New Years Preaching Resolutions – How Will You Improve This Year?
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Photo Credit: Mathias Erhart ccWith the new year, many people are already on their way to making, and hopefully keeping, new years resolutions.
The most common resolutions are to lose weight, exercise more, or get personal finances under control. Maybe you have already made some of these resolutions yourself. But have you made any resolutions for your preaching?
Here are a few new years preaching resolutions you may want to consider:
Preach Less
Are you preaching too much? Are you feeling burned out? Schedule some much needed rest from preaching.
If you are preaching 50+ weeks a year, you have a problem. You need to get some help.
Decide how many weeks you will preach this year and put it on your calendar. Then find people to fill the other weeks. This will not only will give you a break to recharge, but can also help to equip the next generation of pastors.
Preach Shorter
Is your preaching time running too long? Do you tend to go longer than you are supposed to? Are you losing people because their attention spans run out?
Set a goal for the length of time you want to preach and resolve to stick to it. Use a timer or a clock to keep track. Consider asking others to help hold you in check.
Eliminate A Bad Speaking Habit
Do you have any, umm, bad speaking habits?
Almost everyone has filler words they say, or distracting movements they do. Pick one that you will focus on killing this year. Here is how.
Listen More To Good Preaching
I firmly believe that one of the best things you can do to get better at preaching is to surround yourself with good preachers. You can learn a ton just from watching and listening to others.
Pick a handful of your favorite pastors and resolve to listen to their sermons consistently this year. This can easily be done by subscribing to free podcasts.
Read A Good Preaching Book
When was the last time you read a good book on preaching?
All great artists study their craft. Are you studying yours?
Grab some good preaching books that you have not yet read, or even reread a classic. Here are a few of my favorites.
Record Your Sermons For Evaluation
Just as all great athletes watch their own game film, preachers should watch their film too.
You will notice so many things to improve that you can only see when watching yourself. If you don’t do this regularly, make it a habit.
Then, pick one thing you need to work on and focus specifically on improving that one area.
Here are some tips for recording your sermons.
Get Ahead On Sermon Prep
The further out you prepare, the better your sermons will be.
The more you plan in advance, the less stress you will carry each week.
Make a commitment to getting ahead in your sermon prep this year. Here is the secret to how you can do it.
