Pastors, I’m curious about your preparation methods to speak on Sunday.
Will you help me with this quick survey?
- Do you manuscript, outline, memorize or wing it with your messages?
- Do you rehearse all, part, or none of your message?
- What day of the week are you usually prepared?
- How many hours does it take you to complete a message?
- How many Sunday’s do you preach a year?
- What is one tip you have learned that could help other pastors?
Thanks so much for answering. I would love for you to leave a comment for others to read, but if you feel more comfortable you can email me at [email protected]. In a later post I will summarize comments and emailed comments. I will not share names of emailed surveys.
Here are my answers:
- Do you manuscript, outline, memorize or wing it with your messages? (Manuscript)
- Do you rehearse all, part, or none of your message? (All)
- What day of the week are you usually prepared? (Thursday hopefully with the manuscript, rehearse and trim on Friday.)
- How many hours does it take you to complete a message? (25 to 30)
- How many Sunday’s do you preach a year? (25)
- What is one tip you have learned that could help other pastors? (Start with Bible first and know what God is saying to me before trying to tell others what He might be saying to them.)
Do you manuscript, outline, memorize or wing it with your messages? MANUSCRIPT
Do you rehearse all, part, or none of your message? SOMETIMES…and when I do, ALL.
What day of the week are you usually prepared? Thursday
How many hours does it take you to complete a message? Approx. 12
How many Sunday’s do you preach a year? 48
What is one tip you have learned that could help other pastors? Listen and watch to the best communicators
Thanks for answering this post. Very helpful
1. Do you manuscript, outline, memorize or wing it with your messages? I’m usually in between a manuscript and outline…I only take an outline with me into the pulpit though.
2. Do you rehearse all, part, or none of your message? Most, but not all.
3. What day of the week are you usually prepared? I like Piper’s take on this, “All of life is sermon preparation.” Some of my best illustrations ever came just minutes before I got up to preach. Not because I procrastinate, but because I am consumed with the message up until the point of delivery.
4. How many hours does it take you to complete a message? It totally varies. I prefer to give 10 hours of prep…but honestly, some have come together in less than two…and some I feel like never come together.
5. How many Sunday’s do you preach a year? Currently 60%, moving toward 80%.
6. What is one tip you have learned that could help other pastors? In sermon prep, “think yourself empty, then read yourself full.” Sing Oldham (former Pastor of FBC Martin, now executive VP of SBC.
Freddy T. Wyatt
Teaching Pastor
http://www.gallerychurch.com
1. Do you manuscript, outline, memorize or wing it with your messages? (Outline)
2. Do you rehearse all, part, or none of your message? (none)
3. What day of the week are you usually prepared? ( Thursday. I also spend a couple hours Saturday nite and a couple hours Sunday morning going over it)
4. How many hours does it take you to complete a message? (16-20)
5. How many Sunday’s do you preach a year? (45)
6. What is one tip you have learned that could help other pastors? (After I study and prepare an outline I then ask myself how can I transform my outline into an action outline. I want those who hear me to know how to apply the truths that I preach about and the best way for me is to make the outline a plan of action.)
1) Do you manuscript, outline, memorize or wing it with your messages? Manuscript
2) Do you rehearse all, part, or none of your message? Part practice, read all
3) What day of the week are you usually prepared? Saturday
4) How many hours does it take you to complete a message? 20-25 hrs
5) How many Sunday’s do you preach a year? 26
6) What is one tip you have learned that could help other pastors? 1) The congregation needs to hear the simple of the gospel applied to their lives. 2) For application, describe spiritual realities – actual experience in relation to the text, the unspiritual response, the spiritual response
Do you manuscript, outline, memorize or wing it with your messages? (Outline, and then I go to Keynote)
Do you rehearse all, part, or none of your message? (none)
What day of the week are you usually prepared? (Saturday)
How many hours does it take you to complete a message? (8)
How many Sunday’s do you preach a year? (40)
What is one tip you have learned that could help other pastors? (The more I preach, the more I realize how much I don’t know about communicating. So, the tip would be give yourself room to grow.)
Joseph Cole’s last blog post..Good and Bad Problems
1. Do you manuscript, outline, memorize or wing it with your messages? An extended outline
2. Do you rehearse all, part, or none of your message? Don’t rehearse but read through like 10-12 times
3. What day of the week are you usually prepared? thoughts and points by Tuesday, write it out on Wednesday, streamline by Friday, go over again on Saturday night
4. How many hours does it take you to complete a message? 10
5. How many Sunday’s do you preach a year? 10
6. What is one tip you have learned that could help other pastors? I never put ink to paper or sit at my computer until have I spent time with the Lord. I often have thoughts in my mind but I refuse to expound on them until I have spent a good deal of time thanking and worshiping God. Then I ask God for insight and Revelation, then I put pen to paper.
On Saturday nights I pray through any scriptures that maybe used not the sermon!
Alex Penduck’s last blog post..Why My Friends Don’t Go To Church
Do you manuscript, outline, memorize or wing it with your messages? (Manuscript but then I ignore the manuscript and wing it on the day)
Do you rehearse all, part, or none of your message? (All in my head. rarely any out loud))
What day of the week are you usually prepared? (Prepared? Never truly prepared!.)
How many hours does it take you to complete a message? (10-12)
How many Sunday’s do you preach a year? (20-30)
What is one tip you have learned that could help other pastors? (Don’t get hung up on reaction from your message. God will speak to people through it about a range of things that you weren’t even preaching about.)
Good questions, Ron. I’d like to know one other answer: Do you use a creative planning team to help not only with the sermon development, but the entire weekend experience preparation?
I wonder how many spiritual “Lone Rangers” are trying to make it on their own? 🙂
1. Do you manuscript, outline, memorize or wing it with your messages? (Manuscript, but I don’t read it word for word)
2. Do you rehearse all, part, or none of your message? (All)
3. What day of the week are you usually prepared? (Aim to be done by Thursday – using a bulletin insert outline helps with that; review and trim on Friday/Saturday.)
4. How many hours does it take you to complete a message? (25 to 30)
5. How many Sunday’s do you preach a year? (40+)
6. What is one tip you have learned that could help other pastors? (keep focused on the Bible)
michael bells’s last blog post..stryper
1) Do you manuscript, outline, memorize or wing it with your messages?
Manuscript, because I’m a writer at heart.
2) Do you rehearse all, part, or none of your message?
Rehearse? No, but I read through it multiple times, so I don’t read it in the pulpit.
3) What day of the week are you usually prepared?
I shoot for a first draft by Wednesday. The final takes shape over the next couple of days – I like to be finished by Friday, but I will tweak on Saturday if it needs it.
4) How many hours does it take you to complete a message?
20-25
5) How many Sunday’s do you preach a year?
This year – 44
6) What is one tip you have learned that could help other pastors?
If my 19 and 16 year old sons “get” what I’m trying to say, then I’ve done my job as a communicator.
Scott Gamel’s last blog post..Come As You Are
Great tips guys. Help me pass the word on this survey. I think we can learn from each other.
1) manuscript (but i have almost memorized it so i’m not staring at it!)
2) all. i like to read it when it’s completed at least 5 times all the way through.
3) tuesday with the bulk of the research then trim on thursday, but it is usually more like thursday and trim on friday.
4) well, i could get one done in an hour or so, but for me to feel confident in what’s done and feel like i did it justice around 25 hours.
5) most of them… upper 40’s
6) besides starting with the Scripture, or knowing the Scripture… if i know where i want/need to end up in the message i will sometimes work backwards, but make sure if you do this you have the Scripture in mind first that you want to use, but as for the writing, have the Scripture, write down the main point, and backtrack…
matthew Costner’s last blog post..nine ways God speaks
1. Do you manuscript, outline, memorize or wing it with your messages? (Outline)
2. Do you rehearse all, part, or none of your message? (PART)
3. What day of the week are you usually prepared? ( Friday- with a few tweaks on saturday.)
4. How many hours does it take you to complete a message? (12-18)
5. How many Sunday’s do you preach a year? (40)
6. What is one tip you have learned that could help other pastors? ( can I clearly define in a short statement what is my one thing I want to communicate )
1. Do you manuscript, outline, memorize or wing it with your messages?
I type out an outline using WordPress, I mindmap it and memorize it and deliver it without notes.
2. Do you rehearse all, part, or none of your message?
I don't rehearse at all.
3.. What day of the week are you usually prepared?
Saturday… night. (But I study all week, I promise.) 🙂
4. How many hours does it take you to complete a message?
Varies from 3 or 4 for a topical/thematic message to 6 or 8 for an expository sermon (my main style).
5. How many Sunday’s do you preach a year?
49 or 50 Sundays per year, 2 morning services, 1 evening, and Wednesday night.
6. What is one tip you have learned that could help other pastors?
Keep your mornings for God, handle church business in the afternoon. ~ W. A. Criswell
<abbr>Brandon Cox’s last blog post..Sometimes I Wish You Knew</abbr>