I used to set my schedule around Monk on Friday nights. In case you missed it, Monk was a detective series on the USA Network that let us follow the adventures of an obsessive-compulsive genius named Adrian Monk. There was no doubt that Monk was a detective genius. He could solve crimes no one else could solve.
The Strains of Sermon Preparation
December 28, 2022 by Leave a Comment
In my thirty-five years of preaching, I’ve notice a constant occurrence: Sunday comes every seven days. It’s relentless. The sermon, therefore, can’t be delayed to Monday or another day next week. Sunday comes whether I’ve had two funerals, a wedding, twelve hospital visits, a holiday, or a sick child.
“How Do You Write So Much?” Tips for Aspiring Writers
February 6, 2018 by
I get folks asking me quite often, how do you write so much? I have written over twenty articles, several chapter essays, four books, and I have a few manuscripts I am working on now. Here are my seven tips.
Praying with Your Pen
January 10, 2018 by
When I most need to pray, I grab a pen and a journal. Something about the physical act of writing to God opens my mind and heart in ways that surprise me. As the ink flows, so do the concerns I have carried that day, the questions I’ve pondered, and my longing to be centered again. In praying this way, I do what many writing teachers advise—keep the pen moving, never stopping it, until everything I need to say spills onto the page.
The Miracle of Creating
September 14, 2017 by
Though eager to put her vision into words, she found doubt and anxiety hovering over her. Soon she heard the cursor say, “Stop. This is too messy. Let someone more qualified, more talented, more educated do what you could never possibly do.”
Writing When It Hurts
September 13, 2017 by
Writer and activist James Baldwin concluded, “The price for pursuing any profession, or calling, is an intimate knowledge of its ugly side.” When I answered the call to preach the gospel, the invitation was delivered by one of Gabriel’s mail-angels.
Write Something Meaningful
September 6, 2017 by
I love writing. It’s rewarding to transform an idea into words that offer inspiration or clarity, or both. Certainly, no one’s writings will be the bee’s knees to one and all, but they might empower two or three. I think the odds of making a difference are in my favor when I collect the gifts given to me by Jesus and faithfully steward them.