Pastor’s Blog

Or at least Mondays. The sun is shining as I write this.

I saw a blog this morning saying that for preachers Monday is often the hardest day of the week. A week of ministry has finished, culminating with the services on Sunday. On Monday, the preacher is tired. Maybe the sermon did not go as he hoped. Maybe attendence was down. Maybe someone hit him with a complaint or criticism. Now, he is at the bottom of the next hill, starting the climb toward Sunday all over again. (This may be why many preachers take Monday off.)

I have not found this description of Mondays to be my experience. I am in the study on Mondays and take off Tuesdays. It started this schedule mainly because our Session and Deacons meetings are on Monday nights. But I have found that I rather enjoy being on the office on Monday.

Being in Monday gives me a chance to process what happened that day before. It means reviewing my sermon notes of the day before and adding to them anything that might have come to mind in the act of preaching (where the mind can often be far more creative than in the relatively sterile confines of the study). Being in on Monday also gives me the chance to follow up on conversations I may have had on Sunday while they are still fresh on my mind.

Something else I like about Monday: It is as far from Sunday as I’m ever going to get. That means I can begin my study of next Sunday’s sermon text with little of the pressure I might feel when Sunday is only a day or two away. (Some preachers begin their study weeks in advance. I find doing that more of a hindrance than a help.) Since my mind is more relaxed, and I do have the whole week before me, I am able to meditate on the text in an unhurried way.

Also, since I am not yet feeling the pressure of Sunday drawing near, I am able to do some other reading apart from that required for sermon preparation. In that respect Monday becomes for me something of a personal retreat day.

So I like Mondays. Mondays are for me like Friday for most people–a little more relaxed, a little less pressure. And if the sermon did not go as well as I hoped the day before (as is usually the case)…well, to paraphrase the old sports cliche, “Wait till next Sunday!” Hope springs eternal that one day–maybe this Sunday–I’ll get it right.

(posted 3/8/10)

I enjoyed this post from Tim Challies on doctrine and expository preaching.

Along the same lines, here’s a quotation of Mark Dever from his book, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church (p. 40):

“It shouldn’t surprise you to hear that sound, expositional preaching is often the fountainhead of growth in a church. Let a good expositional ministry be established and watch what happens. Forget what the experts say. Watch hungry people have their lives transformed as the living God speaks to them through the power of His Word.”

(posted 2/25/10)