For you wordsmiths out there, Mark Batterson lists his five rules for writing. If you prepare sermons, most of these apply. Here's a summary:
1. Start bright and early, well before your "official day" begins; for afternoons, grab a cat-nap.
2. Remember you're on "holy ground" when writing. Your words could lead a reader to a "God encounter."
3. Take days off between chapters to maintain perspective.
4. Hook your readers at the start of each chapter with a strong organizing metaphor.
5. Write for intrinsic reasons, "because you can't not write."
Good suggestions. Rule #2 struck me, especially since Batterson says he does this by taking off his shoes. I like the idea of using a physical discipline to focus a cerebral process like writing. It reminds me of C.S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters, where the devil Screwtape comments on kneeling:
At the very least, [people] can be persuaded that the bodily position makes no difference to their prayers; for they constantly forget what you must always remember, that they are animals and that whatever their bodies do affects their souls.
I also appreciate that, for Batterson, the holiness of writing means that he bathes the process in prayer. Can't argue with doing that.
However, I do wonder about the "holy ground" imagery. That sounds to me as if the writer or preacher has special access to God, a private viewing of the burning bush, which would be unbiblical and, well, a little arrogant. I don't think that's what Batterson means to say. His point is that God can use your words for His purposes, so be a good steward of them. Again, can't argue. But the metaphor strikes me as misleading.
So if you're a pastor, then what's a better physical reminder to use in your preparation?
Do a hand-stand.
Why: The Fall turned everything upside-down.
Why not: Your sermons won't crack five minutes, for better or (hopefully) for worse.
Hang a punching bag in your study.
Why: "I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified" (1 Cor. 9:26b-27).
Why not: Those rumors about your anger issues are about to take off.
Wear an eye patch.
Why: "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye" (Matt. 7:5).
Why not: Your kids' Pirates of the Caribbean lovefest finally died out last year. Don't remind them.
Okay, I don't have any better suggestions, so help me out. What do pastors need to remember when working on their sermons?
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Comments
I'm not sure your beef here is pointing in the right direction. Moses standing before the presence of God was needed to be addressed and was stated simply by saying "you are standing on holy ground." The phrase is an easy reminder for us as pastors and teachers to take this responsibility with utmost respect and thought. James tells us that we will be judged more strictly (3:1). Solomon in Ecclesiastes describes a wise preacher is one that choose his words carefully to both make the point stick and not to add to what God really says. Whether it's a blog, a message, or a book, anyone who wants to take the task of telling people what God is saying, needs to be reminded that they are standing in the presence of God, representing Him: "you are standing on Holy Ground." It's not a special access for the few, but a warning of reality for those who want to approach the burning bush. That's my take.
Posted by: Steve B. | March 5, 2009 8:21 AM
Steve, thanks for chiming in here. If your application of the "holy ground" metaphor is simply to take the responsibility of spiritual instruction "with utmost respect and thought" (as I think Batterson intends), then I'm all for it. Jesus certainly warned of this burden:
"But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea" (Matt. 18:6).
To me it just seemed that, since God now dwells in every believer, "holy ground" isn't the right way to distinguish pastors or teachers from the rest of the body.
Posted by: Tim | March 5, 2009 10:17 AM