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How long does it take to ....

Discussion in 'Pastoral Ministries' started by exscentric, Sep 20, 2011.

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  1. exscentric

    exscentric Well-Known Member
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    How long does it take to prepare a sermon?

    "“As long as the Bible is open, and Jesus is the hero, I'm glad.”"

    ""a sermon takes about as long to prep as preach.”"

    "When prepping a sermon, I first lay out the text of Scripture into units of thought. I then get a big idea for each thought unit, make a few notes on each, and read commentaries quickly to catch anything I've missed. Generally, this takes me about an hour."

    http://www.churchleaders.com/pastor...er&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily-Update
     
    #1 exscentric, Sep 20, 2011
  2. gb93433

    gb93433 Active Member
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    If I am preaching through a book I begin by reading the entire book and then followed by looking for breaks in the text that form units of thought. Discourse analysis helps that a lot and to remain close to the text.

    If I am unsure about words then I do a concordance search to see how they are used in the book in their respective context.

    To be sure I understand the book I also do some reading on the historical background of the book.
     
    #2 gb93433, Sep 20, 2011
  3. annsni

    annsni Well-Known Member
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    I remember watching a segment of the Elephant Room where there were a number of currently well-known pastors talking about how long it took to prepare their sermons. Driscoll by far was the shortest but one thing I know about him is that he also has a team of researchers who pull a lot of stuff together for him beforehand. But the other pastors all said 8+ hours.

    For my husband, he usually knows where he's going (like now he's preaching through Nehemiah so he knows what's coming next) and he spends time each day reading through the passage he will teach on. Thursday is sermon prep day and he takes the whole day to put it together. It's not really complete that day but close to it and Friday and Saturday will be days spent with maybe another hour or so each of the two days to cement it down. He'll print it out Saturday and that means that it's done. Of course there have been numerous days he'll ask for a pen in the car so it still has time to be changed even then. LOL So all in all? I'd say that he probably spends 8-10 hours a week on sermon prep.
     
    #3 annsni, Sep 20, 2011
  4. revmwc

    revmwc Well-Known Member

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    It really depends on the person who is preparing it. For some it could take up to a week for a seasoned pastor it might not take as long. The main thing is having the heart prepared for the Message the Holy Spirit is laying on your heart to bring.
     
    #4 revmwc, Sep 20, 2011
  5. Trotter

    Trotter <img src =/6412.jpg>

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    I have had some that materialized in a couple of hours and some that took many days. It depends on the moving of the Spirit and my willingness to listen for the most part.
     
    #5 Trotter, Sep 24, 2011
  6. Ruiz

    Ruiz New Member

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    Depends.

    If I am working through a book, it takes less time than if I am preaching one sermon on one subject. The book build upon the previous week and there is preparation you have been doing all along.

    As well, it depends on how long. Some places I have preached they only want a 20 minute sermon. Others, I preach for an entire hour or more.

    I think I spend on average of 12-15 hours per sermon. This does not include practicing my delivery.
     
    #6 Ruiz, Sep 24, 2011
  7. sag38

    sag38 Active Member

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    Sometimes I spend hours on end it seems. It is intensive labor. Other times the sermon comes very quickly and easily. There have been a few time where after hours of work I was unable to really develop a working outline. So, I got in the pulpit, turned to the scripture, and God took care of the rest. Seems those have been some of the best sermons based on response from the congregation.
     
    #7 sag38, Sep 27, 2011
  8. plain_n_simple

    plain_n_simple Active Member

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    20 or so minutes of prayer and worship before I speak then I let the spirit take over and preach the gospel. Sometimes it's different like when praying over the sick and a healing happens then God wants to speak. I try not to make it a method.
     
    #8 plain_n_simple, Oct 20, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 20, 2011
  9. annsni

    annsni Well-Known Member
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    You don't do any sermon prep at all?
     
    #9 annsni, Oct 20, 2011
  10. Jim1999

    Jim1999 <img src =/Jim1999.jpg>

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    There is a story about the preacher who forgot his sermon notes. He said to the congregation, "I forgot my sermon notes this morning. I shall have to depend on the Lord."

    "I will be better prepared this evening."

    Cheers,

    Jim
     
    #10 Jim1999, Oct 20, 2011
  11. plain_n_simple

    plain_n_simple Active Member

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    Not really, it's never exactly the same. If there is something on my heart or a situation develops through the week I tend to go that direction but if I hear something different I trust that He will speak. Sometimes I don't have anything to say lol.
     
    #11 plain_n_simple, Oct 20, 2011
  12. PeterM

    PeterM Member

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    On average, my message prep runs about 6 to 8 hours per week for a Sunday morning and maybe 3 to 4 for a Wednesday evening teaching time.

    The interesting question for me would be how long are your messages themselves. Personally, I have pretty much rejected the 20 to 30 minute goal and the "attention" span argument. Biblical illiteracy is a massive problem in the western church these days and "clock watching" is an enemy. My messages run no less than 40 minutes, but I have been known to go the better part of an hour. As I have arrived in that place and found comfort personally and have received overwhelming support from my leaders and church members, I realized that I was actually more concerned with the desires of people than with what God wanted.

    Not that it matters ultimately, but many of the more "popular" pastors (Driscoll, Chandler, Platt, ect.) typically are in the same neighborhood. From my point of view, God builds each of us to be different and we need to be true to him and true to who we are... not who we want to be.

    Have a great Lord's Day tomorrow!!!
     
    #12 PeterM, Oct 22, 2011
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