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5 Questions to Ask After You Write Your Sermon (But Before You Preach It)

Preaching is not the end-all, be-all of pastoring or church planting, but it’s certainly a huge part. It’s a part of the formation for mission of our communities, the personal formation of followers of Jesus, and often, a big part of someone’s journey toward Jesus.
We don’t recommend that you spend your whole work week preparing for a sermon, but… In light of its importance in the life and rhythms of your community, here are 5 questions to ask as you think about what you’ve written, and what God has laid on your heart to communicate to your community this week.

Where in this message do I clearly point to Jesus?

If the aim of the whole Bible is to point to the work and person of Jesus, then shouldn’t we do the same every time we preach? Whether we’re in the Old Testament or Wisdom literature, or the Pastoral Epistles, there’s a always a bridge to Jesus, and we should look for it. As I preach Old Testament characters, I’m often asking “Where does this character’s victories or failures point to Jesus?” “What did they get wrong that Jesus got right?” or “How, rather than being a role model for me, is this character showing me something I could NEVER do, but that Jesus DID on my behalf?” A great example is that of David- too many of us preach his victory over Goliath as some kind or moralistic hero tail- “Believe God and He will help you defeat the giants in YOUR life!” That’s not the point of the story! We’re not the hero David- we’re the cowering Israelites who need an unlikely Savior to do for us what we can’t do for ourselves. (If you are looking for more on how to preach this way,  we recommend Tim Keller’s excellent Preaching.)
Always pointing to Jesus is the point of preaching- without it, at best we’re just giving people tips on how to be slightly better people, and at worst churning out Pharisees who think the point of the Christian life is to do more, or do better. Point them to Jesus instead, and encourage them to rest in HIS finished work, and then, out of gratitude, live their lives more and more like Him.

Where in this message do I speak to non-Christians?

A surprising number of sermons omit this. Even if your sermon is on some point of Christian living, if you truly are a missional community, you should expect some element of the neighborhood to be present in your gatherings, and you should preach as though they are. Even if you and your community aren’t doing the best at inviting others in to the life of your community (including worship gatherings), preaching with a view to saying something of value and invitation to non-Christians, in a careful and sensitive way, is a great way of teaching your church community how to talk about various topics to their friends and neighbors. It also shows them that your community is a safe space to invite their friends into. It doesn’t have to be an INVITATION (in the classic, come-down-to-the-altar sense)- just a simple “If you are here today, and you are not yet a follower of Jesus, or are still exploring and questioning, here’s what I want you to think about…” or “Here’s where this text touches your life if you’re not sure about Jesus.”

Where in this message do I speak to Christians?

It’s possible to get so focused on those among us who might not yet be followers of Jesus, that we forget to regularly encourage those who are following Him, or who are struggling. That’s why after I speak to the non-Christians, I always want to say something like “If you are here and you are a follower of Jesus…”. Often, I’m saying the same thing to non-Christians and to Christians, just with slightly different emphases for those on either side of the decision to be a Christ-follower. But making it explicit is always helpful, especially as sometimes people tend to tune out when they hear you addressing a group (like non-Christians) that they are not a part of. There’s a piece of the Good News in that text and in your sermon for everyone- tell them what it is and invite them to grab hold of it! If we really believe that the Gospel is not just the start of our Christian lives, but the way we live it, grow and are ultimately formed into the character of Jesus, then even mature believers and long-time Christians need to hear the Good News preached in a way that helps that to grab hold even firmly to what Jesus has done for them, and what it means now, right now today, in their lives.

Where in this message do I speak to the heart?

Sermon prep for you probably looks a lot like reading books and commentaries to help you understand and explain the text. The problem is that too often, this leads us to not just an intellectual understanding of whatever subject or passage we are preaching, but an intellectual presentation of that subject or text. And there’s probably a lot of people who are listening to you that love that- they love gaining a new insight about a text that has troubled them, or finally having something explained to them in a new way.
But that’s not the point of preaching. Gaining insight about a text, or understanding of the biblical context around a passage is good, but it doesn’t move the human heart any closer to the Kingdom of God.
In asking this question of my sermons, I’m really trying to get at “Where does the Good News of the Gospel intersect with what people are going through in their lives right now?” I want to help people connect emotionally with the issue I will speak to in the coming minutes. I want to know where what I’m preaching speaks to the deep needs of the people that are listening- where it touches our shared human experience. I can explain a text all day long, but until I access their hearts, and show them where the Gospel touches their loneliness or their grief, their joy or their pain, their desire for more or their fear of the future, I haven’t really done what I need to do.
We want to partner with the Holy Spirit in seeing hearts moved toward God, and lives transformed more and more into the image of Christ. We’ll never really get there if we’re not constantly reminding ourselves to speak not just to the heads and intellect of our listeners, but to their hearts as well.
And finally, the last question I ask of my sermon is…

Where in this message do I give people something to do right now- rather than later?

Too often, the take away from our sermons is something to do, decide or die to later. And the real question is, how many of our listeners remember that past lunch, much less into the coming weeks and months. That’s why I always strive to give my listeners something to do right now– this morning, before we end this sermon. I want them to commit, to make a plan to do something, to decide to forgive someone- whatever it is. I want to give time for reflection, space to do business with God and challenge them to do it- to not wait until later, because later it will be forgotten. What is God saying to us today, and how will we answer Him?
These questions may seem like something of a checklist- I certainly don’t mean to complicate your sermon prep process. They have been useful to me as I have strived to preach the Gospel to whoever was listening, week in and week out, and to see that Gospel message become sticky in the lives of the people I pastor. Hopefully, they won’t necessitate a complete re-write for you this week, but subtle tweaks of a sentence here or there, and maybe a conclusion that points more to Jesus than it did before.
Unless, of course, your sermon this week is “Slaying the Giants in Your Life.” If it is, go ahead and start over.

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Spiritual Parenting

by Aaron Graham, Lead Pastor at The District Church (Washington, D.C.)

Originally Posted on November 16, 2017.

This last Sunday we had the privilege of hearing from Pastor Don Coleman from East End Fellowship and Pastor Stuart Royall from 180 Degrees Church. We had a conversation about discipleship and what it means
to be a spiritual mother or father to a younger son or daughter in the faith.

Our Scripture was 2 Timothy 2:2 “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”

We were highlighting our value of being a multiplying church that develops leaders and churches in DC and beyond and how this all starts through the process of multiplying disciples.

During my freshman year at the University of Richmond almost twenty years ago I met both Stuart and Don. Don was discipling Stuart as they ministered in a under-resourced community in the East End of Richmond and then Stuart started meeting with me to disciple me weekly.

The Apostle Paul says in I Corinthians 4:15 that you may have many teachers, but you do not have many fathers. Having a spiritual mother or father in your life is a rare gift and something to be cherished.

Spiritual mothering and fathering is a great goal to reach toward in discipleship, yet the reality is that most discipleship relationships occur on the counseling and mentoring level. But we must start somewhere and the reality is that spiritual fathering relationships always start off on the teacher or mentor level. But the key is that they progress toward a deeper level of trust and maturity.

Here is a helpful framework that I’ve used when it comes to thinking about discipleship in a 1:1 context. There is:

  1. Counseling – this is when you meet with someone to work through a specific challenge you are facing in your life.
  2. Mentoring – this is when you meet with someone to learn how you can grow in a specific area of your life.
  3. Spiritual Parenting – this is when a relationship moves beyond just mentoring to a life-long relationship because of trust and spiritual authority the person has been given.

One of the ways you know if you have a spiritual mother or father in your life is when that person delights in your success as a son or daughter more than their own. Spiritual fathers are willing to lay down their life for their sons.

We have many teachers in life that help us learn. We have many counselors who give us advice. We have many mentors who helps us grow to reach our goals in life. But there are few spiritual mothers and fathers.

My prayer for our churches is that God would raise up men and women of God right here to help mother and father the next generation of disciples.

The huge prayer response from Sunday gave me the sense that there is a real hunger for this.

To God by the glory!

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An Honest Look at Being White

Cyd Holsclaw, Ecclesia Board Member and Life on the Vine Member (Chicago, Illinois), shares her reflection 

Let me start by saying how unqualified I feel to write anything at all about cultural identity and race… and yet, I’m also about as white as white comes. I was born and raised in western Michigan, attended schools where all of my classmates were white, went to college in Minnesota where whites of northern European heritage were the dominant culture on campus, got a masters in environmental education where I was surrounded by crunchy white folks, moved to Santa Cruz California where those crunchy folks were just the ‘normal’ folks, married a white guy, and now I live in the suburbs of Chicago in a solidly middle / upper class community where most of the minorities are doing their best to assimilate to the dominant white culture. Although I have never consciously bought into any racist ideologies, I confess I spent most of my life believing that colorblindness was the right approach, the Christ-like approach.

A few years ago, through listening to some powerful voices, I learned that colorblindness is, in reality, a blind spot. Since then, I’ve been trying to be honest about my lack of awareness of cultural identities – both my own and those of my brothers and sisters of color. I’ve been trying to educate myself about the histories I was never taught, listening to sermons / podcasts from people of color, watching documentaries, and reading fiction by non-white authors. But the feeling that I’m not doing enough has often frustrated me. I’ve been overwhelmed by the nagging question of “what am I supposed to do?” Maybe some of you can resonate with that question, with that tension.

So when I saw Daniel Hill’s book, White Awake, and the subtitle read, “An honest look at what it means to be white,” I knew I had to read this book. What I found was a graciously urgent call from a white brother to all his white sisters and brothers to “let go of preconceived notions of expertise or understanding that you feel you might be bringing to this… pray like the blind man: ‘Lord, help me to see.’” Throughout the book, Hill is honest and authentic about his own misshapen theology, his misguided motivations, his failed attempts, and his weariness. By his admissions of weakness, he invites all white people to journey with him through the stages of waking up to cultural identity. He urges us to ask the question “can I see?” before we ask what to do. We can only actively participate in the kingdom calling to considering all of humanity as image bearers when we learn to see and dismantle the ways our culture perpetuates broken ways of naming humanity.

If you are a white person, know any white people, pastor any white people, or live with any white people, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Language shapes our understanding of our experience, and Hill gives concrete language for white people to understand what’s happening when they are first coming to terms with privilege. He begins with the first ‘encounter’ with race and white supremacy, concisely unpacking American history in such a way that anyone who has not yet encountered white privilege will be faced with some new realities. He lends grace for the ‘denial’ that usually follows this encounter and urges us to face the trauma we feel in discovering our complicity. Helpful metaphors / parables help us explore the resulting ‘disorientation’ and lead us into unpacking our ‘shame’ reactions that push us into ‘self-righteousness’. Along the way, he lays out spiritual practices to move us out of each stage and into the next: confronting narratives, facing trauma, deepening theology, lamenting, repenting. He provides some markers of what it might look like to be more culturally ‘awake’ and offers suggestions for possible ways to move from contemplation to ‘active participation’ in change.

As a board, we have had conversations about building cultural awareness within our network. We want to be honest about the ways in which the evil behind systems of racism have influenced our structures, our communication, and our inclusion (or lack thereof) of our sisters and brothers of color. I’m asking my white family, will you join us in taking an honest look at what it means to be white? This book is a great first step, and I would love to talk more with anyone who reads it at our national gathering in the spring.

And to my brothers and sisters of color, thank you so much for your perseverance. We don’t even know all the ways we have unintentionally made you feel unwelcome. You have been patient with us, showed us grace in our blindness, spoken into our lives, shared your stories with us, and longed with us for a community where all will be seen, heard, understood, and celebrated. Thank you. Let’s continue, together, to imagine a network that more fully anticipates the Revelation vision of a great multitude of culturally diverse people worshiping Christ together.

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From the National Director: Timelines

This summer Rachel and I have been gearing up for something we both thought we would never do – homeschooling!  For a variety of reasons we have discerned this is the best path for our family in the near-term.  As we have tried to dig ourselves into the world of curriculum for elementary school age children, we have found out just how much education has changed since we were little!  One of our favorite resources that we stumbled upon as we’ve tried to put together a stellar plan is the “timeline” song used by some who take the classical approach to education.  If you have never heard it before, you should look it up on Youtube.  It is sung to a relatively catchy tune for elementary age children and will refresh your memory on everything you were once taught in history classes that you have long forgotten.  The song lasts almost 13 minutes and ends with a reminder to the children that they are now part of the time-line of history and indeed can make some history of their own!

Ecclesia is coming up on 10 years since we “officially” started this Fall.  Our time-line began with a collection of 4 churches scattered across the country who envisioned a family on mission with one another.  The task of cultivating faithful expressions of the gospel in community seems more daunting now than when we first began a short decade ago.  The cultural landscape in the US has changed a great deal during that time, presenting great challenges to the people of Jesus who wish to provide a faithful and compelling witness.  Yet, with those great challenges are also great opportunities.

As I’ve thought about Ecclesia’s timeline and the timeline of many of the churches within our network, I know that many of you have experienced a season of challenge in the last year.  Some of you hoped that the challenges of 2016 would not carry into a new year.  For some that has turned about to the case, for others you find yourself still amidst of hardship.  In many ways, what the churches of Ecclesia experience in their life is what “we” as a network experience.  If it’s a tough year financially for you, it becomes a tough year financially for us.  If you are navigating thorny issues and conflict, we are navigating thorny issues and conflict, because we are committed to walk together.  Simultaneously, when new people enter the kingdom of God, or a family or neighborhood begins to be transformed, we all celebrate that with one another.

As I look over our collective timelines and with the jingle of the “timeline” song in my head, it’s a relief to remember that history is full of ups and downs, of seasons of fruitfulness and seasons of pruning.  The fruitfulness comes in cycles, as does the pruning.  Some years back Mike Breen spoke at our Ecclesia National Gathering and he reminded us that in seasons of pruning, our primary task is to abide (John 15).  We draw close to Jesus during those moments, we place ourselves mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically at rest and under his care.  We connect ourselves more to the source of life and in so doing, we will be renewed when the season of fruitfulness comes again.  Just as we are intended to abide and Christ during those moments, I hope that we can also abide/remain/be connected to one another.  For those who are in a different season, we celebrate with you and share in the joyful progress of the ministry Christ has given to your hands and heart.  It’s a tangible reminder that these seasons come and go.    In truth, it’s rare that fruitfulness and pruning are that distinct from one another.  The reality is that often they are both happening simultaneously, but our experience is identified by one more than the other.

Recently I was visiting a network church and talking with one of our pastors who was sharing with me how they occasionally lament that they don’t have a building as it often feels like a barrier to growth in their community.  He then went on to tell me how his wife recently corrected him about his lamentations as they have 80-100 people within their congregation who really “get it” and are genuinely pursuing Jesus and His mission.  As he sat with those words he told me that he came to see what a beautiful thing he has caring for in those 80-100 people.  I couldn’t agree more.

Whether you have 500-1000 in your congregation (as some churches in Ecclesia do) or 30-40 (as others do), helping the people of Jesus loves to grow up into the measure of the statue of the fullness of Christ is an awesome and history making task within itself, particularly as you help them come to understand their role in the great time-line of God’s kingdom action here on earth.  Each week you preach or pray or create or counsel is a critical task.  And, in spite of the odds, we can take great joy in knowing that those who have gone before and those who will come after have felt this same way.  So, let’s take joy in hardship and celebration and let’s do it together!

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Event w/ Darrell Guder POSTPONED

Pastors and Kingdom Leaders, 

We were scheduled to meet Tuesday in Plymouth Meeting, PA for an event featuring Dr. Darrell Guder. Unfortunately, Dr. Guder recently informed us that a medical emergency has occurred in his family and he will be unable to join us for the event. 

Therefore, we are postponing Tuesday’s event. We will find another date that suits Dr. Guder’s schedule in the near future and let you all know when the reschedule date is for this event. 

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Some Updates from the Network

Ecclesia News

Keas Keasler Accepts New Role with Friends University & Apprentice InstituteSarah and Keas Keasler are moving to Wichita! After five and a half years of serving at Ecclesia’s Rhythm Church in Miami, Keas has accepted a professor position at Friends University in Wichita, Kansas.

Starting in August he’ll be the Assistant Professor of Christian Spiritual Formation at Friends University, a Christian liberal arts college, teaching undergraduate students as well as working with James Bryan Smith to build a Master’s program for higher-level thinking in the field of Christian discipleship and formation. Sarah will be pursuing her master’s degree in business administration (MBA), something she has been wanting to do for some time now.

Keas says: “This move is bittersweet for both me and Sarah. We couldn’t be more excited about stepping into what God has for us in this next season of life and joining the team at Friends University. But we feel a great deal of sadness that we’ll no longer be a part of Rhythm and our community in Miami. I don’t have words to express what a joy and privilege it has been to lead a community like Rhythm and do ministry with my best friends. “Love God Love Miami” will be something we hold onto forever!”
Mark Moore to Serve as Next Lead Pastor of River Valley Church!
After a lengthy search process, River Valley Church in Mishawaka IN has selected Mark Moore as their next Lead Pastor. He is set to begin July 31st. Previously, Mark serves as Director of Church Mobilization for International Justice Mission. Prior to that he served a short season on the staff of Ecclesia as Director of Coaching and Missional Formation.

“It was just a few days after I learned that River Valley’s former Lead Pastor, Rick Callahan would be concluding his time at River Valley that I called Mark to mention that a position might be opening”, relates Chris Backert, Eccelsia’s National Director. “From walking along with several of River Valley’s leaders the last several years, I had a sense of the kind of person the church may need during this next season. Of course, I’m delighted that as they worked through their own process and time-line that out of dozens and dozens of candidates, they also believe Mark would be the kind of leader to shepherd River Valley in this next era.”

We’re pleased to welcome two new members to our Ecclesia Board…

Ecclesia is excited to announce the addition of two seasoned leaders to our governing board. Mia Chang, Lead Pastor of Next Gen Church outside Princeton, NJ and Jon Seltenheim, Senior Vice-President of Business & Government Strategy for United Concordia will each bring a critical set of skills and perspectives to the leadership of Ecclesia.

Next Gen churched was formed from a gathering of friends longing to see a new expression of the gospel that was explicitly multi-cultural formed several years ago. Under Mia’s leadership, Next Gen has proven to be a mission-shaped and spirit-empowered congregation that is reaching across a wide range of ethnic and economic situations in central New Jersey.

Jon comes to Ecclesia as a result of his friendship and support of both Ecclesia leaders and Ecclesia congregations. He has more than 30 years experience in leadership in the insurance industry. He has been recognized as an outstanding leader in his field and as a dedicated contributor to the non-profit sector.

On these new additions, National Director Chris Backert shares, “With Mia and Jon joining our leadership team, we are adding two people of both high competence and high character. Many in our network have learned from Mia in the areas of multi-cultural ministry and life in the Spirit. We are excited to have her shaping our collective efforts in these and many other ways. Jon is also the right addition at the right time for Ecclesia as we seek to solidify the organizational aspects of our ministry. He has a unique blend of organizational and administrative expertise, while being invested in the local church and new congregations in particular.”

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