If you can GRILL, you can PREACH!

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One of my favorite pastimes is cooking on the grill. My family has a joke about it because I always say it's a great night for the grill, despite the weather. When I grill, I know there are a few things that has to be done in order for my family to enjoy a nice steak; food has to be selected and prepared; I have to spend time at the grill; and I have to know when to take it off and serve it. I believe the same is true for preaching. 
  • Selection and Preparation: Much like my New York strips, sermons need to be prayerfully selected and prepared. I think it's a tragedy when preachers use everyone else's sermons instead of getting on their face before God, asking for a word from heaven. I'm not against borrowing sermon ideas or series ideas...but sermons need your uniqueness and so does your church. Some people borrow sermons and allow the Spirit to tweak it and make it a perfect fit for the people who gather on Sunday. Others borrow sermons because they're too lazy to pursue God or they're looking for the newest coolest series. Sermon selection and preparation should always be led by the Spirit. God is still speaking to his messengers. 

  • Manning the Grill: I have noticed that if I am cooking for my family and a few friends, I can produce a killer steak while having a conversation on the deck. However, when ALL my family comes over, I have less time for conversations, but have to spend more time in preparation and cooking; if not, the quality goes out the window. Here's a truth that only preachers will get; preaching to seventy people is different than preaching to seven hundred. You can pull off a Saturday night special with seventy people (you know, pull one out of the hat around midnight on Saturday) for a while; but the larger your church gets, you'll need to spend more and more time praying, preparing, and building your sermon. This means you need plenty of alone time with God to receive and build a great gospel message. 

  • Serving the Steak: My favorite part of grilling is pulling those mouth-watering steaks off the grill and placing them in front of my family. My mission is accomplished. I think as preachers, we need to know when the sermon is done. There's nothing worse than preachers who preach a dynamic sermon, only to kill it by chasing rabbits with stories that don't matter. Never confuse quantity over quality. It's not how long you preach, it's what you preach. Know what to say, but know when to shut up and allow your people to consume what you have selected, prepared, and served them. 
What are your thoughts?

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