Chuck Swindoll: On Preaching Experience

"I don't think you can preach for decades and not go through changes," Swindoll says. "I believe I'm different now than when I first began, with the feeling of a little more confidence in style or approach to a particular message I'd be delivering. I don't struggle as much with how I want to introduce a message or if I want to."

Chuck Swindoll: On his Favorite Book to Preach

"I don't have a favorite verse," Swindoll says in an interview with Preaching. "I don't have a favorite character. I don't have a favorite book. I know it's disappointing to people. They'll say, when they ask me to sign something, "Just put your favorite verse there." I often may put the verse I just preached on if it follows a particular meeting where we were there together. "

A Church for a Guy Like Me: Making the Case for Less Assumptive Preaching

"There ought to be a church for a guy like me," Rick said. The words left me speechless and has changed the trajectory of my sermon development and delivery ever since. We were sitting at a Furr's Cafeteria in East Dallas having lunch. I had met Rick just three days before on the Sunday after the worship service that I helped plan. In one conversation Rick changed my preaching forever.

Collaborative Preaching: Gathering Other Voices in Sermon Preparation

There is one comment preachers long to hear after they preach a sermon: "I felt like God was speaking to me directly through you." When this happens, the preacher knows he or she has been to be able to articulate the particular situation of the parishioner and respond with the appropriate word from God. There are several things a preacher can do to help achieve this.

It’s All About Them: Communicating Through Connecting

I tried making conversation with Carlos, asking questions about his background and his family in an attempt to get to know him, but he never really engaged. His answers were pleasant but short. I liked him, but I quickly realized he wasn't really interested in me or anyone else in the group; and he wasn't going to do anything to connect with us.

Chuck Swindoll: On Authenticity

In an interview with Chuck Swindoll, he recalls: "I remember my wife hearing me early on when I was preaching as a senior pastor. It happened to be in New England. She said to me as I mentioned the struggle of the morning, "I wish you were just who you are more."

Getting Attention

In his most recent Ministry Toolbox newsletter, Rick Warren observes, "most people would agree that attention spans are shrinking. That means the people you and I preach to each week are less likely to sit and focus as long as congregations could a generation ago. We can complain about it and we can let it frustrate us. But we can't change it.