Congregational Input—
On the Fly or Ahead of Time?

May 25, 2015 by admin

It takes a very brave and skillful pastor to stop in the middle of a sermon and ask for congregational input. That’s something that few pastors can pull off successfully. I did recently observe a very fruitful effort at inviting the congregation’s comments into the very heart of the sermon. But that’s definitely an exception.

Throughout my many years of ministry, I’ve used an entirely different technique to gain insight into the thinking of the members of my congregation or the audience of my radio and television. programs. In Podcast No. 111, I share the practices I’ve found helpful in more closely relating to the thoughts, hopes, dreams, and needs of the members of a congregation. If you wish to hear my thoughts, please click the link on this page that will take you to my Sermon-Coach website and, then, click on the link for this Podcast.

As pastors, we seek to make our sermons relevant to exactly where our people are in their daily lives. No technique facilitates that better than seeking input in the ways I suggest in this Podcast. I truly hope you find my comments helpful.

For quite a few weeks now, I’ve shared with you about my new book entitled The Sermon Sucking Black Hole—Why You Can’t Remember on Monday What Your Minister Preached on Sunday. This book is scheduled for release in early May. In the meantime, you may pre-order the book at Amazon.com by clicking here.

This book gives information about how to make your sermons memorable. And, it also gives some solid tips to the people sitting in the congregation to help them remember what you’ve said.

Please click here to visit David Mains’ Sermon-Coach.com website.

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Please click here.

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The Importance of Invitations

May 19, 2015 by admin

I grew up in a church where it seems as if an invitation was given at the end of every service. As a young person, I didn’t think very much about that. It was just a normal part of going to church.

For the twenty plus years I spent in radio and television ministry, I became accustomed to how difficult it was to actually give an invitation to listeners who weren’t physically present and who also may have been engaged in other activities as they were listening.

Of late, I’ve been thinking a lot about the value that invitations can have when they give the people listening to a pastor’s sermon the opportunity to make some physical manifestation of an inward response. And, because I want to make certain that pastors don’t overlook the value of invitations, I’ve made “invitations” the subject of Podcast No. 110.

If you want to hear what I have to say about this important topic, I invite you to click the link on this page that will take you to my Sermon-Coach.com website. Once there, you will be able to choose to listen to this particular Podcast. I think you will find what I have to say quite interesting. At least that’s my hope.

Invitations can play an important role in helping the members of your congregation internalize the response you ask them to make in your sermon. This certainly is a day when we want our people to learn how to respond positively and deliberately to God’s call on their lives.

This book gives information about how to make your sermons memorable. And, it also gives some solid tips to the people sitting in the congregation to help them remember what you’ve said.

Please click here to visit David Mains’ Sermon-Coach.com website.

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Please click here.

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A Rich Resource

May 12, 2015 by admin

How important to your ministry is your pastoral library? If you’re anything like me, your library is very important. Over the years, I’ve accumulated, read, and cataloged so many books that I would be hard pressed to even estimate how many I actually have in my library. Many of the books were given to me by people I hold in very high esteem. They were kind enough to autograph those volumes. When I take one of those books in my hand, I remember the occasion during which I had the privilege of meeting with and talking with the author.

There is no doubt that pastors rely on their libraries as an important resource when they develop their sermons. But, many years ago, I discovered an even more valuable resource. Across the span of my years in ministry, this resource has become ever more important in helping me craft sermons that will effectively convey the message God wants me to share. That resource is people.

When I served as the pastor of a church, the people I consulted were the members of my congregation. Later, when I worked in radio and television, I would talk with members of my staff about the messages I was preparing for broadcast. In each case, I received information so valuable that I would find it difficult to assign a high enough value for this critical resource.

In Podcast No. 209, I share my thoughts on how pastors can tap into this valuable resource and use it to make their sermons even more effective. If you would like to hear what I have to say on this topic, I invite you to click the link on this page that will take you to my Sermon-Coach.com website. On that site, you will be able to listen to this particular Podcast.

As you listen, I hope my thoughts will spur your own thinking about ways that you can use the valuable resource found in the members of your congregation to help you develop life-transforming sermons. Once you tap into this valuable source of information, I think you will find it helps you place your sermons in a context that will be most helpful to your people.

This book gives information about how to make your sermons memorable. And, it also gives some solid tips to the people sitting in the congregation to help them remember what you’ve said.

Please click here to visit David Mains’ Sermon-Coach.com website.

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Please click here.

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A Greater Sense of Urgency

May 5, 2015 by admin

When you preach do you feel that you display a greater sense of urgency? I mean when you stand in front of your congregation each week do you sense that the message God has given you to preach has a definite component of urgency?

I have long been accused of having too singular a focus in my preaching ministry. Virtually every sermon I prepare and preach has a definite component of calling the church, families, and individuals to revival. It’s a message that God gave to me long ago. And, it’s a message that He regularly re-confirms.

I’ve been accused of being a “Johnny-One-Note.” And, I guess I am—at least in the sense that I feel moved by God to offer a consistent message for my listeners. I truly believe that the only hope for our nation and for the world is to experience a sweeping movement of the Holy Spirit that will bring new life to the church and to its people.

Even more so, I believe this is a time when pastors need to develop a sense of urgency in their preaching. That’s why I made this topic of urgency the thrust of Podcast No. 208.

If you would like to hear what I have to say about this critically important topic for ministers, I urge you to click the link on this page that will take you to my Sermon-Coach.com website. Once there, you will be able to listen to this particular Podcast.

As you listen, I invite you to remain open to what the Holy Spirit might say to your own heart. Perhaps you will sense Him calling you to make your preaching more urgent in these important days. At least that will be my prayer for you as you listen.

This book gives information about how to make your sermons memorable. And, it also gives some solid tips to the people sitting in the congregation to help them remember what you’ve said.

Please click here to visit David Mains’ Sermon-Coach.com website.

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Please click here.

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