One of my strengths in the pulpit is spontaneity, and I've felt through the rears when I'm working with a manuscript or overly-prepared notes I get too wooden in the pulpit. I do much better when I'm free-flowing, flexible with words. I rarely preach without notes, but typically my notes are pretty simple in terms of their structure.

Once the sermon is preached, I have a wonderful secretary who can type my hand-written notes, and we file it. For the sake of radio and television ministry we do transcripts now.

Preaching: How much time do you normally spend in preparing a message?

Graham: That's always a hard question to answer because in sermon preparation there are times of gestation then times of birth. I'd say anywhere from 8-10 hours, maybe 8-12 hours. I preach three services each weekend, Saturday night and twice on Sunday, and that's the same message. Then there's typically one other preparation per week: either the mid- week service or a business luncheon that we do.

There was a time when I was doing three or four preparations a week. That was a very heavy schedule. Now it's primarily one major preparation, then another preparation of some kind.

I live with the sermon. Any preacher knows that Sunday's coming. That's the challenge of being a pastor-preacher. It's not the delivery of the sermon that's the challenge or pressure for me. The challenge is the preparation. There's never a sense of completion because you're always preaching next week. So maintaining freshness and the fullness of the Spirit and your own devotional life are essential. So all week long you're living with this sermon you're preparing; you're never far away from what you're going to do.

It's like a great pitcher in baseball. A class-A minor leaguer throws the ball in much the same way as a Cy-young winner like Randy Johnson. What separates one from the other is in the delivery. Same baseball, primarily the same motion. What separates one pitcher from another is the delivery. I believe what often makes the difference in the sermon is in the delivery.

Preaching: As a preacher, what do you wish you'd known twenty years ago that you know now?

Graham: I've always believed in the impact of preaching -- that it truly does make a difference. It really is an audacious thing. I wish I had known even 20,30 years ago what a huge difference preaching can make in people's lives. I believed it then, but I believe it even more now. Preaching truly is God's way of fleshing out the message in the lives and personalities of His people. I've never been more eager to preach.

I think all young preachers battle the issue of being yourself. We all have models, mentors when we're young. I wish I'd known in my 20's and 30's that God wants to use my personality, the way I say things, even my style -- that God uses each of us. I wish I'd had that confidence of knowing that God really does want to use Jack Graham, and my experience, my gifts, and abilities. I always challenge young preachers with the idea to be your best self. Learn from others but don't be a cheap imitation of some -- body else.

Preaching: What final counsel would you share with fellow preachers?

Graham: Preaching must come out of the life of the preacher, the authenticity of the preacher's life and the character we build. There is no effective preaching without credibility in the pulpit -- we've seen that many times. What I have tried to do is to build within my life the consistency of character that produces a consistency of message. The standard of biblical preaching and the call is a high call. We all fall short, yet we should aspire to preach a message that is consistent with our character and that our character will be consistent with our message. The integrity of the pulpit.

Another issue that has been important for me is the environment in which our message is preached. The worship style is different and dynamic within the context of every church. I do believe that the best preaching occurs in a context of heart-felt and warm-hearted worship -- where the congregation is prepared to receive the message.

When I step to the pulpit people are ready to respond, and that's due in large part to the wonderful ministers of music and worship leaders that we've had in our churches. Preaching takes place best in that context where lives are being changed -- where there's an expectation that when the Word of God is opened a powerful result is going to take place.