Thursday, July 31, 2008

No one cares about the sermon title

I'm preaching this weekend.  Since our lead pastor left, I've had some extra opportunities to speak.  I'm thrilled because I love getting up and yacking behind the pulpit.  

I love taking a biblical text and wrestling with it until one of us has come away mastered by the other.  Usually I'm gripped by a new take on something familiar.  Sometimes I read something I've never thought through fully.  Then I'm forced to go deep--thinking and praying through the rest of the scriptures where similar things are written or alluded to.

Throughout the process I roll through my mind's memory rolodex.  I look for something that could help the text live.  This can be one of my favorite parts of the whole process.  It can also be the most agonizing, especially when I can't think of a strong illustration for an important point.

One of the last parts of sermon prep is coming up with a title.  Sometimes it comes, sometimes it doesn't.  The hardest part for a non-committal-kind-of-guy is getting the title to the church's administrator by Thursday.  That's today.  I didn't make it.

My wife said, "no one cares about the title."  She just said that cause she loves me.

Whether she's right or not, It made me feel better.

2 comments:

Luke said...

I think shes right. I can't remember the title of a single sermon.
Honestly if people remember the title, then probably the content needed to be a bit better ;)
But I guess it does give someone something to refer to. Especially one it starts getting put on a website or something.

Erika Mills said...

true - once your sermons are online - I take it all back!

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