I have a discipline in my life that causes a good number of my fellow Christians to shake their heads in disbelief. I have even sometimes been accused of not allowing the Spirit to work through me – replacing the Spirit’s wisdom with my own. These accusations annoy me, especially when I sit in on the sermon of someone who’s blasted the discipline I practice - hot-air rhetoric is not what I consider to be speading the Good News.
What is my scandalous discipline? Well, I prepare my sermons. I even [gasp] write out a manuscript, each week! Not only that, but every July I sit down and map out my preaching passages and sermon titles for the entire year. In many of the Christian circles I’ve walked in over the course of my Christian life – this has been akin to heresy. Let me share why I disagree: (more…)
