Disciplined Preaching when You're Tempted to Coast

It is July. It is hot. It is humid. Perhaps you will have a vacation. Whatever the circumstances, many look at the “dog-days” of summer as time to take it easy, to relax, to coast. As a preacher you go through many busy seasons. Summer, other than Camp, is generally not one of them. Worship attendance contracts as families take their vacations. Even those who do not travel may have a Sunday or two that is given over to family reunion(s). 

So we are tempted to coast. For a preacher this can take several forms. Maybe you have a “barrel” of sermons which predate your time with your current congregation. Why not just reach in and use those messages? Even if you update them the heavy lifting is all done! More time to relax! I don’t want you to think that I am against relaxing. I try and relax the mental tension of ministry a little bit every day.  Mrs. Beckman and I really do prefer to stay at home. I can generally find something productive to do every day. She’s going to crochet and work on her craft. It is not unusual for me, even while at home, to be working on my craft as well. 

You might counter; “that sounds a little obsessive, Bob.” Of course its obsessive! I love what I do. I am absolutely convinced of the central importance of preaching. I am always thinking about how to apply scripture or how to frame a Biblical argument in such a way that it is persuasive and compelling. Similarly, Mrs. Beckman will often take a deep dive into her yarn collection or her pattern stash. She loves crochet and she is very, very good at it. Why  would she not be obsessed at something which she does well which brings her satisfaction and creates joy for so many people?

The preachers who worry me are the ones who are not obsessed. Those who are not looking to improve. Those who are satisfied with reaching to the bottom of their barrel or who are perfectly willing to pass off someone else’s work as their own. I’m worried about those looking for reasons and seasons for coasting. In my mind that particular quest is nothing but repackaged laziness.  

Yet, summer really is slower. There isn’t as much to do. It is the “off season.” How then can the local preacher remain diligent and productive when the season surfaces the temptation to coast? How can we arrange matters so that we are able to maintain discipline and focus even if it is for fewer hours a day and the pressure is ratcheted down a bit? Three ideas.

Read

There will be times during the year when time to read is harder to come by. Use the summer to cull your reading list. Divide your “to read” pile by genre, discipline, Biblical book, or author. Take the time, be creative, and grease your intellectual skids. The time will be shorter when school starts and the autumn programming season arrives. Use the Summer wisely and prepare mentally for the second half of the year. It may be July, but Christmas is coming. 

Revise

We talked about your “barrel” of sermons earlier. Let me revisit that topic. If you have planned well, written well, and filed well you have a lot of material. If you have been in the ministry for as little as 3 years you should have around 150 messages. As you move into years 4-10 it will become necessary to start repeating  texts (if not sermons). 

Even if you don’t preach those sermons again as they stand they are a rich resource for future preaching, teaching, and writing. If a message is ten years old you are ten years wiser. Revise. If you have a really good sermon on grace and you are called upon to write an article in your church newsletter—revise. You may be able to revise that one sermon into several moths worth of articles as you revise your language, edit carefully, and expand that single sermon for a different kind of publication. 

Review

You should be reviewing your work every week. You should also inventory your work each month. July provides the right time for evaluating your current preaching calendar. What worked. What didn’t. What remaining background research needs to be done for upcoming sermon series—and have I set aside enough time to get the work done? 

We need to do formal reviews because most of us tend to over-estimate time and under-estimate completed work. The only way to be on top of things is to be intentional. We need to look. We need to think. We need to review. 

Unsearchable Riches.

 “To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,” (Ephesians 3:8 ESV)

As a preacher I am a miner. Every day I get to mine the precious ore of God’s Word. I am allowed to proclaim that message in public and private to those who are growing in faith and to those who have none. I am become a herald of God. I get fatigued, but draw strength from Him. I get discouraged and am given encouragement by God’s good people. I fail and am given direction by Godly leaders. I live in a rich, privileged land  filled with people who are blithely unaware of their fallen state. It is a joy and honor to serve Him. Why would I not be obsessed? Why would I look to coast? Why would I risk disappointing the Christ who has called me into service? 

Yes, it is summer. There will be times of refreshment and relaxation. There will also be opportunities for serious work. Don’t give in to the temptation to coast. Soon the season will change again and the Church will need not only your renewed energy but your engaged mind.