Many times when I listen to preacher's preaching, they appear to be so confident in their sermons. Now, I know that preachers are just humans so at some point they must get nervous before preaching.

Do any of the preachers on this board get nervous before preaching? What makes you nervous? Is it the congregation's social status? size? Is it the subject matter? Have you said anything in a sermon that you regretted? What's the best sermon that you have preached? and what's the worst? How far in advance do you prepare to preach? Can you give an impromptu speech? I look forward to your answers.

-- Anonymous, June 28, 2004

Answers

I do. My hands actually dropped about 10 degrees in warmth.

What makes me nervous is being responsible for speaking for God, and knowing that I have to answer for any misleading statements I make.

I say what the Lord tells me to, so I do not have regrets.

My best hasn't been preached yet, and as long as I preach the Word of God, there isn't a worst (I think they are all my worst, but I am my own worst critic); the Word of God does not come back void.

I prepare weeks ahead of the date.

I can go improptu with a SPEECH; it's been part of my day jobs since 1982. A sermon? Pastor murray says we should be ready to go, but I haven't been put to the test yet.

-- Anonymous, June 29, 2004

I commend Pastor Harper for his advanced preparation of his sermon material. I'm an organist/minister of music and I like to try and blend the worship music with the sermon topic. Unfortunately many pastors have not prepared their messages far enough in advance for me to do this. Some even say they don't know what the Holy Spirit might have them say. To me what this says is you're just LAZY! Not willing to take the time to study and prepare a decent sermon.

-- Anonymous, June 29, 2004

I always try to hear from God and prepare a sermon. However, sometime He leads me in a different direction at the last minute. It does not happen often but it does happen. Nervous, perhaps but prayer and meditation calms me. If I do not have a Worship Leader, I try to return to my office for a few moments before preaching. Although I have a written script, I mostly just refer to it to keep focused on the central theme. Sometimes the Spirit tugs me away from that theme and then I go with the flow.

-- Anonymous, June 29, 2004

The only time I really get nervous before preaching when God is asking me to trust and go with a loose outline rather than a scripted sermon. Another factor that makes me nervous is not knowing the context I'm preaching in, which may happen from time to time. The best sermon that I preached was last fall entitled "Love in Action", which I directly related to the AME history that includes racial oppression. The worst sermon I preached was at my home church when I tried to put too much subject matter into one sermon, knowing that invitations to my home church (Baptist) would be rare. I start preparing at least 2 weeks in advance, but some times God gives me a "saturday night special". I can give an impromptu speech very easily. If you are looking at sermon preparation, I suggest a book that I am reading now, entitled: Power in the Pulpit: How America's Most Effective Black Preachers Prepare their Sermons, edited by Cleophus Larue.

-- Anonymous, July 01, 2004