How many years have you done Gospel ministry? Think before you answer. Do not assume that if you have been preaching and serving churches for 25 years, that you have 25 years of ministry. You may have done 1 year 25 times or 3 years, 8 times!
What do I mean by that? We may be tempted to do everything the same way we always have done it. The sermons are recycled from church to church, the ways we express ourselves, the daily routine, and the traditional methods may become like ruts in our lives, dug ever deeper through repetition. You know what they say about a rut—it is a grave with both ends kicked out!
What do I not mean? I am not saying it is never appropriate to adapt a former sermon to a new audience. Just don’t make it a habit. Nor am I saying that certain disciplines do not cry out for constancy.
Just don’t go through the motions! Don’t be a pastoral zombie, just doing the job as a job—a hollow man who outwardly does the task like being on an assembly line, while mind and heart are miles away.
Sharpen the edge. Seek the Lord for a fresh touch and rekindled passion. Recall the words of John Piper’s book, “Brothers, We Are Not Professionals!”
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