From Brandon: The following is a guest post from Thomas Manzke, pastor at Central Christian Church in Valparaiso, IN. You can read more from Thomas at ThomasManzke.com
It is 5:00pm Saturday night; you still have a sermon to write. You have done your study for the sermon but there is nothing that remotely looks like a sermon outline. You sit down at the computer and the phone rings, a dear elderly lady who has been part of the congregation you serve for 40 years just passed away, and your presence is requested.
Photo Credit: Joe Lanman cc
One challenge that faces every pastor is how to get everything that has to be done, completed in a timely and efficient manner.
When I first started in ministry I struggled with this, often completing the Sunday morning sermon late Saturday night. During the week things would interrupt the task of sermon preparation. There were people to counsel, people to visit, bulletins to prepare, hospital calls, committee meetings and a whole course of other unusual things that come up when you are the minister of a small congregation. Consequently, what I considered my most important task got pushed back in my schedule.
I have found that one of the keys to controlling my schedule and completing what I consider my most important task of preparing to preach is to follow a routine. Each week I try to do the same things on the same days. Continue Reading…
