working ahead

Ask any Pastor about the most stressful part of his job and he would probably say, that it is the intensity of preparing messages week after week after week. It doesn't let up. It's like standing on the shore of the ocean. The waves keep on coming. Our Worship Pastor Eric Peters refers to this as the relentless onslaught of the Sabbath.
Whatever you call it, it is hard work. One of the ways to relieve some of that pressure is by working as far in advance as possible. For me, having general message series ideas and topics 6 months out feels about right.
Yesterday I (sort of) completed January through June of 2008. Next Tuesday our creative team will meet all day trying to fine tune the creative elements. This is by no means an exact science, because things can (and sometimes, should) change.
If you are a Speaking Pastor or anyone on a creative team and have never had the luxury of being out ahead, why not start by putting your 2008 calendar together now? Start with the Big Idea, (the topic or message series) you want to cover in 2008. You don't need full outlines or anything real in-depth at this point, just where you are wanting to go with the message in general, and then start filling in the details as you get together. For instance, I am going to do a 3 week message series called "Obey". The 3 things I will be talking about will be, Obeying God even when it doesn't make sense (The story of Abraham offering Isaac as a sacrififce). The next week is obeying God even when you don't really want to (The story of Jonah), and the last week will be obeying God even when it costs you something (Jesus willingness to go to the cross).

When we get together as a team next Tuesday we will try to nail down creative elements (series logo ideas, staging design ideas,video needs, faith stories, etc) Each of these things has a timeline and a deadline. Once the decisions are finalized everyone has their assignment, and(in a perfect world) it comes together just like it's supposed to!

The bottom line is that all of this is hard work, but when lives are changing, it's all worth it! One last thing that is the key that we can never forget: No matter how slick or creative our services are---if the Holy Spirirt doesn't show up, it's just entertainment! He is the one who changes lives, so leave room for Him to guide the entire process.