My Sermon Preparation Process
Another installment in my ongoing series connected to Pepperdine's Compelling Preaching Initiative.
You can find more information about applying for Pepperdine’s Compelling Initiative here.
I have a seven step process for preparing sermons.
The steps are straightforward enough. The twist is when I aim to complete each step.
First, the steps.
1. Study: This step includes reading the text carefully and consulting other resources such as Bible dictionaries and commentaries, and increasingly checking to see if Richard Beck has written anything on the subject. When I initially read through the text, I write down all the questions it raises for me. Some of the questions get answered as I study. Some have no answers. Some show up in the sermon.
2. Storyboard: I collect all the elements from my study, as well as anything I’ve tagged in my Notes app related to the sermon theme, by listing all scripture references, questions, insights, quotes, stats, stories, jokes, and random observations on a legal pad. Then I begin storyboarding these elements on a whiteboard in my office. Only a small fraction of what’s on the legal pad makes it onto the board. My goal in this step is to determine the flow and structure of the sermon without getting bogged down in precise wording.1
3. Write: Using my storyboard, I write out the first draft of my sermon as a Mind Map in MindManager. Sometimes as I write the first draft, I discover my initial storyboard isn’t working or an element I included doesn’t fit or a previously discarded element belongs. I try not to overthink any of this. The goal of a first draft is to “cover the canvas.” When in doubt, include it. This is not the time to edit. (I constantly have to kick the editing part of my brain out of the room during this step.)
4. Edit: I ruthlessly eliminate all the unnecessary or unhelpful elements I included in my first draft. If I’m not sure something belongs,2 it probably doesn’t. My mantra for this step is “When in doubt, cut it out.” The final step of my editing process is to read through the sermon and create the slides I need to support or enhance what I’m saying.3
5. Rest: My goal is to be done with the sermon by EOD Thursday so I can let it rest on Friday. Much like not opening the lid on the smoker while cooking a brisket,4 I resist the urge to open up the sermon and tweak it on Friday.
6. Internalize: On Saturday, I go through my delivery preparation process so I can speak without notes.
7. Preach: I don’t consider the sermon finished until I deliver it to the church on Sunday, because I continue to tweak it right up until I step onto the stage and start preaching. Some sermons are still getting tweaked as I’m preaching.
My goal is to complete each of the steps on a specific day of the week. So my typical week looks something like this:
Monday-Study
Tuesday-Storyboard
Wednesday-Write
Thursday-Edit
Friday-Rest
Saturday-Internalize
Sunday-Preach
This is an ideal schedule. The days of my week rarely fall into categories this clean, but it gives me something to aim for. These steps don’t necessarily require long periods of time each day. I may study for an hour or two. The storyboarding may take thirty minutes. The first draft usually takes a couple of hours. Editing and preparing slides can take up most of Thursday. Some weeks they all seem to take FOREVER.
Now comes the twist.
I stagger these steps across several weeks so that I spend almost a month with a sermon before I deliver it. This part of the process is easier to display that describe. Here’s what it looks like on my tracking spreadsheet.
I don’t beat myself up if I can’t stick to this schedule every week. If I fall behind I can usually catch up by combining the study/storyboard/writing steps into one or two days. I always manage to write and preach a sermon no matter what happens to my ideal week.
This approach helps reduce my anxiety about not having anything to say on Sunday. By the time I get to the editing step on Thursday, I already have a preachable first draft. It’s not great, but it is better than a blank page.
The more time I have to edit, the better the sermon (usually) gets. Spacing out the writing and editing also allows me to come back to the first draft a week later with a more objective perspective, which helps me see what is missing and what doesn’t belong.
This process also helps me preach shorter sermons, because already knowing the general shape of the next several sermons allows me to pace how many essential ideas I include in a single sermon.
That’s it.5
Hit me up with your questions in the comments.
If a nice phrase comes to mind, though, I will jot it down.
Usually a joke, but sometimes a minute detail meant to impress the congregation with the depth of my research.
Slides come last, not first. Slides are not the message; they serve the message. (Steps off soapbox.)
If you’re looking, you ain’t cooking.
And yes, I pray throughout this process. I also consider the process itself a form of prayer.
I’m understanding more and more why your sermons are so appropriate and needed. Because of your thoughtful and prayerful process, I believe you can substantially and scripturally preach more in 20 minutes than most preachers do in 45. I thank you and appreciate you so much.
You are an excellent speaker and this article helps explain why. Have you ever thought about integrating a feedback loop into your rhythms? It may not be weekly, but regularly evaluating the efficacy of your sermons might prove helpful. This will challenge you by constantly evaluating your definition of “success” and how a third party would recognize your sermons real world impacts.