Jump directly to the Content

3 Ways to Plan Your Preaching

What pastors do to keep their preaching fresh, balanced, and useful.

Author H. G. Wells, whose active mind created The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, and War of the Worlds, knew how precious creative thoughts are.

"Most people think once or twice in a lifetime," he observed. "I've made a reputation of thinking once or twice a month."

Pastors, however, are expected not only to think but to deliver powerful ideas once, twice, even three times a week. It's enough to pale both rosy-cheeked seminarians and ruddy veterans. What is the secret of communicating the Word of God to the people of God without them becoming tired of God?

Parents who love their children try to provide food that's both healthy and tasty. Pastors, too, are in the business of feeding the family. After interviewing pastors from a wide range of denominations, a consensus emerged: balanced diets don't just happen. Pastors must plan a nutritious menu.

Part of the planning problem is the complex role of the sermon. A sermon, like a Swiss army knife, must handle ...

March
Support Our Work

Subscribe to CT for less than $4.25/month

Homepage Subscription Panel

Read These Next

Related
Beware of Unintended Curriculum
Beware of Unintended Curriculum
The dangers involved with teaching what you never meant to teach
From the Magazine
The Evil Ideas Behind October 7
The Evil Ideas Behind October 7
The Hamas attacks in Israel have a grotesque ideological history and deserve unflinching moral judgment.
Editor's Pick
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
Understanding God and our world needs more than bare reason and experience.
close