The Necessity of Time...

I just got out of teaching a class on message prep to our Generation Acts students, and my talk included a point about the necessity of time. Basically, the idea is that there is no substitute for time spent in message preparation. The amount of time varies, of course, but the need for it does not. As I was teaching, God was talking, and I thought I would share some thoughts.

Its pretty clear to me that my primary role as a pastor/teacher is to share a relevant, God-inspired message each time I step up to talk to my congregation (or any other group for that matter.) I was recently reminded what an incredible privilege it is to be able to speak on behalf of God to His people. Just this week, someone shared with me how a recent message had totally changed his perspective on a pretty important topic. I am always amazed that anything I say has that kind of influence. Yet, repeatedly, God chooses to use regular guys like me and you to share a "word in season" into someone's life. What an awesome privilege...what a huge responsibility. A responsibility that probably demands more of my time.

I was convicted this morning (as I was teaching...of course) that when I fail to put in the time needed to really "develop" a message, I am undervaluing the privilege and underrating the responsibility. Of course, time needed to develop a message varies from topic to topic, and from speaker to speaker; however, we must never forget that time IS needed. All of us have walked to a podium at some time or another unprepared, for whatever reason, and God often will help us out in those moments. But don't you think that should be a rarity?. I do. Honestly, I already put a lot of time in on prep each week...but there is room for more. I'll bet most of us could push message prep a few notches up the list on our priorities. Am I wrong?

So, for me, I'm back to evaluating my prep practices and looking for ways to spend more time doing it. Time Blocks are a great for some folks, but they have never really worked for me. I use a concept I call Time Rhythms, which is basically understanding that every one of us has a typical rhythm/pace to their life, and we can cooperate or contend against those rhythms in getting things done. I choose to cooperate. Simply put...I know when my energies are up and when they are spent, when my mind is sharp and when it is dull (too often, btw), and I know when it is most productive for me to spend time in message prep mode. That process works for me, and I use that philosophy with most other things in my life as well. Guess I just need to cooperate a little better going forward!

One of the core values at our church is Relevant Truth, expressing our belief that His Word is always relevant to our lives. That value is reflected in my opinion that there is never an excuse for God's Word to be presented in an irrelevant, uninteresting way...it's way too important and alive for that! Further, there is no substitute for time in preparing a life-giving, relevant and God-inspired message for our people. I, for one, am committed to such.

Preach on, preachers!

- Clayton