These questions are governed by the principle that the central thrust of the passage becomes the central thrust of the sermon's application. As Jeff developed his sermon on Ephesians 6:18-20, he noticed that the "big idea" began in verse 10 and that the apostle Paul's main theme seemed to be, "How can we be strong in the Lord?" Paul answered the question in three parts: by putting on the armor of God (6:11-17), (which Lloyd had preached the previous week), through prayer (6:18) and by being prayed for (6:19-20).

Jeff s message would focus on the two points: our need to pray and to have others pray for us. We talked about how to give those points greater impact. I talked about putting ideas in "picture form" to make them easier for the congregation to understand: "Prayer is to a Christian like water is to the fish! Prayer is not an activity; it's the atmosphere in which we live and breathe." I also encouraged him to apply the text to his congregation as a whole and not just to individual believers -- to say something like, "If you don't pray for us as your pastors, we will be weaker for it. That's what Paul was calling for here."

As I worked with all three men, I discovered that the learning process takes time. I emphasized key principles over and over, and then saw the men improve as the weeks went by. But in many ways the coaching experiment went better than I expected. Each pastor took the initiative to send tapes and manuscripts. I never had to remind them. They became more diligent and creative in taking charge of their own learning process. When we finished our initial six-month commitment, each of them wanted to continue the relationship. So did I!

Lloyd said it helped to receive this type of feedback from a more experienced pastor who was still preaching himself "It's great to have someone critique you and affirm you," he said. "It builds confidence in your preaching." Mark agreed: "It's certainly better than listening to my own tapes and not knowing if I am on target or not. Talking with a coach about what I'm doing while I'm doing it is extremely beneficial."

Why Become a Sermon Coach?

I can hear what you are probably thinking: "That's sounds like a good thing for you to do, but I don't need another responsibility. My days are busy enough as they are." True, my days are busy as well. But it is a well documented fact that when mentoring is working well, the mentor benefits as much or more than the student. In fact, there are several benefits of this "iron sharpens iron" kind of relationship.

1) It is personally gratifying. Few joys equal investing yourself in another person who wants to learn and grow, especially passing on what you know to someone who shares your passion for preaching. As the weeks went by in my coaching experiment, I found myself looking forward to our phone sessions as highlights of my week. They were a welcomed break from the weekly routine. Sermons sometimes fall on deaf ears, but the input given to help someone preach more effectively rarely does.