I have been on both ends of the spectrum.

Early on in my ministry I would spend all week pacing the floor trying to come up with a sermon. There were plenty of Saturday nights that I never went to bed because I was trying to come up with a sermon for Sunday morning.

Later in my ministry it was the complete opposite. I had developed a system for preaching, and the gathering of preaching ideas, and I normally had a dozen or more series I couldn’t wait to get started on! When you have a list of ideas for sermons and sermon series it helps put the joy back in your preaching.

Here are 3 quick tips for transitioning from “Help I don’t have a sermon!” to “I can’t wait to preach the next sermon!”

1. Keep a preaching calendar

I used to think a preaching calendar was for the liberal preacher. “The Holy Spirit tells me what to preach, not some calendar!”  I probably didn’t say that but I thought it for sure.

The problem was I had the wrong understanding of a preaching calendar. I thought of it as a restrictive tool trying to control my life. It was the same thought process a person drowning in debt thinks about a budget – and it is wrong!

One of the best things you can do is to put together a 12-18 month preaching calendar so you know what is coming up and where you are going.

When do I preach? When do I not preach? Holidays? Vacation?

All of those  questions, and many more, are answered when you put together a preaching calendar.

(If you need some practical help with a preaching calendar let me know in the comments and I can do a blog post on that lone subject. )

2. Take in a lot

Here is the problem with a lot of preachers – they are empty! When we give and give and give and fail to take in we get spiritually “skinny”. We get stuck in patterns. Our sermons all sound the same.

The solution? Take in a lot of information.

It is easy to do in this age. Read your bible religiously (I feel like there is a pun in that statement). Read books – lots of books. I’ve read three books on leadership this month. Read a variety of books. Listen to good music. Listen to podcasts. Read blogs. This list could go on and on.

The more you take in and process the more your mind works on new ideas. When you start taking in a lot you’ll be surprised at what comes to your mind. It is like giving the Holy Spirit something to work with. Rick Warren says that to be a wise leader you must take in a lot of diverse information – and he is right.

3. Capture every idea

This is huge – you CANNOT remember anything  everything! You will forget the best of ideas. Remember the saying, “A dull pencil is better than a sharp mind”? It is definitely true for preachers.

So capture every idea the moment it comes to you.

Here is what I do. I have a Gmail folder called “sermon ideas”. Any time I get an idea for a sermon or sermon series I type out an email to myself from my phone and drag it into that folder. I have tons of ideas there – some are pretty, uh, dumb. But, I captured them anyway. I don’t have to preach them but they are there just in case. I type out as much information as I can in the moment. The text, big idea, illustration, points. If it is a series thought I type out as much of the sermons as came to my mind.

Few are completed but most have a great start for me to work with. I just did a quick glance and counted 22 sermon ideas and 24 sermon series ideas. Some I will never preach. Some I can’t wait to preach.

If you have any comments, questions, or ideas leave them below.

Consider these email statistics:

Statistics, extrapolations and counting by Radicati Group from April 2010 estimate the number of emails sent per day (in 2010) to be around 294 billion.294 billion messages per day means more than 2.8 million emails are sent every second and some 90 trillion emails are sent per year. Around 90% of these millions and trillions of message are but spam and viruses.

The genuine emails are sent by around 1.9 billion email users.

You aren’t getting all of those in your InBox but you are getting your share. How can you reduce the amount of emails you get and still communicate effectively?

1.Use the Subject Line

Use the subject line well. Most of us type in a one word general subject thinking it is not important. Wrong! The subject line is the most important piece of the document – make it count. Sometimes, I put everything in the subject line – example: “Reminder: Staff meeting Tomorrow at 10:00 AM in conference room. Come prepared!” That one subject told everyone what they needed to know. No reply was necessary.

Here is how most would have sent that reminder: Subject line – “Reminder” or “meeting”. Then the email would have read: “Don’t forget about the staff meeting tomorrow”.  Then someone would have responded back “When?”. Then “Where?”. Your email would have generated more emails.

Don’t let it happen. Handle it in the Subject Line.

2. Specify the Response you want

When you send out an email don’t leave anything out. Don’t type pages of information (that’s a phone call) but put everything you need in the email and then give the exact response you want.

Here’s a good example:

“Hi Bob. I would love to meet you for lunch on Tuesday. Lets meet at XYZ Restaurant at 11:45. If that works for you, then no response needed – I’ll see you there. If for some reason that doesn’t work for you then email me back the time and the place you wish to meet.

I’m looking forward to it.”

Pastors know that lunch appointments can be difficult to work out via email. But in the above example you handled the appointment with possible no or 1 more email needing to be sent. Hopefully none.

When you are sending the email communicate the exact response you need back and you will save a lot of time.

Here is a great question for you to consider – would this be an effective preaching / delivery method?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

What is your gadget doing to your brain?

The gadget strapped to your belt right now (or the one that may be delivering this content to you right now) may actually be a tool of un-productivity as opposed to productivity.

In this incredbily informative podcast offered by, er, um… (shall we say it?)… NPR, Matt Richtel shares what research has revealed regarding the toll technology and “information juggling” are taking on our lives — and our brains.

The Sermonators are serious about productivity — and you know we love our gadgets — so we were glad to get this info and felt compelled to share it with you.

For anyone who is serious about productivity and the use of electronic tools in that pursuit, give Mr. Richtel a listen.

Your Brain On Gadgets

What do you think?

Smith interviews Dr. Tony Evans on his commitment to expository preaching.  He discusses his personal mindset in both study and in delivery of sermons as well as why expositional preaching is so needed in the church today.  This is 2 minutes of pure gold.  Enjoy the video!

If we’re preaching the Most Important Message Of All, then it’s a tragic irony if the preacher is the biggest distraction from it’s contents.  In this episode, Smith & Southerland discuss the 5 big (very common) distractions preachers commit when delivering a message.

Episode 9 Download

Will you confess your own (past or present) here below?  Did we miss any?  Leave your COMMENTS below!

It is to the point that many Pastors spend little to no time in prayer or personal spiritual disciplines.

How can we lead the flock God has given us if we are running on EMPTY??

I don’t know if you make New Year’s Resolutions or not, but if you are one of the guys running on empty – now is the time to make some changes.

Here are 3 suggestions for the New Year to help you recover:

1. Acknowledge your time/life management needs some help.

Don’t just tell yourself that – tell others as well. Tell your wife.  Tell your Deacons, Elders or Leadership Team.  Tell your church if necessary.   Tell your dog (poor, neglected fella).

Just let everyone know you are not superman and that you have let your personal management get out of control.  They’ll understand.

2. Prioritize.  Make sure you are “keeping the main things the main things.”

What are the things your church pays you to do that only you can do?  Those are your priorities at the church.

Before that comes family and time with the Lord. If you lose your family or your walk with God you will disqualify yourself from serving as Pastor.

So, get your priorities in order.

3. Get some help. Delegate stuff you shouldn’t be doing & educate yourself.

I mean:  let the church be the church. You are there to equip them to do the work of the ministry [Eph. 4:12]. Let them do what God has called them to do.

Read a book or subscribe to a blog on time management. Stay in tune with the Sermonators. There are resources out there that can help you maximize your time and life.

The ministry is tough, yes, but it can be managed and it doesn’t have to be the death of you!  Minor changes can bring big results.

Make 2010 the year you accomplished more than ever – without 365 days of overworked stress!

Share your comment below.  Others will benefit! >>>

posted by Scott Newton Smith

You’ll rarely hear me preach a sermon aimed at the entire congregation.

I know that may be confusing so here’s what I mean…

I mean sermons that might be titled “3 Signs of A Healthy Church” or “The Main Job of The Local Church.”

I’ve learned over time that when sermons that have  a broader aim are preached, folks are usually thinking, “Glad he’s saying that.  They really need to hear it!”

My sermons are typically aimed at the individual.  Even though I may say “we” and “us” often through the message, there is still retained a very distinctive “you” quality.  That is, I want to aim the message very tightly, not very broadly, helping each listener feel a sense of personal responsibility to the text-driven, Bible-derived principle being preached.

No one gets off the hook by virtue of “this is a group effort.”

I’m not saying that there is never a place for a congregation-wide message where the pastor or preacher is giving a broader appeal.  If the text goes there, I have to go there.

I’m just saying that when a message is aimed at a larger body and worded as such, its impact is diffused in proportion to the number of people sitting there listening.

This is precisely why there was so much more accountability in the  messages that Jesus preached to the twelve versus the messages He preached to the crowds.

(The implementation of His agenda rested on the actions of the smaller group — the disciples.  And when He had the Special Three — Peter, James and John — around the campfire and looked them each in the eye and said “you must…” there were fewer others to shirk responsibility off onto.)

While we can’t physically segment down our Sunday crowd into smaller groups and clip through the sermon three-by-three, or even twelve-by-twelve, we can certainly maintain a sense of individuality among the collective in terms of presenting the mandate of individual choice to believe and obey… and enjoy the fruits of that both individually and collectively as a result.

So my sermon title would more likely be, “3 Signs of a Healthy Christian” or, “The Main Job of Every Believer,” knowing that if each individual feels the impact of that message, then the collective will benefit as well by default.

Your thoughts?  Please leave a comment >>>

Preachers can be the worst procrastinators around.

We have all these tasks that need to be done and there are notes and scribbles and mental To-Do lists everywhere of things we need to do . . . . eventually!

When we live in that constant state of procrastination it is extremely stressful.

Neil Fiore in his book, The Now Habit, says:

The procrastination habit catches people in a vicious cycle: get overwhelmed, feel pressured, fear failure, try harder, work longer, feel resentful, lose motivation, and then procrastinate. The cycle starts with the pressure of being overwhelmed and ends with an attempt to escape through procrastination. As long as you are caught in the cycle, there is no escape. You can’t even enjoy the  recuperative and creative benefits of guilt-free leisure time. Suddenly, any time spent on play-and even time spent on more enjoyable work-feels like an uneasy shirking from what you should be doing.

So what do you do about that?

First, make a list. Not a To-Do list but a list of everything written on a note or running through your head that you know you ought to do or need to do that you have been putting off. Just get every single item on one sheet of paper. This one task alone will relieve you of a lot of stress.

Then, work on the list. Do the simplest and shortest tasks first and move on down the line. When another item comes to mind, write it on the list. Don’t worry about order – focus on production.

Before you know it, you will have the list accomplished and the feeling and stress of procrastination will be gone!

You will become  – The Producing Preacher!!

Question:  What are some tactics you employ to fight procrastination?

Leave your comment below…

John Maxwell is set to release a new book entitled Everyone Communicates, Few Connect very soon. I was able to read an excerpt from the book before its release. The opening paragraph of chapter 1 says it all:

“According to experts, people are bombarded with 35,000 messages a day. Everywhere we go, everywhere we look, someone is trying to get our attention….Our world is cluttered with words.”

For the preacher, those are chilling words. We have the Truth that we need to communicate to people. What we communicate changes lives, influences eternity, determines destinies. We can’t afford NOT to communicate!

How does that affect us this Sunday? It means while we are studying the Word of God this week, it is also worth taking time to study how we can make the message connect with the audience. We can have the greatest points and exegesis in the world, but if we don’t connect, we won’t be effective.

How about putting some prep time into connecting before Sunday’s sermon? Spend time praying and planning for your sermon to instantly and eternally connect with those who hear.

(We’ve got some great stuff on the way that will be an extremely practical help to you on this.  Stick around.)

Question: What do YOU do that seems to help the audience connect with YOU and/or your sermon?  Comment below…

In this episode, Smith and Southerland interview Pastor Brad Whitt about his amazing filing system that allows him to categorize and file everything:  illustrations, old sermons, digital audio files, books and even old preaching tapes.

And he can retrieve any of it by simply typing in a keyword or Scripture reference.

Mentioned in the show:

• The Paper Tiger (Free trial!)

• Evernote

Download the mp3

Have you used something similar?  Anything you would like to ask or add? Leave your comments.

How do you deal with interruptions?

The phone call.  The drop-in.  The IM interruption.

Now, I’m not talking about the real interruption — like the emergency that must be dealt with.  That’s not an interruption, that is ministry.

The interruption is something that interrupts your work flow that could be put off until later.

So, how do you deal with it?

Let me tell you what not to do….

When you get the phone call and someone says, “What are you doing?” don’t respond with a “nothing“.

“Nothing” is almost an automatic response for many. I make it a habit to respond with the truth. “Actually, I’m in my study preparing for Sunday’s message” or “I’m getting ready for a counseling appointment that is coming in just a few moments.”

It lets people know that their pastor is working, and in a nice way you have just informed them that you are doing something that you cannot break away from for long.

And, of course, if you are doing nothing, you are not being interrupted!

Question:  How often do you tend to reply with “nothing”?  What do you think?

Download audio file (SRM07.mp3)

Press play button or download.

A big challenge for the preacher is to quickly connect with the congregation early in the sermon.

In this episode,  Smith and Southerland five proven ideas to instantly connect with your audience of sermon listeners.

(Don’t miss the special announcement at the end!)

Action Step: Pick one of these ideas that you haven’t tried before and go for it this Sunday.

What are some strategies that you use to instantly connect with your congregation? Leave your comment!

Press Play or Download mp3

In this episode we discuss an important principle of time management for busy pastors.  How many “inputs” do you have?  Are you controlling them or are they controlling you?  Smith and Southerland give three keys ways to manage what tends to overwhelm us and sap so much of our time.

Mentioned in the Show:

Sermonators Group on Facebook

What about YOU?

1. What inputs are the most difficult to control for you as a pastor?

2. What are some useful filters or filtering tactics you have applied that have worked well for you?

Leave Your Answers Below!

But there are also times you really need to break it.

I’m a child of the 80′s – when Ronald Reagan and Rock ‘N Roll were king!  I have repented since, but I grew up listening to Aerosmith, Def Leppard, and other bands with cool fonts.

I remember once that a new station was launching in our area and to kick off the debut, it was going to play one song all day, 24 hours straight.  What song in the early 1980′s would they possibly choose to play all day and all night?  Of course, “I Love Rock ‘N Roll” by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.  I thought, Wow! Twenty-four hours of a great song!

I tuned in early that morning and every chance I had I listened all through the day… “I love rock ‘n roll ♪ so put another dime in the juke box, baby ♫ I love rock roll ♪ so come and take the time to dance with me…” ♫ (YELL!)

Great song, great music, one problem… it got old.  By that afternoon I needed something different.

Sometimes we pastor – and our listeners – need a change up in our melody.  Even if the preaching has been connecting, do something to give them a little break from the norm.  It’s good for them and good for you.

Here are a few ideas:

1. Alternate your outlining style. Alliterate then don’t. Use six points one night instead of three.

2. Have a guest speaker. Use a young preacher in the church.  Use a denominational or parachurch speaker.  Often, a guest speaker’s change of rhythm (except the young preacher-boy protege who copies you) will cause folks to respond to things you have been preaching all along. You’re not necessarily looking for a better message but a different rhythm.

3. Preach a topical sermon. There I said it.  Do it (then get forgiveness and move on).

4. Use a “prop.” Do something crazy.  I used a remote control car one time on speaking of the power of the Holy Spirit and I ran it all over the church.  People still talk about it and it broke my preaching rhythm in a good way.

5. Do a character sketch monologue. Instead of preaching a predictable Christmas sermon, write out the Christmas story from the perspective of Zacharias telling the story after-the-fact.  Do the costume and everything.  Go all out.  Your people will love it and it will give them some fresh perspective.  (If you’ve never don this before, it will feel awkward at first, but I’ll bet your people will ask you to do more of them in the future.)

There are many other things to do – but just do them when you feel as if you are in a rut or your people are needing a little variety. Then, when you go back to your singing the next Sunday, it will be beautiful music.

Action Steps:

• Write 3 positive things you that you do stylistically that contribute to your own melody.  This will force you to think about your own “melody” in a way that you probably haven’t before.
• Write 3 ideas that you could do over the next quarter to “change up your tune” a bit.

Let us know your answers to the above!

The showdown.  The “early service.”  You know… the get-it-over-with crowd.  They sat there, droopy eyed and lifeless.  They had barely survived the song service.  The music guy, bless his heart, had done the best he could.  Just before I went up, he glanced at me as if to say, We’re fallin’ back, Cap’n, troops are demoralized.  We gav’er all we had.

I took the pulpit with a twitch in my eye and a bit wider stance than usual. Anticipation was rising in me.  Moisture began to form on the back of my neck.  (Click “play” now below for effect and keep reading.)

Download audio file (western.mp3)

They looked at me — or through me — I couldn’t tell.  I had been here before… and had been beaten before.  But not this time.  I was ready.  When I drew, it would all be over.  They’d be hooked.  I’d be sure of it.

What was my secret weapon?

It wasn’t anything I took with me into the pulpit.  It was something I took with me into the study.

It was an assumption.  It was the assumption that they would come into the service with no desire to listen. It was the assumption that they expected me to be boring, low-key and dry, that they would tune me out before giving me a chance.

So, I did my sermon development with the mindset that I have to help them listen.  I have to make them listen.  I have to provide irresistible, interesting content.

That one mindset trick alone boosts my creativity every time by at least 50% or more.  While it doesn’t always guarantee that every sermon will be a zinger, I always at least get better ideas faster and with greater ease.  I always start thinking outside the box more.

I work harder than most might, but it’s because I’m going for a bigger expected payoff in audience interest.  The result will tend to be far better than just passing the sermon time hoping the congregation will be spiritual enough to grab a nugget or two, rather a life-changing message that grabbed their attention and therefore, gripped their heart.

How ’bout you?  Do you have a mindset that helps you boost your creativity when preparing for delivery time?

If they don’t listen, is it their fault or ours, preacher?  What do you think?  Leave your comments below.

So, how do you achieve melody in your preaching?

1. “Take it To The Bank” Sermon Structure

Predictable consistency is fundamental in achieving melody.  When you understand the way the mind catches ideas, (for instance, that illustration naturally follows explanation and application naturally follows those), the pattern becomes “baked into” the structure of each message.

2. “Subliminal” Signals

I’m tongue-in-cheek here in saying “subliminal” but truthfully, your soft transitions between points, the similar ways that you introduce an illustration, or even the message, become consistent “cues” that subconsciously signal how your development material is about to change.

The listener may not consciously be aware that there is a pattern here, but would notice if it changed… even if he could not quite put his finger on it.

3.  Cadence

Lep!  Lep!  Lep, Right, Lep!  Yep.  Cadence.  There is a meter and a pattern — sub-patterns as well — that develop based on your personal preaching style (although this one often reflects the preacher that mentored you).

In the early years of preaching cadence is choppy, if there.  In the later years, it begins to smooth and flow.  Regular patterns emerge and become familiar to the listener.

Which of these three do you see most regularly present in your preaching?

Which one is hardest to achieve?

Does your preaching have a “melody”?  It should.

If you will listen closely, you will notice that good preachers have a melody to their preaching.

What do I mean by melody?  Good preaching has a rhythm to it, like a good song.  A random collection of musical notes does not make a good song, and a random collection of words, points, illustrations, and appeals does not make a good sermon.

The message needs a melody, an almost predictable rhythm that the listener can subconsciously “sync up” with as the sermon flows, both in the content and the delivery.

In order to have melody in your content, the sermon needs the words and principles organized into a consistent logical order that the listener learns to anticipate and follow. You get melody in delivery by having a rhythm to your voice and body language.

Now, in case you’re wondering, I’m not talking about a “preacher voice.”  That kind of “patterning” can be distracting.

I’m not talking about something overt either, as in, say, the African-American tradition.  Nothing wrong with that per se, but this melody is one white boys can have.  It’s just subtle.

The melody needs to be there, nonetheless.  And the better your listeners learn to follow the melody, the more relaxed and attentive they will be while listening.

If you are a preaching pastor, the congregation needs the benefit of the same melody from sermon to sermon.  Not the same message, the same melody.

When a preacher’s delivery style and sermon organization are consistently prepared and of good quality week to week, this creates a beautiful “pulpit “song.  Your congregation will learn to trust you.  They will give you an energy while you preach.  They will learn to “sing” with you.

The melody is not a rut – it is a rhythm.  The rhythm is not something with which the listeners get bored.  The rhythm is the music that helps deliver the words and message.  Develop the melody of your preaching and your preaching effectiveness will take a giant leap forward.

In the two upcoming posts I’ll share some ideas on how to develop a melody and then how to keep the rhythm from becoming a rut.

Until then, keep singing!

posted by Joel Southerland

…Just kidding! In the area of politics and the pulpit there has not been a more controversial year on record. One group recently challenged the 1954 IRS ruling and defied the “gag” order on pulpits by the IRS and openly endorsed a candidate. You can read their story here: http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/09/29/pub-pastors-participate-pulpit-freedom-sunday/ .

Is that what we should be doing? In my personal opinion – No.

However, I am all for pastors preaching the subjects that often get deemed “political.” There are truths of Scripture that are essential to the Christian faith that we should stand for unequivocally (and loudly) – the biblical model of family, racial equality, human rights, sanctity of life, etc.  Leading up to election time, those should all get mentioned or preached. In our church, we normally supply Christian voter guides for our members so they know where each candidate stands on these issues.

BUT, endorsing a candidate, in my opinion, crosses the line. And here’s why: EVERY CANDIDATE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO LET YOU DOWN! Both John McCain and Barak Obama bear that potential.

I can imagine the frightening scenario of endorsing a candidate that stands for everything I believe in until inauguration, and then his/her first act as President would be to take action in the opposite way. What are you going to do then? How will you respond to that? What if the person you endorse suddenly “changes their minds” on an issue near and dear to the heart of the church?

OOPS! You can imagine what would happen. The negative press. The scorned members. The church upheaval.

So, what do you do with your pulpit at election time? Keep silent? NO WAY! Just preach the truths of the Word of God. Stand for the issues from a biblical perspective. Your congregation knows exactly where every candidate stands. Let them “put 2 and 2 together.”

It is more important to know where the Bible stands on an issue than where a candidate stands. If I refrain from endorsing a candidate but rather stand on biblical truths, I have earned the right to hold his feet to the fire when they stray.

Politicians change their minds – God does not!

Download mp3

Is expository preaching the only way to go?  What about topical preaching and textual preaching?  In this episode, we share pretty strong opinions on this but we feel we have Scriptural backing on the issue.

We also spend some time clarifying what expository preaching really is.

Expository preaching as defined by some greats that are mentioned in this episode:

Expository preaching is the presentation of biblical truth derived from and transmitted through a historical,  grammatical, Spirit-guided study of a passage in its context which the Holy Spirit applies first to the life of the preacher and then, through him, to his congregation. — Haddon Robinson

Expository preaching is the Spirit-empowered explanation and proclamation of the text of God’s Word with due regard to the historical, grammatical, contextual and doctrinal significance of the given passage with the specific objective of invoking a Christ-transforming response. — Stephen Olford

One of the secrets to making preaching “go the extra mile” is making sure there is something in your sermon that is memorable.

Now, don’t get your hopes up if you’re thinking that I’m about to tell you how to get them to remember all three points, every illustration, every Greek word you define, and the title.  Sorry to burst any potential bubbles – they’re not going to remember all that.  They can’t.  It is too much information. You can’t either. Most who read this cannot remember the points to their sermon three weeks ago!

But that is not the way sermons work anyway. Sermons preach for change right now.  They are preached for decisions in the hour. Yes, we hope those decisions last for a lifetime, and they often do, but rarely will they know to attribute it to a Spirit-inspired sermon.

So, what do you do?

Here is how I approach preaching.  I want them to have something that they can go to work the next day and look at the guy or gal next to them and say, “Let me tell you what my Pastor said yesterday!” I don’t care if it is an explanation of the text, a current event news story, a funny or sad illustration, or anything in between.  I just want them to remember something.

Because, if they remember something, it will trigger the meaning of the entire message if the sermon was constructed properly.  And herein lies the blessing:  if they have something they are telling someone on Monday about your sermon on Sunday, they are functioning as evangelists!

Before you preach your next sermon, look it over.  See what is going to really stand out.  What is “remarkable,”  that is, what can they easily remember and remark about?  What can they repeat that will remind them of the big idea of the sermon?

When you begin to hear statements like, “Pastor, I was telling my friend what you said,” you will know you are multiplying your ministry and preaching effective sermons.

When a special day, project, meeting or event looms on the horizon it can create great amounts of stress for the pastor. The planning, promoting, and organizing can add to the workload of an already frazzled minister (not sure if “frazzled” is a word but you know it when you’re in it).

One of the solutions I have found is to choose project managers for these types of events. When I have a special event or project, I use a lay volunteer to be the Project Manager and Coordinator. The PMC meets with me to get my vision of the project, and they begin the task of putting it all together. You may think this risky, but I’ve found that they often go far beyond my expectations.

Whey they have a question, it can usually be handled through a quick phone call, meeting, text or email. A week or two before the event – or “due date,” if it’s a project – we have our final meeting to go over everything in detail.

It works seamlessly. Our goal is to have a project manager for every event we do. And, we want to keep the PMC from year to year. That way, they can be thinking about their one event (instead of my 65) all year long.

Pastor, whatever your next big day is, look for a volunteer to be the PMC and follow this plan:

• Choose a volunteer that has the capabilities to handle the project. If you are unsure, take a gamble on someone about whom you feel relatively confident.

• Have an initial meeting with them to go over all of the details – date, budget, etc.

• In this initial meeting, paint a picture of what you would like the event to look like, what you would like to accomplish with the event, and explain why the event is important.
• Give them the first task to do and set a regular schedule of “check-backs” where the PMC will contact you and give you an update.

• Work with the PMC through the regular updates to continue to iron out the details.

• One or two weeks before the event hold a meeting to go over final details.

• During the event, if possible, give the PMC credit for all of their hard work.

• After the event, hold a meeting to go over what went right and what needs to be corrected before the next event (if it is reoccurring). Encourage the PMC to work on ideas to improve the event throughout the year.

If you’ll do all of that, you’ll get to keep your clean desk!

“I handle the problems in my church from the pulpit,” the pastor said to me confidently. And he will get up there Sunday next thinking, “Boy, I’m really gonna tell ‘em today! This one will get ‘em.”

He’s planning yet again to “fix” his opposition with a hard sermon.

What a joke. If that’s you, stop kidding yourself.

If you are taking 90% of your sermon time to try to fix the 10% of your audience who are opposing you, that is bad ministry stewardship on display. It doesn’t work. Would you invest 90% of your money in an investment that loses 90% of the time? Of course not. Where instead would you invest?

Wake up to the fact that there are a whole bunch of “investable” people sitting out there who are waiting to get a good meal but are starving to death because at “meal time,” instead of feasting on the riches of the Word, all they get to do is listen in on another of your Sunday rants against your Pharisaical enemies.

Read: As a rule, Pharisees don’t change. And when they do (example: Nicodemus), they certainly don’t do it during a sermon. That’s why Jesus never addressed the Pharisees as if they would change. And he certainly never addressed them at the expense of those who sincerely wanted to be discipled. You’re wasting your time.

Pharisees (Goats) will gladly sit there with a smug grin while watching you, pastor, waste another good opportunity to feed the flock by preaching to those who WON’T listen and NOT preaching for those who will.

Don’t neglect your sheep for a bunch of goats.

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Short mid-summer announcement.

We are putting the “cleaning your desk” post to the test – with a Student Minister! (Could there be a bigger challenge?) There have been stacks of paper on the desk of Ray Cochran, Liberty’s Student Minister, since the day it was brought in. I had never seen it cleaned off. So, I decided to make him follow the plan (with a little help from my Taser) and submit pictures of the results.

Are you enjoying this kind of desktop makeover?

Our secretary came into his office after his desk was scraped clean and was bragging on his new found neatness. That’s one reason why Ray is grinning like a Cheshire cat.

The other reason is that he says it “gives him a feeling of productivity.” What more could you ask for in a place where you’re supposed to be productive?

Stay tuned for his journey through the inbox. Yeeeesh…

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In this episode of The Sermonators, we discuss 3 key ideas for maximizing a personal assistant to streamline your workload and gain time in your week. Unless you already have these three ideas fully implemented, you could gain as many as five hours or more in your week.

Hey, bi-vocs… we also discuss how to find and use a volunteer assistant this week if you don’t have one yet.

Items mentioned in this episode:

1. Airset.com
2. Churchymedia.com
3. SermonNews.com

1. Throw away what can be thrown away. That will probably be the majority of it. Don’t be sentimental. Be brutally honest about what has value and what doesn’t. If it is something that you think you might use one day — but you aren’t sure how or when or what for — it is garbage. You will discover that as you learn to throw things away, you develop a sense of freedom from the clutter. To be honest, how often have you thrown something away that you wound up absolutely needing to have a few days later? For all of us, the answer is never or almost never. Toss with confidence.
2. File what needs to be filed. Better yet, have your secretary or volunteer do all of your filing for you. Don’t be afraid to ask for a volunteer to come in and do some filing for you if you don’t have a secretary. Now, there is a secret to this… Make an “outbox” that you put all of the things in that need to be filed or given to someone else. Put a sticky note on the item that gives instructions on filing – and don’t think about it again. Trust your assistant to handle it properly.
3. Deal with what needs to be dealt with. You will run across items that need one call, one decision or one action. Go ahead now and take action on the item (or decide the future action and when it will happen, then file it appropriately) right now. Don’t wait. If you can “put something to bed” with one action, it is well worth the energy to do so. If something requires more than one action, then create a project folder for it and schedule a time on your calendar to work on it. Force yourself to do whatever you need to do to get the item out of the box, off your desk, and where it ought to go!
4. Delegate what can be delegated. If it is someone else’s responsibility, put their name on the sticky note, and let your assistant give it to them. Don’t you take it to them — it will eat up your time! Let your assistant deliver it to them so that you don’t have to leave your desk.

You will make your way through the basket faster than you think you will. Whatever you do with the item, only touch it once. If you have to touch it twice it should only be when it’s coming out of a file folder so you can take action on it. Don’t put it down and pick it up over and over… that is how your desk got in that shape in the first place! Yeeeesh! If you have difficulty with an item, let me know. Post a comment on the site and I will check back and give you some ideas! Hey, send me “before and after” pictures of your desk at joel at sermonators dot com! We just might post’em!

Reverends, we must be more reverent to the Reverendettes!

Ok, this isn’t going to sound flashy. It is not going to make for great conversation at the ministerial luncheon this Wednesday. It is not going to get you invited to speak on the platform at the next denominational meeting.

But, here is what it will do:

• It will take stress out of your life and off your mind
• It will give you a feeling of accomplishment
• It will be a first step to organizing your life and being more productive
• It will give you space to work unhindered

What am I talking about? Clean your desk!

So many pastors have a desk or office that looks as if a paper factory exploded inside of it. And the problem is that the mess is so big you don’t know where to start – so you don’t start.

Now, there is a process for getting organized that I cannot cover in this post alone, but I can get you started.

Hey, if by faith we can move mountains, why not start with this one?

Take a box (or boxes, depending on the size of the pile, your desk, or both) or some kind of makeshift inbasket and put EVERYTHING on your desk in it. Fill it up! Don’t take the time to read anything — just put it in the box or basket! Resist the temptation to route any piece of paper to any action or location other said container. You will find some things that you had forgotten about, thought you had lost, or just seem interesting. DON’T LOOK! Just put it in the box.

Next, wipe down your desk. Straighten up your pen and pencil holder. Take a picture for your wife to see. Now, dust your hands together in that I-just-did-a-big-thing sort of way and savor it. Now, standing erect, put your hand over your heart and repeat out loud, “I henceforth do determine to reset my desk to this state at the end of each working day.” You will be much more efficient when you work out of a clean area and off of a clean desk.

Oh yeah… the box. What do you do with that? Don’t worry. I’ll be hitting that topic next post. So come back… and bring your box(es). But for now, enjoy looking in the face of that old friend you haven’t seen in a long time – the top of your desk.

Is a clean desk the sure sign of a sick mind as they say? Only people with messy desks think so. You will discover as you get organized and increase your productivity that you wish you had gotten sick a long time ago!

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In this episode of The Sermonators, we discuss the role of the Holy Spirit in the pastor’s personal life, his sermon preparation and delivery.

Is effective preaching based on skill and technique or supernatural power from above?  Are The Sermonators unspiritual  because we teach skills and techniques?  At what point does your work in the study stop and the power of the Holy Spirit start?  As pastors and preachers, on what do we rely to transform the lives of congregation –  our work or His?

Items mentioned in this episode:

Spirit-Led Preaching: The Holy Spirit’s Role in Sermon Preparation And Delivery by Greg Heisler