The college from which I graduated well over 50 years ago has a new president. Though I have never met this man, people speak highly of him.
Recently I received a letter from his office, which included this short paragraph:
“Since taking the helm at Wheaton, I have been doing a lot of listening—to students, to faculty, staff and alumni. I believe it is time to extend this listening exercise to alumni in a more intentional and creative way.”
Essentially the letter states that a present Wheaton student will be contacting us to ask for a 45-minute face-to-face interview and he/she will not be asking for financial support. Sure enough, the next week I got an e-mail requesting just such a time.
I find this approach attractive and recommend it for churches as well. It doesn’t matter if you are a new minister or one who’s been around for over a decade. Pastors tend to lose contact with where many of their parishioners are. Giving them an opportunity to express their thoughts, even through a third party, helps them feel like their opinions still have value. And don’t forget to include that line about not asking for money!
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Sunday’s coming. Do you have your sermon ready? Is it relevant? Will it effectively motivate your congregation to walk more in step with the Master? What about that Sermon Series you’ve been thinking about?
Or, if you’re someone who plans well ahead, have you asked yourself what you will preach for your Easter Sermon, your Advent Sermon, your Christmas Sermon?
David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help. We offer a wide variety of Sermon Starters and Full Sermons that will give you Sermon Ideas to help you prepare for regular Saturday or Sunday sermons, Mid-week Bible Sermons, and Sermons for special occasions.
We also offer assistance as you create Topical Sermons, Sermons Series, and sermons for special times of the year. We have resources available to help you with Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermons, Easter Sunday Sermons, Patriotic Sermons, and more.
For more information on how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into Sermon Outlines, and then into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons, please click here to visit David Mains’ website.
You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.
