Tag Archives: Preaching

10 Trends for 2013

Where we live impacts us. I have been the pastor of a multiracial, international church in New Life in Queens, NY for the more than twenty five and a half years. It is the soil out of which I see the world and the larger church. Thus, I offer the following trends, or concerns, that I believe we need to carry to God in prayer: Evangelicalism will continue to lose young people in their teens, 20’s and 30’s who are genuinely searching for an authentic transformative experience with God. The issue of same-sex marriage and partnerships will increasingly dominate our youth ministries. We will be very slow to equip our youth leaders and ministries with a well-thought, nuanced, theological response. There will continue to be little interest for Protestants, Roman Catholics, and Orthodox believers to learn from one another. Marriage discipleship will remain non-existent or superficial in our churches. The high divorce rate, along. Read more.

Ten Distinctives of Emotionally Healthy Preaching

I spent a good part of this week reflecting on more than twenty-five years of preaching as I spoke this morning at a Preaching Rocket conference here at New Life in NYC. Others, like Andy Stanley, have done an outstanding job describing the craft around preaching. My task was to consider the unique applications of emotional healthy spirituality to the preaching/teaching task. The following are the ten questions to which I return over in preparation my own sermons and work with our NLF Preaching Team: Am I contemplatively grounded in God Am I centered in myself? Am I allowing the text to intersect deeply with my family of origin? Am I preaching out of my vulnerability and weakness? Am I allowing the text to transform my spiritual journey? Am I surrendering to the birth, death, resurrection, and ascension process? Am I taking sufficient time to think through clear and pointed applications? Am I thinking. Read more.

Emotionally Healthy Preaching: Part 3

This is Part 3 of the integration of emotional health and preaching. Again, these points emerged out of multiple conversations between Rich Villodas and I around preaching in our context at New Life Fellowship Church. The following is the last of three parts: 18. Connect the message to the larger vision of the church. 19. Tell compelling stories around your main point, using strong visuals when appropriate. 20. Manage the tension of good sermon preparation and spontaneity (remaining open to the Holy Spirit during the preaching moment). 21. Look for opportunities for creative delivery means to deliver your sermon whenever possible (e.g. Alone Together, Daily Office, Testimonies, “silent sermon”, panels.) 22. Be aware certain sermons are “Culture Shifting Sermons.” They go beyond the norm, shifting the church culture in a significant way. They require implementation, shifts in priorities, discussions as a leadership. They have a prophetic edge to them and release something spiritually into. Read more.

Emotionally Healthy Preaching: Part 2

This is Part 2 of the integration of emotional health and preaching. Again, these points emerged out of multiple conversations between Rich Villodas and I around preaching in our context at New Life Fellowship Church. The following is the second of three parts on our learnings. Leave ample time in prayer and meditation around the text (e.g. lectio divina, memorizing the text). Utilize the power of community exegesis. Talk with others about your message beforehand. Connect your message to equipping/connecting opportunities, leading people to action (e.g. workshops on Skills, genogram workshop, retreats, Daily Offices, Day Alone with God, small group connections). Be vulnerable and broken around the intersection of this truth and your humanity/journey with Christ. Be sure to create an introduction that answers the question: “Why listen to this?” Clear transitions are important throughout the sermon. Be intentional to emphasize that all of life is holy (work, recreation, sexuality, vacation, buying a car,. Read more.

Ten Distinctives of Emotionally Healthy Preaching

I remain firmly committed to doing our study/exegesis of texts that we preach, basing our sermons firmly on having dug deep into Scripture. Eugene Peterson says it well: “Exegesis doesn’t take charge of the text and impose superior knowledge to it; it enters the heart of the text and lets the text “read” us. Exegesis is an act of sustained humility. There is so much about this text I will never know.” (Eugene Peterson, Eat This Book). However, the following are ten questions to which I return over and over again – both for myself and our Teaching Team at New Life: 1. Is my “heart at rest?” This is a phrase out of the famous Lao Tsu poem “The Woodcarver“. It parallels Jesus’ time with the Father before His own preaching. This is about slowing down enough to ensure my life and teaching is flowing from the love of God. 2. Have. Read more.

Emotionally Healthy Leadership: 8 Unique Challenges

I spent most of my adult life reading great leadership books. EHS led me on a journey, however, to recognize there were unique issues to church leadership that were rarely discussed. I have identified eight unique leadership challenges, each of which is powerful and far reaching in their implications. Each is worthy of a chapter or a book itself. I have crafted them in the form of tensions that we hold as leaders. 1. Dual Relationships- Supervision and Being Friends We are a church family and we often hire our friends who then become our employees. The result is I become both your pastor/spiritual leader/supervisor and friend. Which is it? We hire people we mentor and then they become our employees with a contractual agreement and money is exchanged. We are naïve to admit that all things are equal. They are not when we have the power to fire or increase/decrease someone’s pay. The. Read more.

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Tag Archives: Preaching

Ten Distinctives of Emotionally Healthy Preaching

Emotionally Healthy Preaching: Part 3

Emotionally Healthy Preaching: Part 2

Ten Distinctives of Emotionally Healthy Preaching