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Most pastors aren’t good at self-care, so says Dr. Doug Talley. My conviction is that a good sermon requires a healthy pastor. This episode takes a peak at practices that address the issue. Good self-care forces us to answer questions like these: When was your last vacation? Do you protect at least one day off per week? Are you building boundaries and margin into your life? Doug defines the terms for us. “Balance is the routine you follow to replenish emotional, relational, spiritual & physical energy. Margin is the energy you reserve to allow for unexpected emergencies and demands.” Doug will touch on these and other topics in this episode: Pay attention to balance, margin and pace so the you have time for God, time for the important people in your life, and time for renewal. Lily Foundation research show that a lack of friends and mentors knock us out of ministry. Do you schedule opportunities to enrich your life with mentors and friends? Do you have a plan for congregational care? Preaching runs us down. Energy drain. Spiritual drain caused by spiritual warfare. Mental drain. We get stale when we don’t renew ourselves. How many Sundays do you preach? 38-42 per year. We refresh. The congregation gets to hear other voices. Calendar and protect days off, vacation time, etc. Here’s Doug’s blog post: An Adult Conversation

Best Sermon Ever welcomes Jeff Barclay for Episode 10. Jeff is Lead Pastor of Christ Community Church in Lawrence, Kansas. He brings a wealth of experience from his diverse background as a pastor, family man, school teacher, athlete, and much more. Jeff’s desire is “to share God’s Word in all it’s truth without watering anything down, but to do it in love, and in ways that are interesting, engaging and relevant to your daily life.” He chooses to preach from a position of victory rather than being a reactionary. In this episode Jeff reflects on learning styles of the listener, studying the culture, and staying in a learning posture. He reminds us that Sunday morning is not the end result. As a father of 7 and grandfather of (soon to be) 15, he gives advice on keeping balance with family. Jeff breaks out of the “cul-de-sac of our experience” by keeping in touch with culture. He especially encourages pastors to listen to the culture by reading blogs and listening to podcasts. Here are a few of his suggestions: BreakpointThe Daily Article PodcastThe Denison ForumGravity LeadershipCarey Nieuwhof Blog and PodcastAuxano

I refuse to preach stale, stagnant, boring sermons. I hope you do, too. Episode 009 launches a 60 Day Preaching Partners Challenge. The goal is to get better at the craft of preaching. The challenge invites listeners to develop their own 60 day preaching improvement plan and partner with two other pastors for encouragement and accountability. During the challenge each participant will identify 1 to three goals that will help you complete the challenge. Some suggestions include: Developing your preaching calendar. Implementing the SCORRE method. (Episode 4) Identifying a set day and time for sermon preparation. (Episode 2 and Episode 7) Developing a research teach. (Episode 8) Improving your public reading skills. (Episode 6) An idea that you have been thinking about. You are challenged! Accept the challenge at www.bestsermonever.com/challenge

Great sermons are made by creating great moments. In Episode 008, Rev. Steve Chiles shares several helpful ideas to deliver great moments as we preach. A couple of his standout ideas include learning to tell good stories, developing a researching team, watching yourself preach, and feeding your creative fire through collaboration. Steve has been in ministry for 39 years. Currently he serves as Senior Pastor of Shartel Church of God in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Dr. Rolland Daniels talks about his sermon preparation process, Preaching and brokenness, and more in episode 007 of Best Sermon Ever. The secret to his preparation process is found in three practices: Read the text every day.Study commentary resources on Wednesday afternoon.Give all day Thursday to sermon preparation. Rolland’s Recommended Resources: Church in the Middle, Rolland DanielsDismissing God, D. Bruce LockerbieBeyond Opinion: Living the Faith We Defend, Ravi Zacharias

Dr. Jeffrey Frymire highlights detailed insights on the public reading of scripture. Learn about using emphasis, pauses, pace, body language, and eye contact. He also suggests that we can learn from politicians, newscasters, and comedians. Suggested Resources: Public Reading of Scripture, Clayton J. SchmitPreaching the Story, Jeffrey FrymireEat This Book, Eugene PetersonThe Cross and the Lynching Tree, James H. Cone

Public reading of scripture is one of the most often performed tasks of pastors. Episode 005 tackles the handling of the scripture text of your sermon. Most of us have heard poor reading of Bible. Words are mispronounced. Long pauses when one gets off track and tries to get together again. There are often of throw away vocalizations of “ahs” and “uhs.” Sometimes its too sing-songy with voice inflections overdone or on the wrong words. Today you will hear three voices reading their sermon text. The first is Danielle Strickland. The second is Dr. Jeff Frymire of Asbury Thheological Serminary. Finally, you will hear Ted Sealy reading from Nehemiah 2. Ted was host for The Chapel of the Air radio program. The recording is from a very old cassette tape that I have. It’s a bit wobbly because of its age. If you overlook that you will hear the use of sound effects to enhance the reading. Resources: The Public Reading of Scripture, Clayton J. Schmit, Abingdon Press The Public Reading of Scripture by The Bible Project Christine Parton Burkett of Duke Divinity School Other Episodes: 004: The Scorre Method with Herb Shaffer 002: Sermon Planning Process with Jim Feirtag

The Scorre Method is a powerful preparation tool to build all kinds of talks. Herb Shaffer joins today’s episode to share the nuts and bolts of Scorre. Do you know that 75% of people leaving a speech or sermon have no idea what was communicated? Even more telling, 50% of speakers cannot articulate the objective of their talk in a simple sentence. The Scorre Method was created by Ken Davis. He once said “If you don’t know where you are going, neither will the people riding with you.” Scorre will help you solve that problem. What is The Scorre Method? It’s an acronym to guide you through the development of your talk. Ken Davis shares that the primary functions of the process are: It will serve as a scope to help you focus on a single objective just as the scope on a gun blocks out all but the very center of the target.It will provide you with a logical framework so you can construct a single bullet of truth that will not miss. Here’s the acronym: S = SubjectC = Central ThemeO = ObjectiveR = RationaleR = ResourcesE = Evaluation Information About The Scorre Method Secrets of Dynamic Communications: Ken Davis www.scorreconference.tv Herb’s Suggested Reading From Where God Sits: A Quest to Discover God’s Perspective, Herb Shaffer Predictable Success: Getting Your Organization on the Growth Track-And Keeping It There, Les McKeown When the Heart Waits: Spiritual Direction for Life’s Wacred Questions, Sue Monk Kidd Unlocking the Bible: A Unique Overview of the Whole Bible, David Pawson Websites referenced in this episode: www.herbshaffer.com www.kendavis.com

Preaching and testimony go together like bread and butter. It’s a powerful combination. In Episode 003 you will hear how a testimony is used as an introduction to the sermon. The testimony was included in the weekly sermon podcast from New Hope Oahu and posted in 2004. As far as I know it is no longer available online. Please share these episodes with your friends if you find them helpful.

A good sermon planning process is crucial to good preaching. A good process will identify what you need to preach, when to preach it, how to present it, and how to improve it. In this episode Jim Feirtag shares his method for developing an annual preaching calendar. He also talks about the how he works on his weekly sermons. Book Jim references: Communicating for a Change: Seven Keys to Irresistible Communication, Andy Stanley and Lane Jones How Christianity Changed the World, Alvin J. Schmidt Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism, Timothy Keller The Songs of Jesus: A Year of Daily Devotions in the Psalms, Timothy Keller and Kathy Keller Jim is Senior Pastor of Parkgate Community Church in Pasadena, Texas.