Mark Messmore's Blog, page 8

My Mantras: I take what I do seriously. I do not take myself seriously.

*My Mantras is a series of posts about the mantras I have personally developed over the years. Some will be personal in nature, others ministerial, and more.*

I have a serious job. In ministry, I walk alongside people in their most joyous and most dire of situations. I chat with engaged couples about to make their vows to one another, and heartbroken individuals who wonder why their story did not end with happily ever after. I have hugged couples wrestling with infertility and embraced joyfully those celebrating a new life coming to their family. I have prayed with those that received a cancer diagnosis, and those that have received word their cancer has disappeared. While nothing can truly summarize the experience of ministry, one facet you must understand is that you will experience both the highs and lows of life; sometimes all in the same day. Furthermore, the message we communicate as ministers is one with the weight of heaven and hell. There is a lot to ministry, and it is a very serious gig.

But while I have do have a serious job, I make an intentional effort not to take myself too seriously. I say “intentional effort” yet a better way to communicate that is, I don’t keep myself from being the natural goofball I am. I have a silly personality. There is no shortage of “embarrassing” pictures of me that have been taken. Even in preaching, if you are around long you may hear me bleat like a goat or wear a turkey as a hat within a sermon. I don’t do these things to just get a reaction, I do them because it is all part of my personality. I’m a natural goofball, and I’m ok with that.

These two dynamics certainly lead to a tension in my life. I have a serious job, but a personality that is often silly and goofy. That has led me to this life mantra: I take what I do seriously, I don’t take myself seriously. Whether preaching a message, leading a meeting, or consoling a family, these aspects of ministry deserve to be treated seriously; with respect, reverence, and recognition that I am serving on behalf of the Creator. Yet God also gave me the personality that I have, and I should not disregard that. When appropriate, I need to allow that goofy side of myself to come out. This has – in many instances – provided much-needed levity, laughter, or releasing of tension. It is being who God has designed me to be while keeping the significance of my ministry in mind.

To be clear, I do not always get this right. On more than one occasion I have had to apologize for being a bit too casual in a serious situation, or stressing everyone out from how serious I was being about a ministry task. Yet this is a saying, axiom, mantra, whatever that has served me well. And until instructed otherwise – or until I learn better – I will continue to take what I do seriously…even if I do not take myself serious

Fear and Perspective

There is nothing overly remarkable about the image you see above. There are a dozen mailing envelopes stacked up and – though not visible from this angle – they are all labeled, addressed and ready to be sent. Yet for me, this picture is much more significant. Let me explain. Inigo Montoya voice, “No…there is too much. Let me sum up…”

I ordered – and received – 20 author copies of my book Simple Preaching Prep. NOTE: Author copies are copies printed for the author at cost without any extra markup. That way an author can sell, give away, etc as they wish.I reached out to a dozen different ministry professionals asking if they would like a free copy of my book. These are individuals teaching the subject of preaching in a variety of Bible colleges and ministry training institutions.Most of these people I have never met and do not know me from Adam. Seriously…I am a complete stranger to them. Some of these people I regard very highly when it comes to teaching and preaching.A large majority responded with very encouraging messages stating they would, in fact, love to receive a copy.The envelopes in the picture each contain a book that, as of this morning, have been sent out to the people on that list.

 

While to you the picture above may be unremarkable, to me there is a lot of emotion. A singular action (sending out my book) brings out emotions of both excitement and fear. What if they think my book is not very good? What if they say this is actually the exact same material covered in a dozen other books and my book brings nothing new? What if I have been wasting my time and energy? What if these people I regard so highly just brush this off as a “nice try”?

On the other hand, what if they like it? What if suddenly a bunch of people begin examining every one of my sermons for the slightest errors? What if there is a backlash of personalities who are firmly against my approach so that it spawns some weird sort of online counter-movement?

What if? What if? What if?

Realistically, I know that the extremes are highly unlikely. Yet as I send this book out into the world I do so with excitement and fear. I do so hoping and praying that it can serve churches in helping give others the courage and structure to preach their first sermon. So while you may see nothing but a stack of envelopes, for me that image represents much, much more.

My Mantras: Think Trends, not Weeks

*Previously I have written about a mental soundtrack that I have used for years. Since I have a variety of mantras I use, this may be its own series on the blog. TBD :-).

In ministry, it is very easy to get excited, or depressed about a singular week.

This week the offering was high/lowThis week everyone who calls this church home was here – attendance was great!This week a BUNCH of people were gone – attendance was terrible!This week all the music, tech, check-in, children’s, etc went wonderfully!This week it’s like there were demons in the sound system, the guitarist broke three strings during the first song, the lead vocalist had a cold, and 3/4ths of our volunteers called out at the last minute from serving in the children’s ministry!

If you have ever been involved in church leadership, any of these conversations might feel familiar. That is why with our church leaders there is a mantra I repeat over and over when it comes to numbers, statistics, etc – Think trends, not weeks.

Granted, if you are in a field where these emotions can fluctuate day-to-day perhaps for you this would be – Think trends, not days. Or maybe in your leadership capacity, the monthly metrics are the ones that get the most focus. For you, this might be – Think trends, not months. Regardless of specifics, the point is the same. I want to focus on the overall trends rather than the isolated incidents. Don’t get me wrong, we can certainly learn from one-off highs or lows. Yet the majority of our focus should not be on the overall upward/downward trends, rather than those outliers.

In ministry, this means not getting too absorbed in what happened on any particular Sunday. There will be weeks when it feels like everyone is sick, traveling, etc, and in those weeks it can be easy to look out at an empty room and feel massively discouraged. However when we step back and look at the overall trends – say attendance patterns year to date or attendance patterns year-on-year – that offers a more honest picture of how things are going.

So yes – celebrate those big Sundays! Celebrate the days when there is a full room, the music is great and everyone walks out energized.

Similarly – learn from those days when people are not present and every piece of technology has decided to go on strike.

Yet do not get too caught up and focused on either extreme. Both are going to happen, and often both are beyond your control. Instead, look over the long-haul to examine trends, not weeks.

Stages of Sermon Writing

***WARNING: This post may be a bit wordy and even rambling in nature. Perhaps that is because I wrote it at 5:00 am. Perhaps it is just because I am being rather introspective. Take it as you wish.***

Several years ago I playfully posted a Facebook status about the stages of sermon writing. I was still relatively new to full-time ministry so preaching regularly still felt quite daunting. For some reason, this memory came to mind recently. These are the feelings each week that enter the life of a preacher as they prepare and present a sermon. Loosely, these stages are as follows:

What in the world am I going to say?What am I NOT going to say?What do I HAVE to say?What should I have said?

 

Looking back, I feel as though I may have stumbled upon something more profound than I originally expected. Sure, early in my ministry these questions were almost a weekly routine from feeling unprepared (question 1), to feeling overwhelmed with information (question 2), to focusing on what is most important (question 3) to evaluation (question 4). However, as I enter my early 40s I feel as though these are questions I am wrestling with within the context of my preaching as a whole.

When first preaching, we often have no idea how we are going to fill the time. We have no idea what we are going to say. After a short while, we recognize that information is ABUNDANTLY plentiful. Thus, the focus shifts to trimming the fat from our messages. Then, somewhere along the way, the shift focuses again. Be it our own mortality or the weight of the mission, we hopefully shift to saying those things that need to be said. Then, eventually, I expect to reflect on what I should (or should not) have said.

Currently, I find myself somewhere between questions two and three. I know the information is plentiful and have to focus more on being more succinct in my messages. I find a stronger passion to be bold and, at times, overtly blunt regarding the realities of life and death, of sin and salvation. Yet I also fully recognize I am not done growing. There are elements that I need to learn that I don’t even yet know I need to learn. And yet, I can see progress and perspective as I look back and look ahead in my life as a preacher.

How to Get a Sunday Without Preaching: Part 2

Part 1 of this two-part series is available here.

Previously, I discussed potential ways to arrange a Sunday you will be present, but not preaching. While I know it is not fully a Sunday Off, I called it that for brevity’s sake. However, I also mentioned that there may be obstacles that keep you from having someone else deliver the message; no matter how beneficial it may be for you AND your congregation. Here I want to address some of those challenges.

Your ego

Yeah yeah…I hate to sound like a downer, but if we are going to address some of the major obstacles, you must begin with the person looking back in the mirror. Some preachers cannot handle another person coming in to preach in their place. Insecurities begin to pop up such as, “That’s MY job!” or “What if they like him BETTER than me?” or perhaps even, “My people wouldn’t accept someone else preaching unless I am actually gone.”

Some of these require a spirit of humility, introspection, and perhaps counseling. The last may or may not be grounded in reality (more on that in a moment). If, however, you agree with the premise that multiple preaching voices is beneficial for both the preacher and the congregation, this is an obstacle you will need to address.

Your budget

Chances are good your finance team did not budget in thousands of dollars to pay for outside speakers. I get that. Yet too many preachers allow their thought processes to begin and end there. There are a variety of options, however, that will not stress out your church treasurer. In fact, I mention a few in part one.

Your leadership

I want to be clear – there are A LOT of awesome, God-fearing men and women leading churches all over the world. These individuals are doing their absolute best to lovingly, faithfully serve, and lead as they have been called.

HOWEVER, I also know from experience that is not always the case. I am aware of many painful situations where leaders – either unchecked or perhaps empowered – have seen a local congregation as their personal Kingdom to rule. I will not go in-depth here but suffice to say such leaders do more harm than good for the Kingdom in the long run.

Thus you may be in a situation where having another voice preach would simply not be accepted.

Yet the bottom line I would recommend is this: ask, don’t assume.  You may be assuming that your leadership would not, in a thousand years, accept someone else preaching. Yet if you take the time to ask, you may find that not to be an accurate assumption at all. This does not need to be a long, drawn-out item for a congregational meeting, but simply could involve a one-on-one discussion with a leader you trust. Again, ask…don’t demand. Ask about what he/she would think. Discuss the long-term value for the church as well as yourself. Focus on the benefits and find out personally any potential hesitations.

Yes, there are challenges and obstacles. Yet great value can be found for both you, and the church you serve if you are willing to ask the questions and navigate these challenges.

How to Get a Sunday Without Preaching: Part 1

I serve as the Lead Pastor at The Mount. I have been with this congregation a little over two years and (COVID notwithstanding), have thoroughly enjoyed serving there. Today I was able to do something that I, like most preachers, are not often able to do; worship without preaching.

Don’t get me wrong, I love to preach. It is one of my favorite things in the world to do. However, it is nice to have a week off now and then. On those weeks I can simply sit with my wife and family, taking in the message with the rest of the congregation. I find this to be incredibly valuable for myself as well as my people. Then, after my time off, I step in with an extra bit of pep, excited to preach once again. And in the meantime, my congregation was able to hear a voice other than mine (which is a wholly underrated and healthy activity in its own right). Despite those benefits, most preachers rarely step out of the pulpit. Sometimes that is because of the culture they serve in. Other times, the fault lays directly with the person in the mirror.

For this two-part blog series, I will refer to Sundays you will not be preaching as a Sunday Off. However even as I use that as a working definition, I have a few disclaimers:

I recognize that even if you are not preaching, you still work on those Sundays. I’ve had more than my fair share of “So you aren’t working at all today!” jokes over the years. I get it. The term Sunday Off is just easier to type than, “A Sunday where you are present but you also do not happen to be preaching.”As alluded to in the above point, this does not include Sundays where you are traveling (vacations, conferences, mission trips, etc). The assumption is that you are still on-site and with your people. Yet you are not preaching.

 

For my next post, I will address obstacles to having a Sunday Off, but I want to start by giving you ideas and options you may be able to begin making plans for.

Arrange for another staff member to preach – This may or may not apply to your context because many churches only have one staff member (if even that). Furthermore, this may involve a juggling of responsibilities for that particular Sunday. I get that this will involve advanced planning, but it should be considered.Arrange for another church leader to preach – Unless your church structure or denomination is built to address this, staff members are not the only ones who can step into the pulpit. It is entirely possible for other church leaders such as elders, deacons, ministry team leaders, etc. to fill this role. Yes, you will likely need to plan this out in advance including clearing the individual with your church leadership, preparing them to preach, etc. Of course, it is for this very type of situation that I wrote  Simple Sermon Prep . You can always put a copy of that into their hands to help them out.Arrange for a guest speaker – Sometimes an outside voice may be the best option. Is there a missionary the church is supporting who can stop in while on furlough? Is there a particular mentor or minister you had previously who could step in? How about a former minister of the church who could come back? All of these are great potential options to communicate a message to your people. NOTE : it is common practice to give an honorarium for a guest speaker, so please consider that.Arrange to swap pulpits with another local minister – You may consider this one to be cheating, but I don’t think so. Swapping pulpits with another local minister requires a good relationship between two churches, the agreement of both leaderships, and so forth, but can be very fruitful.  Essentially this involves working on at least two messages with the other minister. While I recommend planning a whole series for this purpose, two weeks is the minimum. Once the dates and titles have been established, you then plan to preach your message once with your church, then again the following week at their church. While you are not with your people this type of activity fosters unity and allows you to focus on other tasks the second week. Thus, while you still preach you have not had to spend much time prepping in advance.

 

There are certainly more unique ways to have a Sunday Off, but these are some that will fit most contexts. Who knows, maybe enough of you will respond that I can do a follow-up post based on your ideas!