Preachers face the arduous task of preaching every week. Often, on Saturday, the pastor feels "steam-rollered" after a busy week. Drained, the preacher scrambles to organize a sermon. He struggles to find something to preach. A day of rest becomes a wrestling match with every preacher's enemy -- the preaching slump.

Consider the story of Dr. Preach. His preaching became a dry river bed of cracked sermons, dry-heated stories, and dust blown nostalgia. He longed to preach powerful sermons which refreshed the saints, but his efforts were to no avail. Congregational affirmation encouraged him that he had preached Christ powerfully before. Now his sermons were more like a whirlwind of nothing rather than a cool breeze. He prayed tearfully for the Holy Spirit to water his soul, but he still felt dry. He yearned for a full bucket of God's sweet, drenching rain so he might pour spiritual Water into the hearts of those who heard his sermons.

Have you ever been in a preaching slump?

Expectations

Preachers who take preaching seriously enter the preaching task with high expectations. A preacher aims for the bull's eye. He enters that first church with starry eyes, wild dreams, and confidence that everyone will hear every sermon with abundant joy. Expectations send him on a journey that promises perfect sermons, glowing attendance, and rave sermon reviews.

Expectations, though, can be deceiving. Years ago I traveled to Detroit, to preach. I arrived on Saturday, was picked up at the airport by a friend, and informed of our special treat for Saturday night. I would sit court side at a Detroit Pistons basketball game, invited to participate in an activity during a television time-out. My mind raced. Would this be a chance to hit a half-court shot for a million dollars? Was this my chance to hit a three-pointer for a free trip to Hawaii? Would I swish the net from the free throw line and win a new Jeep? Expectations overflowed.

The game started. My moment came. As instructed, I put on a biking helmet, placed my forehead on a baseball bat, went around it twelve times to the tune of music, and stumbled like a drunken man while trying to shoot the basketball in the basket. My hopes swam in a whirlwind. I won the event as I made the shot in front of twenty-thousand fans! The event coordinator awarded me the grand prize, a Detroit Pistons' cap and a thirty-five dollar sweatshirt! Expectations fizzled in the light of reality.

Slumps come when reality conquers expectations. Lofty dreams fade when Sister Emma falls asleep for the seventh Sunday in a row. The hope of perfect sermons disappears when the criticism committee stands in the hall after the sermon and you overhear a comment: "I hope the preaching gets better. This morning did absolutely nothing for me!"

Rave reviews turn inward as the preacher hits a slump and becomes self-critical, leading in turn to self-condemnation. This condemnation causes the mind to play games -- tricky games of more condemnation which produce loneliness. Loneliness drags the slump into deep despair. Can the preacher keep preaching?