Preaching Marathon

I didn't run a marathon today but I feel like I did.

Today, I had the opportunity to preach three times at the Presbyterian Church at New Providence(http://www.pcnp.org/sunday/1.html). I was given the sermon title "The Great Gamble" as part of a 4 week series titled Living Beyond Myself. The experience was more than I could have imagined. I didn't anticipate learning new aspects about preaching but that is exactly what happened..

Preaching is hard! Preaching is especially hard when a person has to preach multiple sermons in one morning. A few specific lessons came to mind today. First, preaching without a manuscript truly opens up opportunities to connect with the congregation. Second, never never never underestimate the fatigue associated with preaching multiple times in one morning. Third, it is impossible to preach with conviction when thoughts are not clear in my mind (this relates to the first two lessons). The first sermon at 8:15 AM included the positives of all three - connection to the listeners, energy, and clear thoughts/conviction. The second sermon at 9:30 AM included some moments of fatigue that led to fuzzy transitions and reduced conviction. The final sermon at 11 AM was a brutal struggle in my mind to keep pushing forward due to fatigue. I could sense that my conviction disappeared at points when I couldn't think as clearly.

Overall, my personal critique is similar to singing groups who know their mistakes when the listeners barely take note of any mistakes. No matter what, today was a big step forward in living into my forming identity as a pastor. I loved every second of the experience even if I was exhausted in the end.