Some Change of Pace 6.18.2026

     Reviewing and tidying up are focused on externals. We review to see where we have been so that we can move forward into our preaching calendar with confidence. We tidy up our control systems to make sure we can maintain control over the rules and tools that help us to manage our time. Today I want to discuss how a change of pace can help clear our minds so that all that redeemed time has mental bandwidth to do its thing. 

    We need a change of pace to help us keep the edge. We are nearly half a year into studying, thinking through, and writing about specific texts and themes.  As we move through our sermon calendars we read, study, make notes, do the research—all of which can dull the mental edge we began with. Like you, I still have quite a lot to do before I’ve written all and said all I intend to say in 2026. I have two more sermons in Proverbs and then the rest of the year will be taken up with more preaching from the Gospel of John and a brief series from 1 John. I have pretty much been on this Johannine glide-path the entire year and when studying the same basic subject(s) it is common to lose emotional enthusiasm, mental flexibility, and intellectual sharpness for the project. And I’ve not even mentioned plain ol’ fatigue or waning curiosity which are also lethal to good study and preparation. 

    The best remedy I know of is changing the pace of what you read and consider. These suggestions are not typical, and some might think that they are out of place in a preacher’s study. I disagree. We need to be sharp. We need to be curious. We need to be able to think critically. We need to be creative. We need to be flexible. We need to be engaged. The best way to accomplish these tasks is to find something to occupy our minds that keeps the synapses buzzing without just adding to the mental load of preparing sermons, lessons, essays, and presentations. It is not selfish or indulgent to keep your mind occupied and engaged with materials that do not dovetail into explicit, ongoing work. Consider the following. 

Reading for Profit and Pleasure

    Let me put it this way. You cannot read for “prophet” if you never read for “profit”. Some investments do not have an immediate return and if you don’t do that broader reading eventually the plumbing will get gummed up. 

    What interests you? What makes you laugh? Are you curious about history or architecture, archaeology or mythology? Read those books. Sit at your desk, engage with a text that does not immediately address something you’re preparing to speak about. Take notes, file them, and sit on the information.  

    Preachers need to know about Theology and History. Keep a list (or stack) of books to be read. Make sure that many of those books address broad hermeneutical and theological questions. These are the ones that slip through the cracks when you need to get cracking on this week or next week’s message. Read, learn, and file. At some point you will come back to those notes and find profitable data that will help you better forth-tell God’s Word. 

    God bless you if you live somewhere that still has a real newspaper. Read the thing. In detail. It will help you learn more about your community and region. The newspaper murderers did not realize that there was more to a local paper than advertising and obituaries. With many local radio stations serving primarily as outlets for media conglomerates the radio news is often thin and useless as well. Reading for profit and pleasure was once the sign not only of an educated person but of a person that was interested in the world. 

Rereading for Engagement

    What books helped to form your intellectual approach? What have you read that caught your imagination?  When was the last time you went through one of them? Do you have annal re-reads? Re-engaging with things you have read in the past not only keeps the information fresh, but it also reminds you of how a book contributed to your mindset. Pull quotes and write them down as a To-Do. They will remind you of contributions others have made to your thinking. 

    Throughout the week I have quotations that come up in Things, my task application. Little reminders of the ins and outs of ministry, the nature of learning, the importance of craft. None of these quotations are literary gems. They just remind me that many formative geniuses learned early on to not be impressed with their own genius. 

    I used to re-read The Lord of the Rings and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy every year. The former because it is profound, the latter because it always makes me laugh. I reread William Martin’s Cape Code at least every other year because it launched an interest in and had a shaping influence on my approach to Puritanism and American Theology. 

Listen to some Different Music

I grew up in the 1970’s. I like the music of my generation. Like everyone else I think we had the best music. I’ll listen to it in my truck, and every once in a while, in the office, but generally I cannot work while playing music with words. 

I also like classical music. My favorite composer is J.S. Bach. Over the last 15 years I have also begun to discover contemporary composers such as (Arvo Pärt, Max Richter, John Tavener, Vladimir Martynov)with a focus on Holy Minimalism (You’re going to have to look that one up). Now, with the genius of Spotify I am able, nearly every week, to identify composers and performers whose musical output matches my listening habits in my study. Rarely does a week go by without discovering some new music.  

When we discover new things—musicians, composers, authors—we create a fertile environment for the intellectual curiosity necessary for growth. Incurious preachers preach incurious, cautious messages. When I am incurious, I find it difficult to look at familiar texts with fresh eyes. This makes me a very boring preacher. 

Let me close with this. We all occasionally get into ruts. Going over the same ground, using the same processes we become bored without selves and incapable of noticing the boredom we generate in others. When we find ourselves in that kind of a rut the task is to get out. Better still we need to work in such a way that getting into a rut is an accident—rather than a deliberate decision. Changing pace helps keep us on our toes so that we can focus on the task and hand and be at our best every time we enter the sacred desk.  

Tidying Up 6.11.2026

    It is impossible to outrun paper. Regardless of your level of digital immersion, someone will eventually hand you a slip of paper, a card, an envelope, or a napkin with a crucial bit of information recorded upon it. If you are careful and thorough you will enter that information into a more formal retention system. You may also misplace or lose it or quickly glance at it and discard it. I know because I’ve done all three. To avoid misplaced data, notes, and memoranda it is necessary to routinely tidy up one’s physical and mental workspace. 

    This kind of tidying up signifies something different to virtually everyone who sits at a desk and “pushes paper.” There are some who cannot function unless there are dangerous-looking piles of paper about to explode off every flat surface. Other’s find anything extraneous distracting and try and remove everything from view except for what they are working on at that specific time. My interest is on neither extreme. From a rules and tools standpoint tidying up is more a matter of trusted systems being ready to go at a moment’s notice. Let’s talk about those processes for a moment.

    Computer(s), iPad, and phone tend not to be my first choice when receiving or recording information. There will almost be a hand-scribbled note of some kind that is the first step in remembering and acting on information. On my person at all times there is a notebook. My preferred pocket memoranda book is a Field Notes brand memo book. I have a decade’s worth of supply and a drawer of completed books. Prior to the Field Notes brand, I used a number of different models, some smaller, and few larger. The Field Notes books are the right size to have on hand all the time, tough enough to last, but not so precious that they need to be babied. It’s a pocket notebook for crying out loud. 

    I had to start a new one yesterday. Filled out the “common” (my wife’s personal information and all her ring sizes) information in the back, my personal data in the front cover and immediately started keeping my typical, daily diary-notes. One addition I made this week was I brought a date stamp for my notebooks. 

    I also always have a notebook on my desk. My preferred book being a Field Notes Pitch Black 4 3/4x7 notebook It is big enough for sermon starts, outlines, essay thoughts, blog titles, and general intellectual mayhem, without taking up too much room. In the past this was almost always a composition book, and prior to that a legal pad. I abandoned legal pads because they were not good for permanent or semi-permanent retention. It was too easy to tear off a sheet for someone who came to a meeting unprepared, and being top bound it was harder to store them. 

    The third input item is a…YES, Field Notes 56-week undated planner. There are a few  things I honestly don’t like about these date-books, and when it is time to get ready for next year, I’m always looking at other options. For example, in these date books the week starts on Monday, so I  have to use a ruler to make lines sectioning off enough time for a busy Sunday. There is simply not enough space allotted each day to use this as my primary calendar. I use it to write the top 3 items from my Today list in Things, a few time dependent thoughts and random drop-ins. 

    None of these notebooks are for long-term retention and storage. (Though I do, of course, file them) At various times during my day, entries which are written are given a proper digital home. Time dependent items are transferred do my detailed calendar on my computer; tasks are put into my project lists. Contact information goes into an appropriate computer application. Everything syncs and is available at a moment’s notice across all my devices.

    I know that many of you are thinking “So Bob, do you have control issues?” or “Bob, have you taken too many shots to the head?” 1) Not control, visibility.  2) Lots of shots to the head, all unrelated to this issue.

    These tidying up thoughts are all directed to the single idea that you need to keep track of what you are doing. You need to make thorough notes. You need to be constantly tending the garden of thoughts, ideas, inputs, meditations, musings, and modeling that make for good preaching. And when all that “brainstorming” is done you need an accessible record from which you can better direct your formal work. There is nothing worse than having a great idea go to waste because you were never able to make a note to flesh out at a later, more convenient time.

    It is mid-year. We began discussing performing a sort of a “half-time” review last week and this topic goes hand in glove with it. What we need to review is our systems and the material contained in them. One of the little things I have started doing just this year is to put wavy vertical lines through time-dependent memoranda in my notebooks—not enough to keep me from reading what was written, just a quick visual reminder that that particular item has been completed or the information has been fitted into a longer term system. I’ve also tried to do a bit of indexing of each book to track sermon, essay, and lesson ideas.  

    One final thing before we close for this week. This mid-year tidying up and review time is also a good time to look at your routines and rituals. Here are some suggestions.  First, how do you begin and end your day? Do you just sort of slide into your morning without any forethought? Is every day different? I think it is good to have some kind of beginning and ending routine to keep things orderly throughout the work week. Next, ask yourself how you handle interruptions. Some interruptions are nothing more than that—there is nothing else at stake other than stopping what you are doing. Examples would be unsolicited phone calls, deliverers, inquiries, and items to redirect to others. Other interruptions require focused attention and even possible follow-up. If someone walks through the door and needs some kind of pastoral attention, if a text, call, or FaceTime rings in with a ministry focus I make a note. I write it down whilst it is occurring and then after it is completed, I document it and determine what follow-up is necessary. I enter a task in my task manager and record it in the calendar.   

    “Why Bob? Why are you telling us this?” Some of you already know these things and do them. I’m just confirming what you already practice. Others will read this who are just beginning in ministry, and they need guidance as to how to properly document their work. Some are in between but perpetually behind either because they were not taught or because they have simply learned bad habits. We can all do better. I am constantly reviewing, recalibrating, and refocusing daily routines to redeem the time available for ministry. Simply taking a couple of hours to reconsider the rules and recalibrate the tools can yield enormous reward going forward. Doing ministry well is worthwhile and a part of that process is remaining focused.  

Mid-Year Review 6.4.2026

    If the year had 13 months we could take a whole month for planning, preparing, previewing, reviewing, game planning, and workshopping our daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly work. That is not the year we were dealt.  We have what we have, and we must work with what we’ve got. Right now, Summer is waking up around us with a different feel and focus. The best time for a Mid-year review is at the beginning of summer before we need become involved in summer ministry activities (camp and VBS) or deeply focused on the busy fall season. 

    I want to take some time this month to discuss not only the point of reviewing our work (what have I accomplished) but also the process of reviewing our work (how have I worked). I think that this second question is of vital importance not only to ensure that we are working on what is most significant but so that we devote our best energy to the basics of preaching and teaching and the vast amount of time in study it takes to execute this teaching office well.  The point of reviewing anything is improvement. If we take a considered look at both process and performance, we can identify what needs to be changed, what needs to be emphasized, what needs to be excised from our work. There are three observations I want to make about reviewing our work as pastor-preachers this month. 

Revisit Wins and Losses

    What worked? What failed? What looked good on paper and fell apart during execution? Assuming you take the time to put together a well-considered sermon calendar this is not so much second guessing as it is after the fact editorial work. 

    Preaching can be tough because many of the messages a preacher would chalk up as “losses” have greater impact than we would imagine when we are preparing or presenting them. A faithfully executed message—even if it fails to impress the preacher often has impact on those who hear it. 

    Our other areas of ministry; leadership, pastoral care, programming, and professional development can be more objectively evaluated. My share of the programming is largely determined by others. This is the question “did I execute the assignment I was given?” Pastoral care is determined by the nature of needs that present themselves. Planning and leadership are shared, so my central concern is administrative and day to day operations. The effectiveness of some professional work (attending a conference) is a matter of determine whether the event was worth the invested time, talent, and treasure. 

    Celebrate what worked. Figure out why failures failed. Use your interrogatories (who, what, where, when, why, how) to clarify what needs to be fixed; Continue with the mission. One further thought. Visit the past. Don’t dwell there. The purpose of this quick trip into past performance is improvement not punishment or perfection. 

Reconsider Choices

    This needs to be more than considering whether one-off decisions were correct. Look at your preaching and teaching calendar and think through the choices you made about content. Are you accurately teaching God’s Word? Are people getting a balanced diet? In your preaching do you make a case for what you are preaching, why you are preaching it, and how you are preaching it? 

Working from a proper Sermon Calendar requires making choices months in advance. The trajectory of your study gives guidance for the content of individual messages. Life is tricky and the world constantly changing around us. Reconsidering our choices is not second-guessing. It is not a chance to abandon the plan and make a different choice. It is just an opportunity to reconsider past choices, grow in wisdom, and correct your future course when that future arrives. 

Reaffirm Priorities

    “What is the most important investment of my time right now?”  A preaching calendar affirms the course of study for your congregation for a full year. A pastoral care plan must be flexible because the needs of people and the realities of your congregation are different from mine. A preaching plan can be more rigid because there are fewer variables. Many of the other items we need to accomplish include variables, opportunities, difficulties, dilemmas, and considerations outside of my control. When a contractor needs some of my time during a busy morning to help him gain access to what needs fixed It is something that must be done—but hardly planned. 

    A key development is to examine our task list and calendar to try and determine whether the shape of most workdays helps you to reaffirm the central priority of ministry—preaching the word. Interruptions and distractions occur but they need not keep us from giving our best time and energy to our highest priority. 

    I don’t think a review—whether it is undertaken at the end of the day or the middle of the year should be occasion for unnecessarily beating yourself up. There are some things we cannot control. Some choices we’ve just got live with. And many circumstances are more complicated than they initially appear to be. That means, particularly with respect to leadership and pastoral functions, that we will make decisions without full comprehension of the circumstances or contexts involved. Once again, this should remind us that we serve God—we don’t substitute for Him. 

Commitment to Biblical Ecclesiology 5.28.2026

    Things have been hectic the last couple of weeks, consequently I am behind on my writing. I did want to bring Mays theme to a close however before engaging in my plan for June. My theme in May has been A commitment to Biblical Authority. A central element of this thesis is that claiming something is “Biblical” means far more than just saying “The Bible says!”, quoting a text, or a vague claim to being Christian. 

    A commitment to Scripture as the Word of God requires a long-term commitment to accurate and clear preaching. A commitment to Scripture also requires submission to Biblical patterns of leadership. Last of all, briefly today I want to discuss how Biblical authority requires a commitment to Biblical Ecclesiology. Simply put we need to understand what the Bible says about the Church; Its founding, nature, place, and purpose. 

I mentioned in the lede that I am trying to play catch up today, suffice it to say the beginning of Biblical Ecclesiology as well as a sufficient summation is found in the second line of Matthew 16.18:

“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18 ESV)

 Those words clearly articulate Jesus’ vision. 

1. These words signal intent. The Church was the plan from the beginning.  

2. These words signal possession. It is His Church. 

3. These words signal purpose. 

     It is possible to make this conversation unnecessarily complicated. A commitment to a Biblical understanding d of the Church means that we acknowledge the lordship of Jesus over His Church. His intent becomes ours. We recognize His guidance, provision, and direction over the Church as His body, bride, flock, building, temple. And it means that we align ourselves with His purposes for the Church. 

    This is not rocket science. The single most important element (this is likewise true for the other commitments we have highlighted during this discussion) is humility. The spirit of the age holds humility in contempt and redefines the Church as simply another locus of human drama and power. 

    The Church is His. It belongs to Jesus. It is not subordinate to, embedded within, or reflective of any human, national, cultural, or social structure. Any claim that it is defined by those human relationships simply shows that the claimant is not committed to Biblical authority and betrays enormous ignorance of what the Bible actually teaches. In which case, conversation ends because those who imprison the Church within human structures demonstrate where their loyalty lies.