Sunday, September 10, 2006

Return to St. Paul...

Today, I made my return to St. Paul UMC as the "visiting preacher" - I actually heard someone refer to me by these words. It's a little strange to hear others refer to me as a "preacher" since I haven't got around to thinking that myself...

Unfortunately, I accidentally underestimated the time it takes to drive to St. Paul and then we ran into some heavier than usual traffic. This resulted in me arriving at Church about 5 minutes late. Isn't that a great way for the "visiting preacher" to make a bad impression?

I also think Rev. Jim had started to get a little worried... Sorry about that!

But I got there in plenty of time to deliver the message and I hope it went O.K.

I just have absolutely no objective point of reference when it comes to evaluating my own message... some people say "good job" and some don't say much of anything. At least no has said "That was a terrible sermon!"

Well, not yet anyway:)

So, how does one know???

Maybe some of my minister friends can give me some words of wisdom here...

Hope everyone has a nice Sunday.

4 Comments:

At 3:23 PM , Blogger LutherPunk said...

Tape yourself periodically when you preach. Having to listen to exactly what you said will keep you honest.

I also like have other folks give feedback. Find a couple of folks that you trust and who will be honest with you. Fortunately, I am in a team ministry parish right now, and there is a retired pastor in the congregation. I'll solicit their opinion about what i can do better. It has been helpful for me.

 
At 1:15 AM , Blogger Art said...

Thanks LP, that's good advice. I've thought about the taping thing before, but man, that is a scary thing to me. I guess if I'm going to pursue this, I need to do something like that...

 
At 8:58 AM , Blogger LutherPunk said...

I had a preaching prof who videotaped our sermons and then did one on one critiques/coaching. It was scary the first time out, but a great exercise. I learned a lot. Video Cameras are a bit more intrusive, but if the opportunity arises, I would use that as well.

 
At 2:30 AM , Blogger Art said...

Thanks again, LP. Alright, you've got me convinced. IF...

 

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