Preaching and Teaching
If you didn’t know, I’m currently in class every Monday night at Vanguard University working to finish up my BA. Each class is 5 weeks long, and tonight was week 1 of Teaching and Preaching with Bill Dogterom. The next 4 weeks will consist of us teaching scripture, but tonight he talked about our personal life preparation for preaching. He shared things that we should be working on in different areas of our life, and a lot of them were great reminders. They were things that resonated with me as things I need to stay focused on even as a worship leader in a church, and many of them are things that anyone could benefit from. The ones with astericks are the ones I think I need to work on the most in my life right now. Here’s the area’s of life and some of the things he talked about:
Spiritual
-Study of the word
-Prayer as relationship (silence, solitude, listening to God)*
-Rest (Sabbath, regular seasons of retreat)
-Accountability circles*
-Fight against sin as if your life depends on it
Social/Relational
-Family is priority after God and yourself*
-Have quality friendships*
-Love the people you pastor
-A good attitude is critically important
-Don’t take yourself to seriously, have a sense of humor
Mental
-Read – read books that expand vocabulary, books you disagree with, out of your proffesional subject and old books*
-Stimulation – have a friend you can argue with
-Develop a mind cleansing hobby
Emotional
-Don’t operate heavy machinery on Monday
-Monitor your moods but don’t give in to them*
-Give yourself a break, you’re only human
-Be sensitive to the continuing quiet despair that signals burnout
-Learn how to laugh
-Feed your soul (art, music, nature, etc.)*
-Get help when you need it
Physical
-Exercise regularly*
-Get rest
-Eat properly*
-Learn to relax
-Pace yourself
Like I said, lots of great reminders in there for me. Any of em pop off the screen for you?
