Finish Well

    The end of the year is bittersweet. We are completing one more circuit around the sun and for the preacher, that means asking ourselves whether we have proclaimed the Son, who, being lifted up will draw all men to Himself. These few days between Christmas and the new year are an opportunity to review, to take inventory, and plot a course for the next several weeks. This may seem like dull stuff after the rush of decoration, preparation, execution of Christmas. It has been busy and as that busyness passes comes a brief time to get our bearings. Bearing getting is not a visible, laudable thing. It is a set of behaviors designed to recalibrate and refocus our energies so that we continue to be effective preachers going forward. It is solitary work. It is early-morning, candle-burning, spade-turning work. It’s not fancy. Many in your congregation would not understand it if you explained it to them. But they’d know if you neglected it because you would be less prepared if you avoided it altogether. Some would sympathize because in their own jobs they take inventory, audit the books, and write annual reports. Preaching is the Best Job in the world. To do the “big J” part of it well means that we must attend to the “little j” part of it also. It is a job as well as the Job.     

    So, get your files in order. In the old days, when I broke into the ministry that meant manila folders, hanging files, and room in the file cabinet. Take the time to label your materials for the coming year. Do it in one sitting if possible. If you have some bored teens around your house, enlist their help. You likely have some cruft leftover from last year. Go through your materials, discard what is unsalvageable and refile what is usable for the next year. 

    In 2021/22 this process is, for the great majority of us, electronic. It takes a good, solid morning's worth of work to create a file folder structure for all your preaching and teaching this year. And it need not be drudgery! This is a chance to go over the big picture of your whole preaching calendar yet again and fix in your mind the course you will navigate during the coming year. You will have stuff that you filed with 2021’s materials and you’re going to want to move it to this year. Most of us have folders that we keep rolling forward year after year, removing materials from them as needed. 

    As you go over those files, inventory your resource needs again. What books are you preaching from and when? What resources do you have, and what do you need? Do you need to save for particular materials? When do you need to pull the trigger on a major resource purchase so that you have enough time to read it before drawing upon it for sermon preparation? 

    If you have piles that have piled up—un-pile them! I’m going to. There are three bowl games on today but no football pileups until I untangle and un-pile the pile just to my left. Start the new year with a clear plan, clean slate, clear desk. 

    Get your statistics, structures, and systems in order. Are you happy with your note-taking methods and tools? Is there a new program you want to try? Perhaps you can download, test-drive, and decide before you really need to know it and roll with it in 2022. Perhaps you received new electronic toys tools for Christmas. Learn how to use them this week. Things will get busier after the new year gets rolling. Learn about your new phone, computer, watch, tablet while you’re sitting there watching the 242nd bowl game between two 6-6 mid-majors who were just thrilled to get out of the Midwest for the holidays.

    Have you gotten some encouraging cards this year? A note from someone who appreciated some aspect of ministry? Re-read them, file them away, and forget them. As you go over your calendar and task/project system you will likely see some misses. Chuckle and move on. You will also notice the hits. You will be tempted to relive every satisfying second. Don’t. Chuckle and move on. Our ultimate audience, our “Boss”, our supervisor is God. Don’t let the naysayers have too much power, and don’t let your fans give you a big head. Keep your nose to the grindstone and continue with the mission. 

    Some of you are thinking, “Wow, Bob did not have much to talk about, ranting and raving about filing, and preparation and stuff to do while watching football.” I beg to differ. This “stuff” which seems insignificant piles up when we avoid it. Eventually, you are going to sit down to do exegesis, plan a sermon series, write newsletter copy, or prepare for Sunday School and the “pile of the un-did” will become a lid on your jar of possibility. Like Sisyphus, you will push, and push, and push eventually finding that your personal pile of past possibilities has become the obstacle to getting the rock of ministry over the hill. 

    It is Wednesday, December 29, 2021. Today I’m going to take some time to begin this process of putting 2021 to bed and waking up 2022. Loose ends will be tied up. I will check under the bed of my mind for discarded socks, match them up, wash them, and put them away. I will get rid of some stretched-out plans and replace them with fresh-new ones for the coming year. I kind of look forward to it. It does not always seem productive, but in 3 or 4 weeks I will be glad I did it. 

    I invite you to join me as we finish 2021 well and begin 2022 with a plan and a purpose which will advance the Kingdom in the place where God has called each of us to service.