One of the great challenges of the pastorate is preaching sermons that connect with peoples' lives. The ability to meet at the intersection between Scripture and the daily circumstances of our people is the difference between an effective preaching ministry and wasting peoples' time. I have found that where I write my sermon can be as important a consideration as what I am preaching about. So, once a week I meet Jesus at the local coffee shop.

I began to notice late last year that I was getting into some deep ruts in sermon preparation. I am the sole preaching pastor on our staff. I preach every week unless I am on vacation. The grind of being in the office too much was getting to me, and I felt my messages were lacking in freshness. Fondly remembering a local coffee shop we had once used for a relaxed staff meet-ing, one morning I packed up my sermon notes for the week and headed uptown for a change-of-pace.

The change of place was a serendipity to me. Mingling with the people there was like being given a breath of fresh air, and as I worked on my outline I found myself making connections between the text and modern life that I had not previously been able to make. Hearing bits and pieces of conversations around me reminded me of the joys and struggles that permeate our lives. The temptation not to eavesdrop was too much!

Hearing a small group of young women talking about neighborhood safety concerns caused me to think about how Jesus meets us in the nervous edges of our lives. Seeing the local police chief come in with some local businessmen reminded me that fighting wrongdoing in the world is a constant challenge, and seeking justice is a cause shared by people in a variety of circumstances. Observing the elderly couple helping each other in their physical weakness warmed me to their loving commitment to one another over a lifetime. These are issues people think about. What does God have to say in the midst of these circumstances? God was helping me make those connections, there in the coffee shop.

I am not arguing against the use of the study, with all its resources. I need to have all my reference works at hand when I begin the process of preparation, and I will refer to my books for illustrating and fine-tuning the message. There is no way I am going to lug my library down to the coffee shop! So I do my exegesis in my study, two weeks ahead of delivery, with all my books and journals.

Nor am I technologically-challenged. I value my computer for its help in the process of preaching. It saves me time to be able to import Scripture and to utilize the flexibility of the word processor, and I find the computer invaluable for the final writing and editing of the message. Since I don't have a laptop, my computer needs to stay in the study, too.

But I need to remind myself constantly that I am not writing sermons for my study or for my computer. I am preparing to preach to people who need a fresh taste of the Lord's grace. So when my basic study is done, I meet Jesus at the coffee shop.