How Thinking Changed How I Write Sermons

What I do after thinking.

I am a preaching pastor. I preach almost every Sunday - I probably preach a 25-35 minute sermon 45 times a year.

To get a sermon to go that long, it is usually 8-12 pages long in 12 pt. font., plus any extra quotes that are photo-copied and reading the actual biblical text.

When I first started preaching I did A LOT of preliminary academic study, prior to just sitting down and writing the sermon.

What that means is I would read the actual text several times in about 5 different bible translations: ESV, NRSV, TNIV, NLT and The Message. I would also read it in the original language - I am better at Greek than Hebrew.

I have noticed something change in the last couple of months. I still do the preliminary study - consulting commentaries, etc. But, now, I find that I spend a lot of time just thinking.... and thinking and thinking.

That is, I just play around with ideas in my head, revisit them and think about them some more.

Thinking - sounds pretty simple, but it just might be the most under used tool for most people.

Obama says he spends up to an hour a day thinking. Some C.E.O's I have read say that the most important thing they do is taking time out to think.

Bill Gates takes 2 weeks a year and goes to a cabin and..... thinks.

I wonder if the rapid fire barrage of pop media and high tech life has robbed of the capability to think well? When most of us spend most of our waking hours in front of a screen of some sort, perhaps it has.

About a month ago, I found I was thinking about a sermon about the story in Mark 2 of the 4 guys who lower their paralyzed friend through a roof to get him to Jesus. I thought about it all week, read it several times and then sat down and wrote the entire sermon in 2 hours in one sitting. I revised it a couple of times the next day and practiced it once. And it was a pretty good sermon - one in which some of the concepts will form my ministry for quite some time.

It has been quite interesting to see this transition take place in my professional life. My sermons still take quite a long time to write, but the way I spend my time has shifted somewhat.

Perhaps - the time I take out to sit quietly and think and pray opens up more room for the Holy Spirit to interact with my mind. Whereas, before I spent a lot of time filling up my mind with academic insights into the text - maybe now the Holy Spirit can go a little deeper into my mind and soul, by-passing the mere intellect.

This is all pretty speculative, but maybe I'm on to something. I would love to hear others thoughts on what I have written.

Ricky Gervais' Philosophy of Life

I really hope everyone enjoys the film and keeps an open mind. I believe in peace on Earth, and good will to all men. I do as I would be done by, and believe that forgiveness is one of the greatest virtues. I just don't believe I will be rewarded for it in heaven. That's all.

Note - Gervais is an atheist.

What I Have Learned

Adam watching cotton candy at the PNE.

This Sunday I am preaching a sermon called "What I have Learned" - based on what I have learned in the first year as pastor of this church. Basically, I have learned that people are needy, you will get hurt and that God is sovereign.

I am using 2 Cor. 1:3-11 as the lens for looking at these themes.

The passage explicates the comfort God gives, the suffering we will endure as his disciples and the hope that contextualizes our experiences.

My Dad is in town, which is cool - Adam and Sophia are having a great time!

Other news - Zondervan will no longer be publishing their updated version of the New International Version bible, the "Todays New International Version". This is disappointing - I have used the TNIV since its publication for both personal devotions and for public preaching since its publication.

This particular translation uses gender neutral terms when referring to people. Example - God created humankind in his image - instead of - God created man in his image.

As you might expect, this generated all kinds of controversy by conservative types - I had thought the furor had died down, so I was quite surprised when the publisher announced this week they are going to stop publishing it.

Which leaves me in a quandry - I would like to keep preaching from it, but also want to preach from a translation that I can encourage others in my church to get if they like. I like the English Standard Version which one of my former profs spear headed. It has more archaic language, but is a more literal translation.

Or maybe I will just preach in Greek and Hebrew from now on.