I just started counting a few weeks ago, and i was at 96… so our church is now asking the #.. a little pressure, but it really is not about me, so it’s all good:)

thank you for this post.

I, too, have been experimenting with lectionary based series. I very much enjoyed preaching a series on Galatians recently. I’m doing one on Reuben Job’s book ‘Three Simple Rules’ based on the current Luke readings. I like the series concept because it feels like we’re all going somewhere together from week to week. I’ve been challenged by Hamilton’s Unleashing the Word to be bold enough to go off-lectionary…but haven’t had the stones to do it yet.

What about technology? I’m in my first appointment, and pleasantly found that a predecessor had put in a screen/projector/sound system. I know this is anathema to some, but I’ve enjoyed using the occasional video and pictures. I find the hard part is using the technology as a tool, and not a crutch…but showing a picture is infinitely more valuable than describing something ad nauseum.

I’m not sure about jokes, but I agree about illustrations. And I don’t feel bad at all about using books of illustrations because, unless I’m using a movie reference or bit of recent news, I just don’t have many in the hopper. I got to do a workshop with Fred Craddock, and he advised against jokes. He said the joke will either bomb and take away from the sermon, or, odds are, you’re telling them a joke they’ve heard before. My own two cents is that – even assuming that the text demands a joke, which to me should be a rare occurrence – joke-telling smacks more of entertainment than truth telling. But then, there’s a reason I’m never going to pastor a megachurch.

Good thoughts. Thank you.

“At least one.”

this was a great idea!
-I still (usually) write a manuscript, but try not to preach from it so much.
-I like getting out of the pulpit, but am not comfortable traveling up and down the aisle.
-I think Tripp is right about anxiety in the congregation.
-I’ve been preaching for 16 years, so, I think that’s a lot of sermons (I don’t know how many). Yes, I am now an associate, but did spend my first 4 years solo.
-size of the space AND how full it is makes a big difference in gesture/rhetoric, etc.
-gospel

I preach 1200 – 1500 word sermons. Usually, 1200 – 1300.
I like exploring the flow of the lectionary and let series emerge.
Sermon Series rule! They help keep me from trying to say everything I know about a passage in one sermon.
I occasionally use an outline.
I like to include the congregation in the sermon. Ask questions, etc.
Be brave.

Finally, I have learned that my preaching suffers when I am anxious about life in the congregation. I become fearful, unwilling to rock the boat or be honest with what I hear from the Spirit. The more I can let go, the better my preaching is.

Thanks for this post. I’ve been preaching weekly for 4+ years now. It was fun to work it out.

Up until June of this year, I was right there with Marci. I’d rather stab myself in the eye than not have a manuscript.

But this summer, I suddenly got a wild hair and started preaching from the center of the chancel, with only a few notes scribbled on a post-it in the Bible I hold in my hand.

The response from the congregation has been tremendous. I think it’s really helped me connect with them in terms of delivery, and it’s helped me not become bored with my own preaching. It takes a good three or four more hours of prep to preach that way, though, because it means I have to practice, practice, practice. I’ve been going into the sanctuary on Friday afternoon and running it at least three or four times until I feel like I’ve got it. Then I come in early on Sunday morning and do it once more in the empty church before it’s time to start.

Two of my closest friends in the presbytery are associate pastors at nearby “big steeple” churches. We all agree – it’s just a different animal being a solo pastor who carries the burden and gift of weekly preaching as opposed to having weeks upon weeks to prepare.