Why are there so many boring preacher jokes? It’s a travesty.

Think about it. Preachers are about the business of forming the theological mind and heart of a congregation. When we do that, the people in our congregation come to a deeper knowledge of God and we then see their lives transformed and sustained by the creative love of God. It’s that important.

Are you a good preacher? Have you seen evidence that the lives of the people in your congregation are being transformed and sustained by the love of God? You have your answer.

We all want to be good preachers; truth be told, I think most of us can be. Really, most of us can preach in a way that forms the theological mind and heart of a congregation. Experience has taught me that there are usually two things standing in our way:

1. First, (and this is almost universal), we need to attend to the form of our sermons so that what we say doesn’t, as Jana Childers says, “Dribble off the front of the pulpit and ooze on down the center aisle.”
2. Second, we are so busy that we don’t take the time to open up the space within and go deep enough to find something important to say. We preach what’s on the surface rather than reaching to answer the question lying beneath. Think about it. You know it’s true.

I can help you with both of those, and I’d like the opportunity to do so. It matters to me that the pulpit is revered as a place to discover the love of God that animates the universe.