A Pledge for Every Pastor. A Pledge for Every Christian.

I love to preach.


In my early days of youth ministry, preaching opportunities didn't come very often. So when I got the call one Saturday night that the pastor was sick, I felt great that he felt terrible!

"Do you have a sermon you could use Heath?"
"Absolutely", I lied. 

So it was 8pm on a Saturday night, and I had no sermon. After attempting to work through a couple thoughts, nothing was catching my attention. Thinking back, I'm pretty sure prayer was not a part of this process either.

So I tried the internet. Websites are available that allow you to download someone else's sermon, and I quickly found one that looked promising. I spent a few hours trying to put some personal touches on it, and then preached it the next morning.

It bombed. 
How do I know this? Because it stirred nothing in my own heart.

2 Timothy 4:2
"Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season..."

As much as I loved preaching, I wasn't prepared for the opportunity before it came. I hadn't taken my spare time to consider a passage of scripture and to wrestle with it for my next preaching opportunity.

So I made a pledge long before preaching became a regular ministry duty: I will never preach a Saturday night special.

But I see a pledge for the non-preaching church attender as well. I'm currently reading Dangerous Calling by Paul David Tripp (always trust a man with an epic mustache).

Tripp writes, "If your heart is in functional awe of the glory of God, then there will be no place in your heart for poorly prepared, badly delivered [sermons]." In other words, you can't challenge others to life change that you have failed to embrace yourself. I recall a similar lesson taught with splinters and wood. 

So here is the pledge for every pastor, and for every Christian: Don't live unprepared. I pledge to never ask my congregation to wrestle with a message I have not wrestled with first. And every believer should ensure that the prayers and scripture of corporate worship are not your first of the day.