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I returned this afternoon from a ‘think-tank’ gathering with forty other pastors in my denomination. A senior pastor who preaches to 2100 people every weekend made the following comment: “You have to figure out how to be peoples’ friends from the pulpit.” That comment resonates with me. Preaching, I believe, is relationship-dependent. On one hand, this requires the building of relationships away from the pulpit. Paul said to the Thessalonians: “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well” (1 Thessalonians 4:8). But pastors must also build relationships from the pulpit.

There's a new study out on narcissism among college students.

"We need to stop endlessly repeating 'You're special' and having children repeat that back," said the study's lead author, Professor Jean Twenge of San Diego State University. "Kids are self-centered enough already."

Picking up from my previous post on my Ephesians 4 series—I decided that a few paragraphs spoken about each of the virtues in verse 2 would have no life-changing impact on hearers. Everyone already knows they are supposed to be humble, gentle, patient, and forbearing. What they needed for life change was in-depth application. And so, because these virtues are important for unified life in the body of Christ and in families I decided to preach a topical message on each virtue.

In the first message, on humility, I felt good about two things.

Eugene Peterson, the translator of The Message, is now writing a five-volume series on spiritual theology. The first was the magisterial and masterful Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places. Now, in Eat This Book, Peterson prophetically proclaims the centrality of the Bible to any true Christian spirituality. Peterson argues that we dare not read (or preach) the Bible merely for information, inspiration, or guidance for living. Peterson wants us to read the Bible personally, receptively, responsively to the Trinity who speaks through it: “We open this book and find that page after page it takes us off guard, surprises us, and draws us into its reality, pulls us into participation with God on his terms.”

Chapter 4 alone is worth the price of admission for preachers. Here are four appetizers on the subject of exegesis:

I intended to reflect today on the ‘other’ relationship behind preaching. John Koessler’s comment to my previous post even set the table for it! John wrote that preaching “is also a conversation with God’s people that is grounded in my relationship with them.” I have some definite thoughts on building relationships with the people to whom we preach. But I’ll hold these for another time (ah, the beauty of blogging!). For today, I’d like to reflect on the stunning diversity in Jesus. A sermon I read this morning prompted this.

One of the subjects I plan to address in this blog as it seems helpful is my current experience in preaching.

On February 11th I resumed preaching a series through Ephesians, and I am now in the opening verses of chapter 4. My habit for several years has been to alternate on a monthly or seasonal basis between preaching sequentially through a Bible book and preaching topics that I feel are currently needed in our church.

What will it take to do expository preaching effectively in the 21st century? For starters, it takes an intimate relationship with Jesus. I have to begin here because God’s Spirit keeps challenging me on this! Two weeks ago, I had breakfast with a friend whose recent moral failure led to his removal from pastoral ministry. He made a profound observation which still makes me shudder: He said, “I let my ministry become a substitute for my relationship with Christ.” Ooh. How many times do I begin sliding down that path? It happens so subtly.

There's no question that all of sermon preparation can be an act of prayer—just like Brother Lawrence's familiar dishwashing. But there is something to be said for stopping now and then throughout the process to bow our heads and pray.

In this section of the blog, we'll be providing illustrations or links to stories for use in your preaching. Below is an example of what these will be like.

Brittany McComb had seen plenty of success. Having excelled in music, swimming, photography, and all her classes, McComb was prepared to graduate as valedictorian of Foothill High School in Henderson, Nevada.

But McComb had seen enough of success to know that it was not the answer. All her achievements had failed to grant her fulfillment and self-worth. So as she penned her valedictory speech, she shared the secret of true victory with her classmates.

Or, she tried to.

If the writer of Ecclesiastes surfed the internet in 2007, he might claim: “The writing of many blogs is endless.” Make that ‘endless plus one.’ Welcome to a new blog devoted to preaching! My vision is to serve as a preaching coach who leads a conversation about the craft of preaching. My passion is to help preachers – including myself – make progress for the glory of God and the good of God’s people.

Welcome to PreachingTodayBlog. My desire is that here you can join with a community of those who are committed to faithfully proclaiming God's Word in all its fullness to the church and the world. This space is for those who love this calling and tremble at this calling and who earnestly want to improve by joining in conversation with others who can be mentors, peers, friends.