Sermons

5 Reasons to Stop Making Your Sermon Notes Rhyme

January 8, 2021 / 1 minute of reading

Recently, I was doing a session with pastors on how to preach better sermons for today’s congregations. When I advised them to stop making their sermon notes rhyme, something in the room shifted.

The older pastors recoiled in horror at the idea. But the younger pastors became like bobble-heads nodding up and down. So I paused to point out the difference.

“Am I right on this one?” I asked the young leaders. Their nodding increased. So I went on, supported by my bobble-head choir of young leaders, to explain why I no longer make my sermon notes rhyme or alliterate.

Want to Write Something Great? Write Something Lousy First

January 9, 2021 / 5 minutes of reading

Writing one sermon is hard. Writing two is easier. The same goes for blog posts, articles, books… you name it.

You just have to follow this simple rule: Write a bad one first, then write a good one after that.

This discovery has been one of my most helpful tools in becoming a better writer. Here’s why.

The bad one is easier to write. Then the good one becomes easier to write after you’ve written the bad one. After all, you’ve already done the hard part. You’ve started. And by the time the bad one is done, the good one is halfway written already.

I follow this rule for all my writing. I start by getting everything on the page in one big mess. Then I start writing the good one out of the mess because it’s easier to fix a bad sermon than it is to start with a blank page or screen.

Here’s how I do it.

Same Workload, Fewer Numbers: Why a Small Church Pastor May Need Your Encouragement Today

May 14, 2014 / 3 minutes of reading

Pastoring is hard work, with little reward. No matter what size your church is. Pastoring a Small Church is hard work with fewer tangible rewards. Not to mention what sometimes feels like a constant drumbeat of criticism when your church isn’t growing like some people think it should.

If you’re a Small Church pastor or church leader, please take this short blog post as evidence that you’re loved and appreciated. You’re not alone. God knows. And so do a lot of us who work in the trenches with you.

Why I Don’t Go to the Bible to Find a Text to Preach On

April 4, 2014 / 3 minutes of reading

When we treat the bible like a collection of sermon texts, we lose the wonder and the beauty of it. When we read it to find material to preach from, we stop hearing God speak to us. And when that happens, we start dying spiritually. It’s all output and no inflow.

That’s a dangerous position for a pastor to be in. And it has killed many great ministries. Don’t let it kill yours.