Saying Goodbye in the Sermon
Beverly Zink-Sawyer says the sermon can provide a way of offering a good and gracious “goodbye” to a pastor, preacher, or member of the congregation…
Browsing: Preaching
Articles
Guidelines for Healthy Clergy Transitions
Susan Nienaber says all major life transitions can be hard, but ministry transitions come with unique challenges. She provides helpful guidance on how a pastor…
Community Transformation and Justice Require More Than Preaching
Community transformation and justice require more than preaching. Kevin Slayton calls preachers to put their faith in action by cultivating relationships and establishing partnerships with…
5 Characteristics of Effective Preaching in the Wake of Mass Trauma
How would you preach next Sunday if a mass shooting, a natural disaster, or a public health crisis shook your community? Sadly, such events are…
Preaching in the Wake of Mass Trauma: An In-Depth Interview with Kimberly Wagner
How would you preach next Sunday if tomorrow your community fell victim to a mass shooting or was devastated by a natural disaster? Ann Michel…
5 Tips for Pastors on Using AI
What is artificial intelligence (AI) and how can it enhance your ministry? Josh Burnett offers five things pastors need to know about AI. He also…
“Preaching in the Wake of Mass Trauma” featuring Kimberly Wagner
Podcast Episode 138 How would you preach next Sunday if tomorrow your community fell victim to a mass shooting or was devastated by a natural…
4 Ways Preaching Can Boost Worship Attendance
Popular preacher and author Charley Reeb shares four preaching strategies to grow your church, all based on the notion that we have to connect with…
How to Keep Preaching Fresh: An In-Depth Interview with Teresa Fry Brown
How can preachers keep their preaching fresh? Doug Powe of the Lewis Center staff interviews Professor of Preaching Teresa Fry Brown about preaching familiar texts…
“How to Keep Preaching Fresh” featuring Teresa Fry Brown
Podcast Episode 123 How can preachers keep their preaching fresh? Teresa Fry Brown, professor of preaching at Candler School of Theology, shares strategies for preaching…
5 Ways Pastors Make Ministry Harder than It Needs to Be
How do church leaders make ministry harder than it needs to be? Carey Nieuwhof identifies five ways that many pressures faced in ministry are more…
10 Things Great Preachers Do Differently
What separates good preachers from great preachers? Charley Reeb, a Georgia pastor known as a gifted preacher, says talent is less important than approaching the…
Getting Comfortable Preaching about Money and Generosity
Preaching on the topic of money is spiritually challenging. And it can also be personally challenging to leaders plagued by their own economic insecurity or…
7 Practical Strategies for Nurturing a Culture of Generosity
Ann A. Michel and Lovett H. Weems Jr., authors of Generosity, Stewardship, and Abundance, say creating a culture of generosity requires creativity and consistency. They…
The Power of Storytelling in Ministry: An In-Depth Interview with Jee Hae Song
How can storytelling impact your ministry? And how can you inspire others to share their stories? Jessica Anschutz of the Lewis Center staff interviews Jee…
“The Power of Storytelling in Ministry” featuring Jee Hae Song
How can storytelling impact your ministry? How can you inspire others to share their stories? Jee Hae Song believes we all have gifts for storytelling and shares part of her story to inspire others to share how God works in their lives.
Simple Guidance for Preachers on Christmas Eve
As pastors and congregations prepare to receive guests on Christmas Eve, Bishop Kenneth H. Carter offers simple, heartfelt advice. Keep the sermon brief but grace…
5 Ways to Preach about Money More Effectively
Alex Joyner says tending to our attitudes about money is a way of tending our souls. He shares tips for preaching in ways that can…
Preaching Strategies for a Post-Pandemic Church
New preaching strategies are needed to engage emerging generations in the digital age. Michael Beck and Rosario Picardo say sermons in the post-pandemic church will…
Episode 68: “Finding Solutions to the Young Clergy Crisis” featuring Bishop Janice Huie
What strategies support and encourage young people entering ministry? In this episode Bishop Janice Huie shares the importance of listening deeply to young people, embracing a holistic approach, and sustaining our commitment to younger clergy in face of new challenges.
How to Ask People to Give (Even in a Pandemic)
Margaret Marcuson shares ideas for asking people to support the church even in these most uncertain times. She says leaders should set an example through…
Episode 66: “Leading with the Sermon” featuring Bishop William Willimon
Bishop William Willimon says truth telling is critical to faithful leadership. In this episode he speaks about a pastor’s call to preach unabashedly the truth of Jesus Christ without losing sight of the importance of managing congregational life in this disruptive, revealing time.
Episode 59: “Bringing the New Testament to Life” featuring Shively Smith
How can you teach the New Testament in ways that make it come alive to modern people? In this episode we speak with New Testament Professor Shively Smith about innovative approaches to teaching the gospel that disrupt our staid and familiar notions of the biblical text.
Leading between Faith and Patriotism
Lovett H. Weems Jr. writes that preaching at the time of a national holiday offers opportunities and dangers. He says it is important to approach…
Preaching to an Empty Room
How can preachers maintain a sense of presence and engage their audience when COVID-19 has their congregants viewing worship via livestream? Read these tips on…
Preach Like TED
Charley Reeb says preachers should take a lesson from TED Talks — the 18-minute internet videos that have reached over a billion people worldwide. The…
Preaching Truth in the Age of Alternative Facts
New Testament professor Bill Brosend says that preaching in the age of fake news and alternative facts can be like walking a tightrope. But it’s…
5 Lessons for Better Preaching
Charley Reeb, author of two books on preaching, says that preachers better connect with people in the pews when they realize they are in the…
4 Tips for Preaching on Politically Charged Topics
Ginger Gaines-Cirelli, author of Sacred Resistance, says it’s up to preachers to address the pain, injustice, confusion, and chaos in our days even when it…
The One-Point Sermon
Charley Reeb, a Florida pastor known as a gifted preacher, says that it’s often easiest for listeners to stay focused when a sermon is organized…