I'm stoked for my mini-course Preach Focused Sermons launching tomorrow. 7 templates I use in every message prep, video teaching, AND my ebook on creating a 12-month preaching calendar.

$27 total.

Get on the free waitlist for 5 days of emails on sermon design.

bit.ly/PrepareFocus...

Hey Pastor -

For 15 years, nearly every sermon I've preached has started with some version of this sheet. It has been downloaded thousands of times by other leaders.

Want your copy for free? Sign up for the "Prepare Focused Sermons" waitlist and get it in your inbox.

bit.ly/PrepareFocus...

I've got another template pack I'm turning lose for a 72-hour sale after Christmas. It's focused on sermon preparation. Some of these are my oldest, most iterated personal tools.

Keep your eyes peeled for the waitlist.

Normal-sized churches have experienced tough things over the last few years, but still have the capability to do amazing things for the kingdom in their neighborhoods.

It means intentional shifts and focusing on the mission.

What worked in the past won't cause vitality in the present.

Distilled two books worth of notes on the history and sociological behaviors of conversion this morning. Now, it's time to add them into my #Zettlekasten.

Oh. I've seen many different versions of that stat.

And ones with significantly worse reporting.

One of the issues with my UMC experience is most weren't live-streaming till 2020. The GCFA added a data point for online worship attendance, but no standard for how to estimate it was given.

If we want to deal with suffering as Christians, we have to do it in a way that is uniquely Christian.

• Lament
• Confession
• In community
• Break from a framework that assumes all in life will be easy. Reject the modern moral order for human flourishing.

Holidays, and not being at home, are a great way to slide out of your devotional rhythm.

Here is how I keep mine up during weeks like these.

• Have a consistent, known routine.
• Keep the Daily Office app on my phone.
• Try to find 20 minutes to get away by myself.
• Give yourself grace.

This quote has been in my mind all day long.

"Discernment, especially heavy discernment, is only a thing if you sometimes decide not to do something even if you want to."

A reflection on making big decisions...

bit.ly/3YTgFda

John Wesley's sermon The Wilderness State.
Sermon 46.

I love how this sermon makes us realize that sin, regardless of how recent, can be a barrier to experiencing God. I keep thinking about one particular section of it.

Friday mornings mean long devotion.

• Daily Office Prayers and Scripture Readings
• Read a few chapters of Augustine's Confessions.
• Journaled
• Wesley's "The Wilderness State: Sermon 46". Took notes as well.

This is the perfect start to a weekend.