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The current issue of Preaching magazine has two excellent articles about evaluating your sermons. Effective evaluation is one area where many preachers could move their communication skills forward in some significant ways. I recall that years ago in a Preaching magazine interview, Bill Hybels described how he has an ad hoc committee that is commissioned to give him feedback on his sermons. (They are encouraged to write notes on the worship folder and pass it along to him.) This is one way to get quick feedback. Other pastors have a form they use to get evaluative comments from members. After reading the articles, one reader asked me, "Do you have a critique form that I could give to a few solid public speakers in my congregation to provide constructive criticism regarding my sermons?" I don't, but it's likely that some of the 12,000-plus readers of this newsletter do use such forms. If you have one and you'd be willing to share a copy with our readers, send a sample along to feedback@preaching.com. Be sure to let us know your name, church and city so we can properly credit you. And if you have other ideas about sermon evaluation, let us hear from you at feedback@preaching.com. Michael
Duduit, Editor Don't forget: It's time to get your registration in for the National Conference on Preaching! Go to www.preaching.com/ncp for full information or to register online, or give us a call at 1-800-288-9673.
Problems pastors face Jackson W. Carroll is director of Pulpit and Pew, a Lilly Endowment-funded program based at Duke University Divinity School. In a recent interview about findings from their research, he talked about the biggest morale issues facing congregational leaders: "Loneliness is a big issue, and certainly financial stress. Congregations with 50 to 100 members simply cannot pay adequate salaries to their pastors. We found that in churches in denominations with a connectional polity, where the denomination has more clout with the congregation, there are generally better salaries than in those with a congregational polity. Overall, however, we have a kind of two-tiered system: a majority of Protestant clergy serve in small-to-mid-sized congregations and are in the bottom tier; a much smaller number serve in larger, more affluent congregations and do quite well financially. The problem is that there are not many of these large churches. The median salary overall for Protestant clergy is about $40,000, including housing. "Other morale issues include complaints about not having enough time with families, though we found that when pastor's work weeks in the 1930s and 1950s were studied, the average hours put in by a pastor in 1934 was 70 hours per week and just under 60 hours in 1957. Today a pastor puts in just over 50 hours a week. So we see that work hours have consistently gone down. This suggests that clergy today are better at setting boundaries between their professional and their personal and family lives, though they still find the latter something of a problem. Yet another morale issue has to do with ministers feeling the difficulty of reaching people with the gospel. The consumerism of society is something that looms large here." (Click here to read the full interview — Acrobat file; free reader available from www.adobe.com)
Church in UK becoming more evangelical In a recent article by Joel Edwards of Britain's Evangelical Alliance, he reported that although more than 70 percent of UK residents still identify themselves as 'Christian,' "the reality is that church membership continues to decline. In 1990 just over 5 million people attended church. The projection is that some 3.4 million will do so in 2010. Every year we close more churches than we open." Despite this, says Edwards, there are encouraging signs, such as a number of growing congregations and the increasing interest in missions and projects like the Alpha course. He says, "Much of the energy for growth and development is coming from the evangelical church. To quote Peter Brierley, 'The post 2010 church is likely to become more rather than less evangelical.'" (Click here to read the full article. Requires free registration to read.)
52 Productivity Principles Pastors fight a constant battle for time, so anything that can make us more productive is a worthwhile investment. I've found one of the most helpful writers in this regard is David Allen, and right now I'm reading his book Ready for Anything (Viking), subtitled "52 Productivity Principles for Work & Life." Allen offers ideas for ways to "Clear Your Head for Productivity," "Focus Productively," "Create Structures That Work," and "Relax and Get in Motion." Though addressed primarily to people in business, there are practical insights any pastor or church leader can utilize. In writing on the perceived conflict between organization and creativity, Allen writes, "I find it interesting how many people still think organization and creativity are mutually exclusive: 'Don't bother me about getting organized and with all those lists — I just want to be creative.' Or 'I don't need all that organization stuff — I can keep everything in my head.' Why do people think that 'getting organized' is antithetical to spontaneity, intuition, and freedom? Probably because they don't identify strongly enough with a desired experience or outcome in that particular area of life. "When you really want to have or experience something, what you know you must do to get there is seldom viewed as 'getting organized.' It is just done. When you 'have to get organized,' you're probably not appropriately invested yet in what you need to get organized for. "If you want to express yourself on canvas, and oil paints are your medium, you will organize your paints and brushes. You won't think about 'getting organized' — you'll just do it. If you want to catch fish, and really enjoy the sport, you will maintain your lures and line in some organized fashion. The best at it will always have their tackle ready. . . . "Once you taste what it's like to operate with a clear head, I doubt that you will spend much energy thinking about 'having to get organized.' You'll just do it so you can maintain that experience." (Click here to learn more about Ready for Anything)
"Preaching With Passion" is conference theme Plan now to attend the National Conference on Preaching, slated for April 18-20, 2005 in Nashville, Tennessee. The theme of NCP 2005 will be "Preaching With Passion," and an outstanding line-up of speakers will be participating, including William Willimon, Dave Stone, H. Beecher Hicks, James Earl Massey, Ray Ortlund, Jr., Robert Smith, Jim Shaddix, Mike Glenn, Bill Self, Carol Noren, R. Leslie Holmes, and more. The annual conference is sponsored by Preaching magazine. Here's a sample of the many workshop titles that will be offered:
In addition to the plenary sessions and workshops for preachers, NCP 2005 will also have workshop tracks for worship leaders, student/youth pastors and ministry spouses. So plan to bring your entire leadership team! Registration is $250, and additional registrants from the same church (and spouses) can register for just $100 per person. For more information or to register, call 1-800-288-9673 (outside the US call 615-599-9889), or visit us on the web at www.preaching.com/ncp. Airline Discounts Available for NCP Participants
in the National Conference on Preaching can take advantage of
discounts on Northwest, Continental and Continental Express Airlines.
Discounts of 5-15% are available, based on the type of fare and
the date ordered — the earlier you purchase your tickets, the
greater the available discount. To make reservations or get information,
contact the Northwest Meeting Services Reservation Desk at 1-800-328-1111
(open Mon-Fri, 7:00 am to 7:30 pm Central), and refer to WorldFile
NYTTN.
ILLUSTRATION: Perseverance Lloyd
John Ogilvie, in his book Quiet Moments with God, includes
this prayer: "Today
I can face the three most troublesome struggles of life. First,
thank You for helping me overcome the struggle with my human nature.
When I admit the impossibility of changing myself with resolutions
and self-improvement disciplines, You take control and perform
the continuing miracle of making me like Yourself. Second, You
free me from the struggle to be humanly adequate. I know I am
insufficient for the demands of life, but I also know of your
all-sufficient adequacy. I can't imagine any problem You can't
help me solve, any person You can't love through me, any challenge
You can't give me strength to tackle. Third, I don't have to struggle
with worries over what the future holds. I can relax. Whatever
I face today will be an opportunity for new dimensions of Your
character to be formed in me." (Click
here to learn more about this book of prayers.)
ILLUSTRATION: Lust, Adultery, Temptation Rick Ezell notes that, "Adultery starts in the head, before the bed. First, Satan gets our attention. Then, he engages our feelings, resulting in action. Once something has our attention, then it is easier to get our feelings. And once our feelings are engaged, then it is easier for our actions to follow. "Whenever I have shopped for a new car, the salesperson encouraged me, 'Go ahead. Take it for a test drive.' He wanted to engage my emotions and my feelings with the smell of the new car and the feel of the drive. And once something or someone has my feelings, then it is easier for my actions to follow. "This is what happened to David when he seduced Bathsheba. He was out for a walk. He looked. Then he looked again. It has been said, 'You can't help the first look, but you can avoid the second look that becomes lust.' The woman got David's attention. Then, lust got his feelings. The second look created the desire. And once his feelings kicked in, he was easy prey for temptation." (One-Minute Uplift Weekly Email Devotional, 02/23/05)
ILLUSTRATION: Cross In their book Celebrating the Resurrection, Michael and Robert Shannon observe, "John Wooden, the famous basketball coach, always keeps a cross in his pocket. He says he keeps it there to remind himself that there is something more important in life than basketball. "The cross ought to remind us that there is something more important than anything else — that Jesus died and rose again!" (Click here to learn about the book Celebrating the Resurrection, a collection of Easter-related resources.)
ILLUSTRATION: Experience In his book The Ever-Loving Truth (Broadman & Holman), Voddie Baucham writes, "Many people who participate in trials for new drugs are given placebos. Often they think they are getting the real drug when all they have been taking is a sugar pill. Nevertheless, many of them claim to feel much better, and they praise the new drug's effectiveness. Their experience is a prime example of one that is not founded in truth. "Just because a person's life is better does not mean that his god is real. There are Mormons, Jews, Catholics, Buddhists, evangelicals and pagans who claim to have had a religious experience that changed their lives. Everyone has a testimony! However . . . we can't all be right. Some experiences are grounded in truth, while others are merely placebos. Ultimately, there must be a standard. I believe that standard is the Word of God, the Bible." (Click here to learn more about the book The Ever-Loving Truth)
ILLUSTRATION: Time, Speed, Dentists The little boy was afraid of the dentist, so his dad decided to set the example and have his teeth examined, too. The dentist looked inside the father's mouth & said, "There's a tooth there that has to be pulled." The father asked, "How much will it cost?" The dentist answered, "We charge $50 a tooth." Then the father asked, "How long will it take to actually pull the tooth?" The dentist answered, "About a minute." The father protested, "I get paid by the hour, and when I think of paying $50 for a minute's work, that is a terribly high hourly wage." "Well,"
the dentist said, "I can pull the tooth more slowly if you
like."
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ILLUSTRATION: Forgiveness, Grace Steve Brown tells of a doctor in a mining town where many patients simply couldn't pay their bills. When they couldn't pay, the doctor wrote "Canceled" beside their debts in his books. Years later — after the physician died — his widow tried to collect on all those debts by taking the former patients to court. The judge ruled, "If your husband said that their debt is canceled, it is canceled and can never be claimed again." (Key Life, Easter 2005) Because
of Christ, God has marked your sin debt "Canceled"
and it will never be held against you again.
ILLUSTRATION: Patience "Patience is something you admire in the driver behind you, but not in the one ahead." (Bill McGlashen)
Four surgeons were taking a coffee break. The first surgeon said, "Accountants are the best to operate on because when you open them up, everything inside is numbered." The second surgeon said, "Nah, librarians are the best. Everything inside them is in alphabetical order." The third surgeon responded, "Try electricians, man! Everything inside them is color coded." To which the fourth surgeon, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, replied, "I like engineers. They always understand when you have a few parts left over at the end."
In the March Leader Links . . . In the current issue of Leader Links (www.leaderlinks.com), John MacArthur writes: "The price of victory is discipline. That means self-control, sacrifice, and hard work. Athletes in Paul's day trained hard just to be able to compete in the competition. In order to enter the Isthmian games, athletes had to give proof of ten months' full-time training. For thirty days before the event, the athletes trained together daily, in public view. They followed a staggering regimen of exercise and discipline that eliminated all but the most devoted. Then, as now, it was a serious commitment to be a world-class athlete. "That was precisely how Paul portrayed the discipline he followed as a leader of God's people. This was no mere game to him. He was more serious than any track-and-field athlete. He wanted to win a race that had far more significance than any arena sport. Therefore it required even more diligence and discipline. "Everyone who competes for the prize is temperate [moderate, self-restrained, not given to excess] in all things," he said in 1 Corinthians 9:25. You can't break the training regimen and win. That is true not only in athletics. It is true in everything. It is especially true in leadership." (Go to www.leaderlinks.com to read the rest of the story) Leader Links is a web-based publication for Christian leaders. Interested readers can also go to the site (or just click here) and subscribe to LeadingNow, a monthly e-mail newsletter featuring ideas and resources for Christian leaders. LeaderLinks is a publication of American Ministry Resources, which is the publisher of PreachingNow, Preaching magazine and preaching.com.
ILLUSTRATION: Grandparents, Children Three little boys were bragging about how tough they were. The first boy said, "I'm so tough that I can wear out a pair of shoes in a week." "Well," said the second little boy, "I'm so tough, I can wear out a pair of jeans in a day." "That's
nothing," said the third boy. "When my parents take
me to see my grandma and grandpa, I can wear them out in just
one hour." (Pastor Tim's CleanLaugh List)
"Easter
is the New Year's Day of the soul." (A.B. Simpson)
How To Know You're a Contemporary Family 1. You just tried to enter your password on the microwave. 2. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three. 3. You call your son's beeper to let him know it's time to eat. He e-mails you back from his bedroom, "What's for dinner?" 4. Your daughter sells Girl Scout Cookies via her website. 5. You chat several times a day with a stranger from South Africa, but you haven't spoken with your next door neighbor yet this year. 6. You check the ingredients on a can of chicken noodle soup to see if it is low-carb. 7. Your grandmother asks you to send her a JPEG file of your newborn so she can create a screen saver. 8. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home. 9. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 years of your life, is cause for panic and turning around to go get it. 10. Cleaning up the dining room means getting the fast food bags out of the back seat of your car. 11. Your reason for not staying in touch with family is that they do not have e-mail addresses. 12. You consider second-day air delivery painfully slow. 13. Your dining room table is now your flat filing cabinet. 14. Your idea of being organized is multiple-coloured Post-it notes. 15. You hear most of your jokes via e-mail instead of in person. 16. You get an extra phone line so you can get phone calls. 17. You get up in the morning and go online before getting your coffee. 18. You wake up at 2 am to go to the bathroom and check your e-mail on your way back to bed.
And finally . . . Perhaps "Good Samaritan" isn't the best word to describe a German driver who stopped to help a stranded couple. The driver offered to tow a broken-down car, but once he hooked it to his own vehicle he took off before the owners could get in, according to a March 4 Reuters story. "After attaching it, the man sped off so fast that the two hadn't even got into the car — and were left gesticulating wildly," said police in Aachen. The man drove toward a gas station, but at the last minute swerved his own car. As a result, "The trailing vehicle went straight on and smashed into the air pump," police said. "The station attendant was roused by the noise and saw a man uncoupling his car from the battered vehicle before departing without further ado." Police report no trace of the reckless driver. Perhaps he is off looking for others to help.
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