As a young pastor I can remember the feeling of expectancy when I took the pulpit of my church for the first time. I had graduated with a Masters of Divinity degree and had been awarded the school’s top preaching award. I thought I was ready to take on the world through the ministry of my small town church.
Two years later, the church was still stuck in the mud. My inexperience as a preacher was taking a toll on the church and me as well.
Nothing is more personal to a pastor than his preaching. When we are criticized for our messages, it penetrates all the way to the heart. I can remember the jabs I received from some of the old-timers who were still in mourning over the loss of the former pastor. It hurt.
I began to pray for God to help me learn to lead my church, and I received a postcard in the mail two weeks later that I have come to believe was God’s answer to me. It was an invitation to the first Purpose Driven seminar offered in Southern California.
Toward the end of the conference, Rick Warren reminded us that the only thing we could immediately change in our churches was how we preached. With that in mind, I went home and made some last-minute changes to the message that I would be preaching that Sunday.
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