recent posts for napoleonharris

One of the best ways to show the congregation that you prepare is to preach to the occasion. If it is youth day, preach to the youth. Youth sermons may prove to be the hardest sermons to perform because they involve all of the intense exegetical and theological work of any other sermon, but they also require another big step. Youth sermons require one to posit intensely deep messages in language and life experiences that children can understand.

If you are asked to preach at the Usher's annual day, preach about that, likewise for Men’s day, Easter and the like. A minister friend of mine often jokes about attending a sunrise Easter service in which all of the preachers kept preaching Good Friday texts, and continually going to the cross out of habit. He said to me “man don’t these folks know Friday was two days ago, it’s Sunday, and today He got UP.” Likewise, we don’t want the congregation saying, "Doesn’t the preacher know what today is? Men’s day was last month and today is Women’s day."

To conclude, if you have been called to preach a sermon, preparation means that you know the occasion otherwise you are opening yourself up to certain embarrassment.

Another way to be prepared is to practice properly established protocol. One should have rehearsed citing:

• The church’s name
• The pastor’s name
• The name of the auxiliary which extended the invitation.
• The occasion that brought forth your invitation

I can recall with dread being asked to preach for a pastor in a surrounding city. This pastor was the president of the state convention, and so I addressed him accordingly, however, I mispronounced his name! I felt like a clown when the congregation communally corrected me. It was like a public chastisement. Previously, only he and I knew that I was a novice preacher, but after that moment everyone knew. It was an uphill battle trying to deliver the message because my lack of preparation ushered in an extreme sense of nervousness.

OK, we all know that we should prepare, but how do you prepare? Many put forth much effort into creating a strong manuscript, and then step into the pulpit having spent little time reading the document.

Know Your Manuscript

In contrast, great preacher's review their sermon several times before arriving at the appointed place. My mentor, the Rev. G.L. Parks, has suggested that one reads their manuscript no less than 10 times prior to preaching it. The preacher should especially pay attention to details like spelling and grammatical concerns. Such efforts will help to ensure that the preacher doesn’t stumble over or mispronounce words.

Know Your Biblical Text

For those who opt to preach without a script, familiarizing one’s self with the introduction, major points transitions, and the close is helpful. Regardless of how one presents the material, a good way to be prepared is to be familiar with the text. Many seasoned pastors suggest that one knows their text well enough to cite it from memory. This is a good idea, and one should be familiar with the text enough to put emphasis where necessary in the text. Also having the proper pronunciation for difficult proper names is also a good way of demonstrating competence through preparation.

Thus preparing a strong manuscript is just the beginning, preparation includes knowing the Biblical text as well as one's manuscript very well.

We cannot say enough about preparation. Some sage once said that proper preparation prevents poor performance. This is especially true in the preaching moment.

Preparation Lowers Preacher's Fears

My fellow preachers, I have observed a few advantages of being prepared and will delineate some of them in this article. First, being prepared helps to ease nervousness. For the associate minister and the visiting minister alike preaching in a foreign pulpit can be a terror-filled experience. However, being prepared will help the preacher lesson this "terror."

Preparation Lowers Congregational Apprehension

Let's be real, most of the time people come to church expecting to hear a word through their pastor. Many have joined the church because they appreciate the ministry of their pastor. Often these people are taken aback when they see another where the pastor "should be." Being prepared helps the preacher by allowing the preacher to become a willing and energetic participant in all of the service. The preacher can read the text, sing the congregational hymn and participate in other visible ways. This participation can help the preacher get a feel for the congregation and help to lower the apprehension of the people.

Conclusion

Thus preparation helps both the preacher and the congregation. If you have an especially horror filled moment, remember you prepared and say a quick prayer to God as you participate in the praise of the worship service. Perhaps your fear will be overtaken by your praise.

In this article we continue discussing simple strategies that will greatly increase your effectiveness as a preacher. The next one is something of special interest to those of us who are especially prone to CP (Colored People) Time. I don't necessarily believe that there is a correlation between melanin and tardiness, but there is amongst us an ongoing realization that too often we are not on time. To increase your effectiveness, you must be punctual.

Why Being on Time is Important?

We cannot say enough about being on time. Being on time is a necessity. It informs members of the congregation that you take ministry and their time seriously. While it is true that circumstances arise in all of our lives that force us to be a little late at times, but timeliness in the matter of preaching ought to be our habit. Arriving late makes it seem as if you were preoccupied with more pressing matters than both the Gospel and the people; what could be more important than these things?

Conclusion

To Conclude, being on time will demonstrate to the people that you take your role as a preacher seriously and that you think that their time is important. If at all possible be on time and watch your effectiveness as a preacher increase.

While God plays the most significant role in the preaching task, the preacher must aid God in the work. Preachers can follow some simple strategies that will greatly aid the preaching moment. In the next 4 posts we will look at a few of these simple strategies. The first is to simply be present.

Arriving is a Statement

Simply arriving at a preaching engagement, is a powerful statement. As a minister, or ambassador of Christ we face many arduous circumstances, hindrances, and devilish detours all aimed at derailing us from spreading the gospel. Thus in a very real sense simply showing up and being present at the preaching moment is a powerful proclamation of God's keeping power. Showing up also demonstrates that the preacher sees the preaching moment as more important than creaturely comfort. So be present because when you show up you are saying, "God is more powerful than Satan, and Good is more powerful than evil."

Read the Rest Here

Acts 4:20 (KJV) For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.

I believe that these words uttered in antiquity by Peter and John have much to offer those of us wrestling with the pressing circumstances of modernity. Particularly the quandary pertaining to the necessity of the Black church. There are those who seem to believe that the institution known as the Black church has run its course, and is no longer necessary. This paradigm seems to make sense, after all there is little doubt that African Americans, as a collective, have achieved wealth and social status equal to any other ethnic group within the United States. In addition, society has seemingly erased the color line. There is no longer legislated segregation. Hence the question arises, why do we segregate ourselves, particularly on Sunday morning; is there a need for the Black church?

Read the Rest Here

Many have done it. You listen to a preacher say something catchy and repeat it. Perhaps you have heard a great sermon and re-preached it. Whatever the case, presenting other's work as your own is stealing and false representation. Whenever, we front like the work of another is ours we are stealing!

Read the Rest Here

My first experience was "all good." HA HA...yeah right I was as nervous as hell on judgment day! I fasted the week of the sermon by eating only fruits and vegetables until the day before which I ate nothing. I was sooooo focused on delivering that message John 10 the Good Shepherd. I had no title, I still 4 years later and with a MDiv in sight don't title most sermons!

To begin with, I want to assert that celebration is a good thing, but can too much of a good thing become a bad thing?