...
I was speaking recently with a colleague about preparing and delivering remarks for a memorial service when we came up with a formula for the whole process.If you write out whatever it is that you're going to say (and I usuallly do), here's what we pray happens:What's...
Yesterday was a different experience for me at Good Shepherd.For one, I wore a jacket and tie. The most frequently asked question was "what's the deal with the tie?" A few people even suspected that my Methodist "boss" would be in the service -- perhaps having heard...
I once attended a church where one of the pastors suffered larynx damage that slowly but surely robbed him of his voice.A preacher without a voice is like a car without a gas pedal. Doesn't work.Which gets me thinking . . . who are some preachers with voices of...
I heard portions of Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to a joint session of Congress yesterday.I have to say, it was stunning. I pulled over in my car and began writing as much of it down as I could.Even if you disagree with Netanyahu's politics and its implications,you...
On two different occasions last week, I shared with people here how I prepare sermons.I'd never done that even once before, and yet here I was giving detailed explanations two times in three days to folks in the process of growing their own preaching skills.I talked...
Every so often, something I say in a sermon elicits spontaneous applause from the people of Good Shepherd. I can't generally predict when this will happen . . . usually it follows a bold-ish comment about the unique-ness of the Risen Christ.It's certainly most common...
I had it all planned out. As part of yesterday's sermon, I was going to do an "experiment" demonstrating that a) oil and water don't mix; b) there is a product made up of primarily oil & water -- mayonnaise; and c) the reason mayonnaise works is because eggs are...
I have an entire file drawer dedicated to sermon illustrations.Beginning with one for "Abortion" followed by one for "Addictions" and then continuing on to places like "Grief," "Healing," "Methodism" (over which I have some grief and is in need of healing!), then into...