Editor’s Note: This week we welcome Elizabeth-Anne’s SBC Story about calling and ministry. Elizabeth-Anne Lovell is part of the 3MMM Team, teaches Jesus in the Gospel and Film at Belmont University, and is a brand new mom.ย Itโs Not You,…
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A few days ago I took part in a conversation with The Bridge for Early Career Preachers. The focus of the webinar was sustainable preaching. The coordinators for The Bridge, Dr. Rich Voltz and Rev. Mandy England Cole invited me,…
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Preach It is the best of preaching times. It is the worst of preaching times. Headlines are full of natural and human disaster. People’s lives full of uncertainty and grief and lament. We all could use a word. But which…
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“Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid.” โ Frederick Buechner This is the kind of week when many terrible things are happening. In New Orleans and southern Louisiana. And in Afghanistan. In Southern California.…
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In my new book Pastoral Imagination: Bringing the Practice of Ministry to Life, I address preaching in multiple chapters. I was fortunate to learn from wise and skilled pastors and professors in my years of seminary. Many of the concepts…
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Facing our fears. It can be hard even to admit our fears, much less face them. Fear of loss. Fear of disappointment. Fear of notย getting what you want and fear of getting it. Fear of walking down the street. Fear…
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Recently I joined a few other preachers to talk about the craft of sermon writing. We held our conversation as a panel discussion in a Sunday morning worship service. Six women talking together about how they might plan for preaching…
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Accountability. Without some accountability, learning goals can certainly fall flat. Learning practices as complex and subtle as ministry, does not work well in isolation or without good partners, mentors and friends. Being accountable to them requires trust and openness. Today’s…
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What is the role of prayer and meditation in the practice of ministry? I have worked on that question for many years. It became focused as a question around the time that I finished my doctoral studies. In these last…
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I felt enthralled and overwhelmed by the sculpture of Mary holding Jesus (pictured above) when I stepped into the foyer at Belle Meade United Methodist Church to film this week’s episode ofย Three Minute Ministry Mentor. And the name of the…
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Festival of Young Women Preachers April 7, 2016 | Eden Seminary | St. Louis, Missouriย A Blessing for the Preachers Bless these hands as they handle sacred Scripture, and sacred stories, and sacred moments of the preaching and pastoral life.…
Read MoreSermon Checklistย Planning a sermon has a lot of moving parts. Especially for beginners,ย when you getย caught up in the sermon itself, it’s easy to forget logisticalย details. Here’s a checklist that may help, so you don’t find yourself tripping into the…
Read MoreNorthwest Chapel of the Cross on the campus of Luther Seminary St. Paul, Minnesota Where I will be preaching on Friday.
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