In this video, John Piper is asked the question, “Where did you learn to preach?” I love the simplicity of his response. It is all about being passionate about scripture.
Can’t see the video? Click here.
“I don’t think there is much you can do to become a preacher except know your Bible and be unbelievably excited about what’s there. And love people a lot.” -John Piper
Where did you learn to preach?
Readers are leaders. Leaders are learners. You have probably heard that phrase before.
As a leader you should never be done growing, learning and improving. You need to develop an insatiable appetite for life-long learning. And today, with the internet and the vast amount of books that are only a click away, we have no excuse not to be well read.
Sadly, I cannot tell you how many pastors I have met who admitted to me that they hate reading!
They never do it. They think it is boring. They say they don’t have time. But really, they would rather play video games, watch movies, surf the internet, or do some other mindless activity.
A successful pastor of a large church I used to work for once told me his philosophy on reading. He said, “You should read at least one hour every day. If not, that is a day you have completely wasted.”
He the went on to explain why, “It takes an author 2-5 years of their life to learn the lessons they write in a book. Every book you read is 2-5 years of life-experience you get to learn from.”
If you think you don’t have time to read, think about this:
The best way to learn and grow is to ask good questions. Here are 7 Bible-based questions that every preacher needs to ask them self.
Bonus: If you really want honest answers and are feeling brave, ask your spouse or a trusted friend to answers these questions about you.
Are you only trying to please God? Or are you spending all your effort to please everyone else?
You will never be able to please everyone. Stop trying to. If you fail to please God, you fail completely. But if your life and ministry pleases God, nothing else matters. (Galatians 1:10)
Many pastors preach on a lot of different topics, but aren’t focused on the main target. Sometimes I wonder if many of us have forgotten the reason we preach in the first place. Continue Reading…
It’s Monday morning. You sit at your desk with the pressure to come up with yet another amazing sermon. Being a pastor is hard. You are expected to hit the ball out of the park every Sunday. And have you noticed how frequently Sunday comes?
Photo Credit: Drew Coffman cc
Great preaching takes time and most pastors have little to spare.
In an attempt to be creative and original, one of the things a pastor will do first is to brainstorm. What would be a creative sermon series? What is a good sermon title? What is a memorable illustration I could use?
I served in a church once where a team of pastors came up with creative series names and ideas first. The result was pathetic. Continue Reading…
