Big Announcement Today!

Well, today I was officially asked by my pastor to speak on Sunday, September 28th, while he is away in India. That's an incredible honor, and something I take very seriously.

It's funny. I've spoken in public, both in and out of the pulpit, more times than I can count. But there's something about a Sunday morning service that always really makes me do a gut check. I have this tremendous sense of responsibility.

I've pretty much gotten past the feelings of needing to impress anyone with my latest "heavy revvie" (that's "heavy revelation", a slang term for "deep theology" I use sometimes), my elocution, vocabulary, or my wit and humor. Now it really comes down to me not wanting to waste A) everyone's time, and B) the opportunity that God has given me. Here are "X" number of people, and I have about an hour to share something with them that hopefully will impact them in a positive way.

And when I speak to a new group, I always go through this process. First I think, "I'll pull out something I've taught in the past that seemed very effective/relevant (ie. popular)!" Kind of a "hit them with my best punch" idea. This usually lasts for about 2 minutes.

Then I think, "But wait, that'll probably come off stale. I need to speak from what I am personally going through right now. That way it'll be more from the gut." That lasts for about 6 minutes.

Then I always come back to, "I just need to pray about it."

It's funny, when I pray about it, sometimes I end up doing the former, sometimes the latter, and sometimes I get something totally new just for that specific occasion. Imagine that, God knowing better what to say to his people than me...

Better go. I've gotta go start reading the Bible and studying and stuff...