Sermon Planning
Yesterday morning I sat down with two other ministry leaders to plan out our year in sermon series. I have a love-hate relationship with this process. I love the freedom it gives us down the road. That’s right – freedom. Planning this far in advance, frees the team up to do more than you can possibly imagine. It gives them think/plan time. Once this gets typed up and communicated, it’s going to help all of our ministries understand where we are going this year and how they can help drive us forward.
The hate part…it’s work. I don’t want to get ahead of God but on the other hand, I’m learning that He’s wired me to run this way. Plus we hold it loosely. It’s hard, gut-wrenching work and it can test a team to the brink – if you value having a team work on it. And I do. I’ve been here 4 months. Not a lot of time to build up the trust tank. But it is what it is…and at some point you’ve just got to risk it.
I’ll share later what exactly came out of the time but as I look back yesterday what was so valuable to me was the time we spent in prayer…seeking God’s face. Here are some of the snippets…
Father, I’m humbled that You’ve entrusted us with the feeding of your people. Give us wisdom in this task.
Spirit of God, work and lead beyond our expertise. Overcome our failings and shortcomings as leaders.
We are driven people in this room. Slow us down. To listen to your whispers.
Prevent anything from getting on the calendar that isn’t of you, from you.
We got a lot done yesterday. But the best thing was a team silent, pleading, listening, asking, knocking, seeking God. If we hadn’t got anything else done, it would have been worth the time.
3 Responses to “Sermon Planning”
Great lessons for all church/ministry leaders to learn. Many of us are driven and slowing down is not in our vocabulary. We’re “Get ‘er done!” kind of people.
The other side of that is that we plan and ask God to bless our plans, rather than seek God’s heart and mind as to His plans.
Thanks for sharing. . .again.
Appreciated this post Grant. As a guy who plans an environment for worshipers – it’s great when the sermon direction is planned well in advance. The creative possibilities shoot right through the roof when worship planners can create along-side the SPs. The work is worth it.
I love your ideas.