I once heard a corporate leader state the following principle of the business world: "Your system is perfectly designed to produce the results you're getting." He elaborated by saying that if someone is manufacturing cars, and every third car rolls off the assembly line missing a right front fender, the system is perfectly designed to produce that result. If a company is consistently losing two thousand dollars in profits each month, then that system is perfectly designed to achieve that goal. Conversely, he said, successful results almost always can be attributed to a system that plans for those outcomes.
The same principle applies to your preaching ministry. Your pulpit work is producing the results that you have designed it to generate. For instance, a preacher who neglects to plan his preaching might create a condition for himself that Wayne McDill calls "the Saturday night panics." McDill writes, "The symptoms include a knot in your stomach, a backache from bending over the desk, a tendency toward fervent prayer and muttering to yourself about how you will never again wait this late to prepare your Sunday morning sermon."1 More than one preacher has experienced this frightening syndrome that comes from being unprepared to preach.
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Failure to plan your preaching can produce many other unwanted results. A preacher who does not plan might notice that his preaching is marked by an abundance of lackluster messages because he has not allowed himself appropriate time to develop his sermon material. He might feel frustrated at work or at home because he cannot decide what to preach for the coming Sunday. He might even undergo the shocking experience of walking into the church auditorium only to discover the communion table prepared for the Lord's Supper, an event for which he is totally unprepared.
More seriously, failure to plan can also result in sermons being limited to only a handful of biblical and theological themes. Over a period of time, preaching on limited subjects will hinder the spiritual growth of the church and the pastor. Bryan Chapell warns, "A ministry that only addresses the preacher's personal concerns can become too limited in perspective for the needs of a congregation. The pastor may end up riding hobbyhorses or unconsciously concentrating on personal struggles, thereby neglecting other important truths needed for a fully informed and mature congregation."2
That's why it is important to think about the nuts and bolts of putting together a successful preaching plan. This plan will produce desirable results in your pulpit work. A good preaching plan should accomplish the following objectives in your ministry:
It should guide you in your weekly sermon preparation, informing you of the Scripture texts and general subject matter for every sermon that you will preach.
It should organize your preaching schedule so that you can anticipate and maximize holidays, church ordinances, and other congregational observances.