Spreading The Word

OH BOY! This email just came in from Leadership weekly. I've been waiting for them to put my article online (it came out this summer in the Journal, part of Christianity Today).  It was cool to have them feature the article in the email. Here we go…   

Hello Friends,

I once attended a church with a pastor who wasn't fond of sharing teaching duties.

Well, that's putting it too nicely—the guy had a death grip on the pulpit.

Not only did he preach every Sunday, he led worship, and even made the announcements. The only time someone else preached was during his vacation. Even then it was a guest speaker of his choosing.

That's probably an extreme example, but I'm convinced that too many pastors log too many Sundays behind the pulpit. It isn't always about ego; I think most would love to let their churches learn from others (and who doesn't need a break?), but they lack a system to develop competent teachers.
That's why I loved Dan Cooley's article "Spreading the Word." Cooley's foray into team teaching was born of a crisis. He was in preaching rut and felt like he wasn't developing people. Team teaching turned out to be the solution. His article, which was coauthored with three of his students, shares how the practice helped the church and saved his ministry.

PASTOR'S ROLE

Spreading the Word
How team teaching helped our church and saved my ministry.
by Dan Cooley

Monday stank.

I was disappointed with the sermon I delivered on Sunday and I couldn't conceive of another one for next week. My email was full, last month's giving was down, and the fire marshal stopped by my office to deliver his own sermon about our inadequate exit signs. I entered the pastorate to do and equip others for ministry, I thought to myself. This wasn't what I signed up for.
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