• Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Lifeway Research

Lifeway Research

Enlightening today’s church with relevant research and insights

  • Research
  • Insights
  • Resource Library
  • Fast Facts
  • Search

Sermon Help for Busy Pastors

Insights| Church Life & Ministry | Jul 14, 2014

By Aaron Earls

Apparently, there is more than one way to prepare a sermon. Just ask Scott Parkison and Jeremy Rose.

Parkison, pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Manchester, Tennessee, takes a traditional route to sermon preparation. He tries to spend time alone with the text and prays through what God would have him say to his people.

Sermon Prep
Parkison working on a sermon.

“My wife laughs at me because on Saturday nights, I will often hide in my closet with my Bible and iPad as I go over the sermon I’ve spent all week preparing,” says the father of five.

Most sermons take about 10 hours of preparation, says Parkison. After adding in the time it takes for long-range planning of sermon series and last minute tweaking, Parkison says the total time can approach 20 hours.

Sometimes it’s hard to find that much time for sermon planning and still have time to minister to his congregation.

“People don’t realize how phone calls or walking into my office for a quick chat can completely derail my focus,” Parkison says. “Sometimes, I feel as if people don’t understand the energy it takes.”

Jeremy Rose, church planter and pastor of The Axis Church in Nashville, has developed a method that combines discipleship and sermon preparation in a way he believes makes him more effective and humble as a pastor.

He and a group from the church who have all completed a basic hermeneutics course gather on Monday nights to discuss the passage for the next sermon. Each one has been studying the text for a week. Rose takes notes and asks questions during the discussion.

Rose then spends several hours Wednesday and Thursday studying before finishing his sermon. This method allows him to deliver a sermon with more than 60 hours of research behind it, while also spending time in God’s Word with men in his church.

See also  4 Ways Pastors Can Reclaim Their Time

“It helps keep me humble,” he says. “When someone compliments the sermon, I can honestly say, ‘I wish I’d have written it.’”

Rose is honest about his feelings toward sermon preparation. It’s one of his least favorite parts of ministry.

“I enjoy preaching, I don’t enjoy studying.” Rose says. “But I hate preaching without studying.”

Parkison agrees. “The prep is very laborious,” he says. “I enjoy the delivery far more than the prep.”

Despite viewing preparation as one of the more difficult aspects of their jobs, most pastors spend a significant amount of time on sermon prep.

According to a 2012 Lifeway Research survey of Southern Baptist pastors, nearly 7 out of 10 pastors spend eight or more hours a week on sermon prep. A quarter spend 8 to 10 hours on sermon prep, while 23 percent spend 11 to 15 hours. About one in five (21 percent) spend more than 15.

Resources for sermon-planning

Faithful Preaching: Declaring Scripture with Responsibility, Passion and Authenticity by Tony Merida

Christ-Centered Preaching & Teaching (FREE digital book) from Ed Stetzer (editor)

12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching (Second Edition) by Wayne McDill

Preaching and Preachers (40th Anniversary Edition) by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Aaron Earls

@WardrobeDoor

Aaron is a writer for LifewayResearch.com.

    Related posts:

    How Do Most Pastors Plan Their Sermons? watch clock end times Bible pastors researchWhat Do Pastors Believe About the End Times? What Do Pastors Believe About the Book of Revelation? 3 Ways to Reach Non-Religious People in Your Community

    Primary Sidebar

    Follow Us On…

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

    Popular

    • Most Popular Sermon Passages, Topics in 2021
    • Gen Z Mental Health Crisis: How Pastors Can Make a Difference
    • 7 Reasons to Praise the Lord
      praise
    • 8 Traits of the Most Evangelistic Christians

    Join the Lifeway Research Newsletter

    Lifeway Research: Enlightening Today’s Church with Relevant Insights.

    Signup for email updates on our church and culture research.

    Sign Up

    Leader Resources

    Bible
    Clip Art
    Classics
    Clip Art
    Current Events
    Clip Art
    Discipleship
    Clip Art
    Pastoral Ministy
    Clip Art
    Theology
    Clip Art
    VIEW ALL RESOURCES
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Custom Research
    • Resource Library
    • Search

    Copyright © 2022 · Lifeway Research, a ministry of Lifeway Christian Resources