We’ve all been there… wondering what to preach next and wanting to make sure it’s just what the Body needs. How do we get there? How do we find that next topic or series that the church needs to hear?
There are two essentials: time in His Word and in prayer, and time with the sheep!
The First Essential Is Our Own Time in the Word and in Prayer!
I know this seems a given. But, amid the hurriedness of ministry and family life, Scripture and prayer time can get squeezed out. Add to that, work for the bi-vocational pastor, and it becomes especially difficult.
Time for daily fellowship with the Lord, however, remains a must! If we are to feed the sheep, we must first feed ourselves. It’s something we simply cannot compromise. In this time of fellowship, we come to the Scriptures seeking Him and His presence. As we spend daily time with God, we enjoy His presence, and He speaks to us.
It is helpful to have a set place, time, and a planned passage in Scripture to read. If any of these are missing, we will find ourselves wandering. In this special place and time, we pray and read through His Word, unhurried and listening every moment. Prayer leads us into His presence, guides us as we read, and allows us to be still and hear His voice.
It is often during this time of Scripture reading that spiritual truths are built and solidified in our own hearts and minds. God opens up His Word and gives us eyes to see His truths. These truths are essential for our own lives and for the sheep we feed.
Our time in prayer will also be a give and take. We will pour out our hearts to Him and listen as He shares His heart with us. It will become a sacred moment of being bathed in His presence. Again, it cannot be hurried. God cannot be a “vending machine” that we go to just to get the next sermon. That direction will come as His Spirit speaks and that will happen in His timing.
The Second Essential Is Our Time Spent With the Sheep—In the Church and in the Community!
The time with the sheep in the church.
The time in the church is found around service times, in small groups, in counseling, and as we serve with our sheep.
Pastors often want to spend time before the service in prayer and focusing on the message God has for them to share, and that’s understandable. We don’t want to compromise that at all. Yet, the times before and after servicesare often the only time we see our sheep in one place. So, how do we have both prayer time and preparation while still spending time with our congregation?
After we have had that time with the Lord, we set aside some time before and after services to interact with our sheep. Although this can be exhausting, that time can be invaluable. Sometimes more is accomplished before or after a service than in the service itself. Here we begin to hear people’s hearts and struggles. When they know that we genuinely care about what is going on in their lives (and are truly listening), they will share much!
Another place in the church where we get to know our sheep is in small groups. If we as pastors can lead a small group or be a part of one, we will learn much more about the people that make up our congregation. It’s too difficult to get to know our sheep in a large setting, whether because of size or formality. It’s in a small group where people lower their walls and speak up for the first time. If we can be a part of this, we can learn much.
The third placein the church that we get to know the needs of the sheep is in counseling. Obviously, we have to protect the privacy of those who have trusted us and shared their deepest hurts and struggles. We would never share any specifics or even allude to a counseling session or the individual. But, in our counseling, we can learn where our people are at. We can know that for every person or couple who comes in to meet with us, there are many more struggling or hurting with those same issues who haven’t or won’t come in. Counseling, therefore, becomes a time to learn the needs of the sheep.
Finally, as we serve alongside our sheep, we learn more about their lives and where they are spiritually. We learn the joys and heartaches of their families, their work, and their own lives. There is something about serving together that allows us to bond together and get to know each other at a much deeper level.
The time with the sheep in the community.
Here, in the community, we learn even more about the needs and battles that our sheep face and what they need to hear from us, their shepherds. How do we enter into their community?
We can join them where they work. Where possible, setting up a time to grab lunch with them or just to walk through part of their day with them can be a huge encouragement and help. We might even find an opportunity to be a part of their work world on an ongoing basis and minister at the same time. For one pastor, God opened a door for him to serve as a fire chaplain for the county. It gave him the opportunity to minister and share life with a good number of the men in his church who served in the firefighting field. It became invaluable for building relationships and getting to know his sheep.
We can also join them where they play. It might be joining them in a hobby or just hanging out and watching them or their kids at play. Here, we better learn who they are outside the “walls” of the church. We meet their friends and those who are a part of their world. For some of us, this will come easy. For others, this will take discipline and intentionalit. We might even be able to tie it in with our own family lives. One pastor shared how he purposely chose to coach his kids’ soccer teams so that he could be a part of his kids’ lives and the community. This connected him to the community and the place where many of his members “played.”
Both of these settings, work and play, give us opportunities to be a part of our congregation’s world. In doing that, we learn much more about the needs and battles that they face on a daily basis.
Finally, as we spend time in the Word and with the sheep, God begins to connect the two.
Because we have been spending time with the sheep, we know their needs, their hurts, and their struggles. We better know what life is like for them on a daily basis and the temptations and trials that they face. This will help us as we contemplate our next sermon topic or passage. We can meet them where they’re at.
Add to that the time we’ve spent in the Word—with God speaking to us and the truths that He has been building in us—and God begins to form the direction and message(s) that He has for our congregation. That “word” might come in our next time of prayer and fellowship with God, while we’re driving down the road or in the middle of the night. But we will know it’s His Word for the sheep He has given us!
