I was taught at quite an early stage of my ordained life that having four talks / sermons / presentations on the go at the same time was a good habit. Whilst drawing the beginnings of a sketch of the one in four week's time I could be polishing this week's. Great advice from the days when there was no more than one new presentation a week.
Last night I realised that the next four presentations I was working on only took me as far as the first of two services on Sunday morning. I had Wednesday night Alpha talk. Two Bible studies today (for one of which I prepared the wrong passage, durr), a major talk on Saturday to the 25th anniversary of my old venture (not too late to book, email the Godstuff office) and two different Sunday preachments. Help.
My personal aim for the next twelve months, as set out on Tuesday evening at our Annual Parochial Church Meeting, is to maximise the number of opportunities to speak to any groups of people who meet in the town. I didn't think it would happen that fast.
2 comments:
so why don't you cut the 'speaking' engagements?
I used to give 4 or 5 lectures a week in the old days, but then I worked out that my students started to learn when I stopped teaching... (and before you quip, no I was and am an ok/good speaker)
but I found the more I spoke, the less that my students set out to learn for themselves.
Now, of course there are occasions when a talk/presentation is necessary... I still do an occasional session... but you could cut down, you could find different ways of helping people think new thoughts, see in different ways and act more like Jesus...
give up the preaching st... I know you'll not agree with me, none of you ordained people do... sigh...
Hmm. Give up the preaching. What I said was that I wanted to maximise the opportunities to speak to groups of people, by which I mean, have a conversation with, not preach at.
I think you'd be surprised at the dialogue that our sermons are now.
Interruptions, heckles and emails later to clarify. Blog posts to go with. Study material for small groups. All very much more inter-active. Aa you say, you still speak occasionally. I do. It just happens that this week I have four differnt gorups of peole in three dasy to speak to.
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