Last week, I surveyed how long well-known pastors—like Keller, Piper and Driscoll—take to prepare their sermons. The discussion in the comments was fantastic. One commenter, Andrew, posted an interesting thought:
“This was really interesting. I’d also be interested to hear a similar breakdown from faithful, small church pastors. May give those of us who are not outrageously gifted a more helpful barometer!”
So, I emailed faithful pastors whom I know personally to see if they’d be willing to shoot me a couple short paragraphs of how they prepare. They each gave me a detailed description of their process, and I offer their thoughts here for you, and I list some ways they surprised me at the end.
These guys are not lead pastors of megachurches. They have not published any books. They don’t have a top 200 church blog. But they are good pastors who shepherd their people well.
How does their process compare to yours? Is there anything you can take from their sermon prep methods and incorporate into yours? Do they do anything you disagree with?
Jeff Brewer (@jnjbrewer), Lead Pastor of Hope Fellowship in Lombard, Illinois.
My normal sermon prep for Sunday starts on Tuesday mornings in our staff meeting. We ask questions about the text, look for a theme and talk briefly about application. After the staff meeting, I read the passage, start a Scriviner document, and begin to write down initial thoughts and outlines. I also try to read books that I think might be helpful to my thinking. I don’t read commentaries at this stage.
On Wednesdays, I’ll get in the text and read the passage again. In the mornings, during my devotionals, I’m praying for my heart to be softened as I prepare and study.
I typically block out all day Thursday and Friday for sermon prep, hoping to have a manuscript done by mid-day Friday. On Saturday night, after dinner, I edit the manuscript and print out my first draft.
I wake up at 5:00 a.m. on Sunday morning and read through the manuscript as I am making coffee, marking in the margins what needs to be cut, fixed or moved. I also typically scribble some additional application that has been on my mind through the night. I type out the changes, print out a new copy, read it through one more time and head off to church to worship with the congregation.
