We just finished up the 4-week evangelism series from Willow Creek called Just Walk Across the Room. I thought the material was well-thought out, well-written, and supported by just the right amount of video and graphics. What really drew me to this series was the conversational approach to evangelism. Just simply sharing faith in the context of relationships. And it challenges everyone to take those walks across the room in order to reach out to others.
I thought that during this series I would be able to get caught up and do some long range planning. The sermons were already outlined and transcribed for each week, so I didn’t think it would take a long time for preparation. I was wrong, big time. I think it actually took me longer to prepare. I ended up pretty much rewriting it and then trying to adapt it to our church. It is extremely hard to passionately preach someone else’s sermon. I can’t understand how some people just download sermons and preach read them on Sunday mornings. I think that would actually be harder! Yeah it wouldn’t take as much time, but you cannot be effective without internalizing the message.
I’m glad we did the series but I’m looking forward to getting back to studying and preparing the old-fashioned way. By seeking God’s direction, by studying and reading the Bible, and by applying the Biblical truth in a way that will cause life transformation.
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I agree that it is harder to preach or teach someone else’s teachings with passion no matter how well intentioned the first writer was, it is just not me.
I am kind of new to this blog thing, was wondering if you have like botton so that I can share your thoughts on my Facebook. If not I think it would be a good idea. I am blessed by your blog.
P.mike4jc
Welcome to the world of blogging. Thanks for stopping by.
On the left side of the page, there is a facebook share button for each individual post. Just click on it and it will be added to facebook.
You can also just copy and paste the link into facebook to share. For this post it would be http://www.faithengineer.com/2007/12/preaching-pre-packaged-series.html.
I guess I can’t see the like bottom on my android. Thx for the info
At the bottom of the android page there is a slider to switch off the mobile theme. That will take you to the same version that appears on a computer. From there, you are good to go! Thanks
Thanks Mike I can see it know. I think I’ll get the hang of it. In fact I have already shared about your blog on my Facebook. God bless you and your family and ministry
P.mike4jc