5 Lessons from Preaching

1. It is tiring!... My respect for Jeff's ability went up a few points on Sunday when I realized just how mentally and physically tiring it is to preach 3 times in a row. I've heard of pastors preaching as many as 5 in row, every Sunday. THAT'S INSANE!

2. Without God, it's worthless.... I've seen a lot of preachers in my day... some good, some bad. But what I realized in preparing to speak yesterday is that no matter how good you are at preaching... if you aren't saying something that God has laid on your heart, YOUR WORDS ARE USELESS! Anyone that benefited from what I said on Sunday, blame God... If you hated it, blame me.

3. If you can't learn from your mistakes, preaching is not for you... since we all make mistakes no matter how hard we try, we HAVE GOT TO LEARN FROM THEM! I have only spoken on a Sunday morning a few times, but my prayer is that every time I preach is more powerful and effective than the time before... because of the mistakes I've learned from.

4. It works best as a dialogue, not a monologue... A speaker thrives on the energy of the audience... just like a band thrives on the energy of the crowd. If you are not verbally and visually affirming what the speaker is saying, how is he supposed to know when he has struck a chord?

5. It is fun!... When you hear a pastor at Element say that he loves his job, he truly does. Are there tough times? Yes. But there is nothing more exciting and more rewarding than being used by God to escort people across the bridge from death to life. NOTHING!