1. Preaching is a lot of work.
I should hope so! Like many jobs, preaching is something that
has more hours of preparation than presentation. Consider teachers, musicians, cooks, lawyers,
just to name a few.
2. Preaching is stressful. If you mess
up in your job, your boss
might get upset with you. If we mess
up…God is upset with us. I’d rather get the stink eye from your boss than mine
any day. This
theology totally offends me. If God is a
preacher’s boss, wouldn’t you rather have the all-gracious Lord as your critic
than some human being who could yell at you, embarrass you or fire you?
3. Preaching has a lot of moving parts.
We feel the weight of preaching the
Scriptures faithfully, in an engaging way, every time. We have to balance
humor, theology, and application, making sure to pepper in just the right
number of illustrations, but not too many so that people remember the
illustration and not the Truth. That’s a lot to balance on a small stage. Whining, pure and
simple! See #1.
4. We don’t always have it all figured out. If the people you are
preaching to think that you know everything, then there is something screwy
going on. Even children should be
invited to understand that the pastor is a fellow traveler on the journey of
faith.
5. We get worn out, too.
Delivering a sermon is physically,
emotionally, and spiritually draining. Expect that we’ll be pretty zapped
afterwards. Again
with the whining. After you take your
nap, rethink this one.
6. If you tell us some important detail on a
Sunday morning, we’ll probably forget it.
For some people, Sunday morning is the only opportunity they have to
talk to the Pastor. The fact that it is
an “important detail” means that as pastors we need to try harder not to
forget. Carry some post-it notes and a
pencil in your pocket. Or text
yourself. Put the burden on you, not
them.
7. Preaching is a gift, but it doesn’t always
feel that way.
Some jobs always feel like
work- never feel like vocation.
8. Criticisms need to wait.
Seriously, if you have a bone to pick,
call us on Tuesday. We’ll be in a much better spot to handle criticism then,
than on your way out the door on Sunday.
There is
a lot of ego involved in this one! You
are telling someone to complain when it is more convenient and less embarrassing
for you. You are not inviting them into
a more thoughtful conversation, just a time that is more expedient for you.
9. We see you texting.
Don’t act like you’ve listened to our
sermon…we know better. Again, check your ego!
Stop being so sanctimonious. What
were you thinking about when you should have been focusing on the liturgy or
the lessons? Personally, I am guilty of
thinking through grocery shopping and all kinds of mundane stuff while standing
at the altar.
10. We have to do it all again next week.
Tell it to the dairy farmer,
trash collector, factory worker, retail clerk – and see what they have to say
about repetitive work.
