Start Early, Go Deeper 10.20.2022

    At this point in October, about 85% of my sermon texts are determined for 2023. There are some remaining text-selection issues that will be clarified through a more detailed study. For example, next year I’m doing a five-sermon series taken from the wisdom literature of the Hebrew Bible. The five sermons will each be "book" sermons. Clearly not the whole of each book.  I will need to do some preliminary study prior to choosing each specific preaching unit. The series does not begin until June. Sometime around mid-April, I will begin resourcing and researching. My method for this kind of series is to put together pretty detailed outlines during the study phase. I will try and make the outline for each book coherent with the others. This will be a little tough because of the difference in form between wisdom aphorisms, songs of praise, and the sort of dramatic epic that is Job. I have allowed plenty of time to get the research done so that I can spend time on the writing. This brings us to the subject of this week’s essay.

    Starting early is essential for doing deeply detailed work. In parallel with my Sermon Calendar work itself, I have been resourcing and researching Mark for most of the month. I will not be in Mark until January. I have a couple of months to do detailed background, historical, textual, and theological work. If I waited until the last minute to chart the course for each individual sermon, then I won’t have any work in storage to draw from when doing weekly work on each message. I’m reminded of something that Jesus said.

      “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” And he said to them, “Therefore     every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings     out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”” (Matthew 13:51–52 ESV)

    Regardless of the specific section of scripture or particular book, I want to be that scribe trained for the Kingdom, able to bring out of my treasure old things and new things. I have previously preached from every book I have scheduled for 2023. I have preached from some of them a lot. For much of my ministry, I have preached from the book of Acts every single year. I’ve got some old stuff. I’ve got a lot of old sermons. A growing preacher is always exploring newer scholarship, trying to be a properly disciplined scribe getting some new treasure. Much of it won’t add anything to our knowledge of the text. But there might be a cleverly written phrase,  an analogy, a quip, or well-articulated nuance that will help us to see all the old stuff, the data, and details we already know, with new insight. 

    Starting early provides the time to go deeper. Starting early means that we can begin and abandon exegetical processes knowing that we have ample time to explore blind alleys, dig new wells, and to re-dig old wells. If you are always only exegeting next Sunday’s text on Monday, you will not have the time to really explore the details, you will rely more on secondary literature than your own finely tuned exegetical eyes, and you will sacrifice precious writing and editing time just getting the study part finished. 

I still have more of that “work, work” yet to complete. Scheduling, tracking, and organizing a year’s worth of preaching remains. By getting an early start I can intersperse the drudgery with the much more fulfilling work of study. I have a third of the month left to get the basic organizational work done without becoming zombified by the clerical side of things. I still need to think through other lessons and studies, as well as plan this weekly blog and other writing projects. If I was still laboring over “what am I going to preach” week after week I would not be able to focus on the basic pastoral function of being “devoted to prayer and the ministry of the Word.” 

    You might be thinking “I can’t do that; the armor just doesn’t fit.” I understand. I’m not saying, “do it my way.” I’m saying, “do it your way, with enough time to do it with excellence.” There really are many ways to skin a cat. Pick your method, and skin your “cat”. They won't skin themselves. These cats, (your method of working) are not like garter snakes. They don’t sidle up to a rock, nick themselves under the neck, and wriggle out of their own hide.  Yes, there are lots of ways to “skin a cat.” And every single one of us must do our own skinning. I’m skinning mine. I’m doing what I can to help you skin yours. When it is time to go into the pulpit the “cat-skinning” is done. Will you be adequately prepared?