Every week pastors around the world set aside time to prepare sermons. We stare at the blank document on our word processor, watching that terrifying cursor blink, almost in unison with the seconds ticking away. It's a stressful time.

Even though I pick out the topics and Scripture for my sermons months in advance, this moment of blank document anxiety begins every week when I sit down to prepare my message. Since I study at home (a place of endless distraction), I find every excuse not to write anything down or read anything from the stack of resources I've pulled from my shelves. Nevertheless, like all pastors, I am fixed to a deadline and must produce something before I can deliver the message.

For many pastors, Saturday night is not a time of fun and entertainment, but of utter madness. Writing is a frustrating process, and I am not sure there is a single person who really enjoys it. Pastors don't write sermons because we want to, we write sermons because we have ...