We Need a Heartfelt God-and-You Talk.
When we come to your church, we don’t expect a $7,500 sermon. Given current offering stats, most people aren’t even expecting a $75 one.
We need to know you have a growing relationship with Jesus because you’re willing to share some of it with us every week.
We need you to:
- Tell us how you struggled with or learned from the Bible this week.
- Share the rock-solid foundational truths that hold you strong when your life gets hard.
- Tell us when God and his Word break your heart or lift your spirit.
- Show us when the Lord shows you something you never saw before.
- Be real and vulnerable about your relationship with Jesus.
We don’t expect mind-blowing hermeneutical and homiletical acrobatics. Most of us don’t even know what those words mean. Any pastor who’s sharing a new, heart-wrenching spiritual breakthrough or trauma every week should be talking to a therapist, not their congregation.
But what is pastoral leadership if not sharing your spiritual growth with your congregation?
Genuine Matters More Than Spectacular.
There are too many phony, shallow pastors in the world. We don’t need another celebrity speaker to dazzle us. We need a humble shepherd who’s willing to be vulnerable. We need the real deal.
No, we don’t expect every word from your lips to be original and unique. So yes, we’re OK with you sharing what you learned from someone else’s book or conference. But please don’t cut-and-paste someone else’s research, experience or story onto yours and pass it off as your own.
A genuine expression from where your heart has met or is struggling with the heart of God is more helpful than a finely crafted sermon that someone else wrote.
Your voice matters.
We can learn something that applies to our lives when we hear a genuine expression of your faith and your life through your voice.
We want to be led by that kind of person. We want to be pastored by that kind of pastor.
So what do you think? Have you struggled with unrealistic expectations about your preaching? How do you handle it?
