Preacher’s Personal Life

Sunday Feedback

/ Peter Mead / 3 Comments

 

Feedback2Feedback is not created equal.  Wise preachers learn to tell the difference.  I suspect more than a few ministries are launched and sustained on the empty energy of post-sermon politeness.  On the other hand, genuine and helpful feedback can strengthen your ministry for years.

Typically my approach is to say thank you for any feedback, then prayerfully evaluate what I am supposed to make of it.  Usually I find that meaningful feedback and compliments will come with a combination of factors – (A) Time – a week or a year later usually means more than five minutes later, (B) Thought – when people are really thinking about what was said, it will typically show, (C) Transformation – the best encouragements are not mere words, but supported by reality.  If all three are missing, then we may be dealing with empty feedback that has the nourishment value of a boiled sweet.

Here are ten reasons why I think it wise not to get too excited by feedback right after you preach.

1. The “competition” reality.  Sometimes people will heap on the praise because they have no real point of comparison.  Don’t assume they are thinking about your favourite preachers when someone tells you that haven’t heard any better.  It may simply be the case that they have a very limited experience of other preachers (sadly true in some churches you might visit), or perhaps…

2. The “memory” reality.  Perhaps positive feedback is skewed by a very limited memory.  What they just heard is the only sermon in their short-term memory, and so it stands out.  Don’t test a “best I’ve heard in months” comment with a “can you tell me the main idea and take home gems from last week’s message?” Chances are, your message may be equally misty come next Sunday!

3. The “polite override” mechanism.  Some people in churches have a politeness override mechanism that makes them say things to be polite that they don’t really mean.  It happens at dinner tables when a dish has been obliterated, but to be polite, they will maintain it is “really good!”  Call it dishonest, or call it polite, but remember it may happen after you preach.

We’ll continue the list next time!

 

Overcoming Preacher’s Block – III

/ Peter Mead / 2 Comments

Block2We are coming to the end of a list of suggestions for overcoming preacher’s block . . . how about:

7. Sleep.  Sometimes when you are stuck, you can be tempted to work late and miss sleep.  Don’t.  Get good sleep and then work productively tomorrow.  We are designed to need sleep.  It can be a real step of faith to leave an issue like this with God and curl up in His arms for the night.  Sadly, too many preachers seem to think God is impressed by sugar and caffeine fueled fatigue that results in a vicious cycle of tiredness and inability to concentrate.  We don’t get medals for staying up late and preaching poorly as a result.  Don’t turn the chance to preach into an opportunity to play a mini-martyr.

8. Confess.  Sometimes preacher’s block is really the fruit of indiscipline, inappropriate distraction, laziness, or some other sin.  I don’t want to come up with a pseudo-solution to avoid facing that.  If you have sinned and become aware of it, then deal with it.  Confess it to God, come back to the cross, repent and lean into His care for you again.  This isn’t some sort of mystical purging ritual.  It is healthy relationship.  You need to walk through the preparation and preaching with God close, so if you don’t feel close due to sin, then get it sorted.  Any short-cut or detour that tries to hide distance in this sense will be an unwise path to take.

What would you add to the list?  What do you do when you get stuck?

Overcoming Preacher’s Block – II

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Block2Continuing our list of suggestions for breaking out of preacher’s block.  Yesterday we thought about Pray, Break and Talk.  Here are some more ideas:

4. Read.  Sometimes it is time for a fresh perspective.  Maybe another commentary on a key section.  Perhaps check some biblical studies books to see if the text appears in the scripture index.  Maybe try a lighter commentary for how they handle this section.  But beware, sometimes the last thing you need is more information in.  This is an option, but it may be the wrong option.  If your block is from a massive input of data and no clarity on how to let the right stuff out, then maybe steer clear of the books at this stage.

5. Write.  Sometimes I get stuck on an outline, or a certain part of a message.  Switching to writing may be helpful.  Perhaps you are struggling with the big picture of the message and need to switch to working out wording.  This may free you up to keep making progress on the message rather than staying stuck on an aspect of the message.

6. Preach.  We are a bit obsessed with “writing” our messages.  Whether it is outlines or manuscripts, we can easily lose sight of the orality of preaching.  The goal is not to write a sermon, but to preach one.  So sometimes the best thing to do is to step away from the keyboard or pen and start talking out loud.  If you were up now, what would you say?  Things that seem so clear on paper sometimes can’t come out of your mouth.  Paper is only one step better than in your head (who hasn’t had clarity in their minds that simply won’t get onto the page?  Well, spoken communication is a step beyond that.  You can feel clear on paper, but still not be able to express what you intend.  Once you hear yourself getting stuck, you know you have issues on paper.  And once you are trying to say it, sometimes you can find a quick detour that makes for an effective message! (Then go write it down.)

We’ll finish the list tomorrow.

Overcoming Preacher’s Block

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Block2Writer’s block is a famous challenge, but I suspect preacher’s block is an equally frequent occurrence.  The time ticks by and Sunday’s deadline keeps approaching.  What should you do if you feel stuck?  Here are eight suggestions.

1. Pray.  Seems obvious, but I need to make this overt.  Pray.  And pray honestly.  Stop praying nice little “Lord I commit this process to you for your blessing and glory” prayers.  Start praying really honestly.  “God, I am really struggling here!  I don’t know what the problem is and I am scared that I won’t be ready in time . . .” – or whatever is on your heart.  Sometimes praying something through out loud means that it is not only God hearing your heart, but you hearing your heart.  Maybe you’ll end up praying about some sin struggle, or about some fear, or a false motivation driving you, or whatever.  Pray as if God is able to take an honest statement or two – the Psalms and Job and Jeremiah suggest that He is.

2. Break.  Sometimes the best thing to do when stuck is to stop trying to move forwards.  Go for a walk, run an errand, read a book unrelated to the message, do some mindless sorting of the admin that has been piling up.  You could say that any break is worth it, but maybe not.  Five minutes on social media could expand to fill the next hour, watching a Youtube clip can be dangerous to your ability to focus, and beware that there is a difference between taking a break and becoming distracted in aimless, or purposeful, procrastination.  A genuine break can really help.

3. Talk.  Who turned preaching into such a solitary pursuit?  Sometimes the very best thing to do is talk to someone about your message.  Either what they say or what you say will be helpful to regenerate momentum.  It could be your spouse, a friend, another preacher, a mentor.  Sometimes talking about the message, the challenge you feel and what still needs to come together, will break open the logjam and help you start moving forwards again.

Tomorrow I will add some more suggestions . . .

Preaching and Patience

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Patience2Life transformation is typically a gradual process.  We tend to focus on the sudden change stories, but even there, when we dig deeper, we tend to find a process that was ongoing for a while.  We can pray for and celebrate the big breakthrough moments, but let’s not forget that God is patiently building the church at all times.

Be patient with the church – By all means preach with expectancy and pray for monumental change, but remember that God has his plans and purposes at work constantly in all the lives that make up your church.  This Sunday’s message is part of that, but God isn’t building his lifetime transformation plan around one sermon.

Be patient with key people in the church – Everyone matters, but sometimes there is one person who dominates your thoughts and prayers for a season.  It could be a so-called “well-intentioned dragon” – a sometimes constructive critic whose stings have gotten your attention.  It could be a person of political influence with their complex motive-set.  It could be an energy-draining individual who needs us to give (and forgive) more than we feel able.  Pray for wisdom, strength, and patience.  God is at work, but rash moves tend to backfire.

Be patient with yourself – Sometimes it only takes one negative comment, or a feeling of failure, and suddenly the personal weakness list can seem overwhelming.  Before we know it, we have determined, in our self-god sovereignty, that this week is the deadline for definite transformation.  Slow down.  By all means do look to God and lean into the changes he wants to bring in your life.  But don’t determine that its now or never and then exasperate yourself with an ungodly panic.  He is at work and we need to be patient with ourselves as well as others.

I am not saying we should weaken our ministry with low expectations, excuse a lack of God-stirred effort as patience or settle for the sometimes easier option of not addressing a difficult situation.  I am simply remembering that God is able to walk at 3mph, yet while we fuss and moan about the lack of transformation, he takes us incredible distances.

 

Worship and Wonder Break

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WorshipWonderLast time we considered the warning sign of preaching “flat.”  Let’s come at this from a different angle.  Does you sermon preparation cause you to:

1. Pray – I don’t mean the diligent prayer that should be part of every ministry preparation.  Apart from Him we can do nothing.  If we are tempted to preach in a prayerless state then there should be warning lights flashing all over our spiritual dashboard.  What I mean here is when the sermon preparation so stirs you that you have to stop and pray.  All our prayer is technically a response to God’s glorious loving initiative, but I am referring to a soul-stirred immediacy of response.  The wonder of the revelation of God’s character in the text; the relevance of the passage to your own heartfelt fears, doubts, concerns or hopes; the privilege of participation in the ministry that overflows from the dynamic unity of the Trinity . . . how often does this stir you to stop and pray?

2. Worship – How easily we can get into the “professional” position of minister seeking to stir worship in the listeners.  But we are not in a separate category.  The only thing that separates us from our listeners is the extended exposure to the same biblical text.  So if we anticipate their response of worship, surely we should take the absence of our response to be concerning.  It is a glorious privilege to stop mid-preparation and pour out your praise to God.  Pause the prep, not for an incoming email, but to put on the song stirred in your heart and sing it out to God.  I think He likes that kind of worship service!  With this response comes…

3. Dream – The realities of weekly or regular ministry can wear us all down.  The lack of response.  The sense that eternity changing pearls from God’s Word have been trampled as fodder for a consumeristic evaluation of the church and pastor’s “performance” – this hurts.  But God is able to lift our hearts and invite us to dream of what could be and should be in the lives of those exposed to God’s Word this coming Sunday.

4. Give Thanks – How often do we pray for relief from the stresses and frustrations that come in a preaching ministry, but fail to thank God for the immense privilege of participating in His great work of building the church.  Time with God?  Give thanks.  Joining Jesus in His ministry?  Give thanks.  Receiving God’s gracious work in your own heart?  Give thanks.

5. Weep – I suspect that the most powerful preaching on a Sunday comes out of the study where exegetical notes and the open Bible have been anointed with tears.  I don’t weep enough.

And if, like me, this post doesn’t resonate with the reality week by week anywhere near as much as it should, what to do?  Back to #1.  Pray.

The Danger of Preaching Flat

/ Peter Mead / 3 Comments

Tired2Sometimes we can’t wait to get the Bible open and preach.  Other times it is a battle to get to the preaching moment.  But one of the most dangerous times is when it just feels flat.

I didn’t preach last Sunday and I am not preaching this Sunday.  So perhaps it is a safe time to write about this danger.  On the dashboard of our ministry life we need to have a light that flashes when we are preaching flat.  What causes it?  What should we do?

Here are some possible causes:

1. Physical Fatigue – driven personalities, parents of young children, stressed church leaders . . . all are in danger of not sleeping enough.

2. Physical Lethargy – bad diet, lack of exercise, high stress levels . . . it is easy to be running on empty, but it is not a good idea.

3. Emotional Drain – perhaps there are issues in the family, or tensions within the church, and be especially wary when you have been on the receiving end of criticism or character assassination . . . a drained emotional tank can lead to preaching flat, or preaching angry – both are dangerous.

4. Relational Strain – if you have a broken relationship with a fellow church leader, a prominent church member, an indiviual in your family, etc., then you may well find your motivation for preaching seeps away.  It is like having a crack in your fuel tank – only addressing the crack will enable you to function properly.  (Remember Romans 12:18 though, you can only do what you can, sometimes people simply refuse to reconcile.)

5. Spiritual Dryness – lack of real communication in prayer, Bible reading has become data-gathering instead of encounter, a lively relationship has drifted into mere disciplines, unconfessed sin has become normal and dulled your spirit, there are many reasons for spiritual dryness.  The problem is that it tends to hide the flashing light on your dashboard.  Your flesh doesn’t want to own a spiritual drift, but your ministry requires that you do.

6. Other – there may always be another reason . . . spiritual attack, medical issue, etc.

So what should you do about it?  Be honest with yourself and recognize when you are preaching flat.  Pray about it honestly.  Ask some trusted friends for anything they sense may be an issue in your life.  And don’t settle for flat as your new normal.  The Gospel, your God and the people in your church need a preacher whose inner fire is being stoked by being with God.  The flat version just won’t do.

Christocentric, Christiconic, … part 2

/ Peter Mead / 6 Comments

img_privilege_3d_02Yesterday I started a list of five alternative labels to ponder for the preacher.  Rather than the Christiconic model espoused in Abraham Kuruvilla’s, Privilege the Text, why not consider these labels for the goal of our preaching?  Are we representing individual facets of Christlike morality in each pericope that we preach, or is something greater going on?  Yesterday we thought about Christotelic and Christodoxological preaching.  Here are three more labels, this time ones I have never heard used elsewhere (you will understand why!)

3. Christopisteuic (Preaching that aims for faith in Christ) – Faith is the gaze of our heart and soul on the provision of God in Christ.  So let’s preach each passage in such a way that the text is honoured, but the listener is not pointed to themselves, their effort, their application, their duty.  Instead point them to Christ that they might believe in Him.  It is a life captivated by Christ that will manifest a self-giving and therefore genuinely Christlike morality that may shock onlookers.  (People are used to seeing self-focused morality that is profoundly unattractive.)

4. Christ0-agapic (even Christofileic) (Aiming for the love of Christ, or brotherly love of Christ) – I am getting closer to the title I really like.  The greatest commandment is to love God and love neighbour.  If anyone does not love Christ, he is accursed (1Cor.16:22).  Let’s make the love of Christ our saviour, our friend, our groom, our brother . . . let’s make that our goal.

5. Trinitari-koinonic  – I think this is my favourite label describing the goal of preaching.  Fellowship with the Trinity.  What an honour!  So as we preach the revelation of God’s heart in the Scriptures, let’s be sure to recognize how each text is revealing God, pointing to his values, recognizing his provision in both Christ and the Spirit, and delighting in his goal to bring us into the embrace of the Godhead by union with the Son through the Spirit.  It is in union with Christ that we discover true life change, because it is only in union with Christ that we can know life itself.  By our union with Christ we can share in the fellowship of the Trinity and thus see radical life transformation.  Anything less, and looking anywhere else, will always disappoint.

Any other suggestions welcome.  Preaching Christ in His Word is such a privilege, and Kuruvilla is right that we have to think carefully how we do that.