For the second year in a row, I’ve planned about a year’s worth of preaching themes/series for the upcoming year.  During October-December 2010, I planned texts and series for most of 2011.  And during this October-December, I’m finishing up plans texts and series for most of 2012.

This has been a big step for me, though I’ve typically planned series 4-6 months out.  I’ve found it to be tremendously beneficial.  It’s allowed me to do much more prep work and meditation on upcoming texts and topics, thus deepening what I’m able to present each weekend.  In addition, it’s given our creative team (video and graphic design) much more time to work on sermon video teasers, slide design, and other visuals.  It provides our worship leaders the opportunity to consider special music, etc. and have plenty of time for rehearsal.  Further, it’s allowed leaders in other ministries like Children’s and Youth to see what’s coming up and to choose whether or not to tie their teaching topics to what the church is hearing from the stage each weekend.

I’ve followed a similar format the last two years:

First, in September, I notify my elders, staff, and other ministry leaders that I’m starting the planning process.  I seek their input for texts, topics, themes, and series.  I also post on Facebook and elsewhere, asking others for input.

Second, September-October, I do preliminary research.  I scan websites and catalogs, looking at what books people are reading, what some of my preaching-mentors have been preaching, investigating cultural trends, etc.

Third, In October, I take one or two weeks, usually blocking out at least an entire week, to prayerfully begin sketching out large blocks for the upcoming year.  Primarily, I’m seeking God’s answers to the following 9 questions:

1. Spiritual Disciplines-what spiritual practices should be emphasized in the next year?
2. Following Jesus/Nonconformity – what aspects of following Jesus/differing from culture should be emphasized?
3. Contemporary Cultural Issues – what cultural issues need to be addressed?
4. Systematic Theology/Doctrine – what basic doctrines need to be reframed and restated?
5. OT/NT Book/Block of Texts – what books/texts are of particular importance for next year?
6. Justice/Compassion – what aspects of our mission to the poor need to be emphasized?
7. Family – what marriage/parenting issues should be emphasized?
8. Evangelism – what aspects of our mission to the lost need to be addressed?
9. Belief Barriers – what barriers make belief difficult for people in our community?

Fourth, during November, I begin to lay out these blocks on a calendar.  I have certain seasons which I typically follow: a season on spiritual growth at the beginning of the year, a season leading up to Easter which focuses on Jesus, two seasons each year on missions/ministry to the poor which culminate in our Special Contributions for World and Urban Missions, a season on marriage or parenting from Mother’s Day to Father’s Day, a season on personal evangelism in August/September, and a season leading up to Christmas.  I put these series in place first, and then begin to work around them.

Fifth, through December, I work on titles for the series and the individual sermons within the series.

All of this is done “in pencil,” with a flexibility to change as circumstances and needs change.

What about you?  How do you plan your preaching?

[image]

I was thrilled to participate in this year’s Catalyst Atlanta.  I joined Russ Turman and Brishan Hatcher from Highland, along with 12,997 others from 50 different countries.  Here are some of the most quotable quotes I tweeted during the conference:

A primary reason young people leave the church is they believe church is antiscientific. David Kinnaman

52% teens interested in a science career but 1% of youth ministers ever speak on scientific related issues. David Kinnaman

Only 1 in 11 churches say they do a good job ministering to young leaders. David Kinnaman

3 keys to keeping the young: 1)relationships with adults, 2) seeing how Bible applies to their field of interest..David Kinnaman

3 keys to keeping the young: 3) belief that Jesus is relevant. David Kinnaman

Your ministry cannot go beyond your prayer life Mark Batterson

Bold prayers honor God and God honors bold prayers. Mark Batterson

Prayer is the difference between you fighting for God and God fighting for you. Mark Batterson

I’d rather have 1 God idea than 1000 good ideas-these only come thru prayer. Mark Batterson

A goal without a deadline is dead on arrival. Mark Batterson

Leaders must embrace 5 truths about the heart: 1) Your heart (not your public image) is the essence of who you are. Michael Hyatt

2) Your heart (not your skills, training) is the most valuable leadership tool you have-everything flows from it. Michael Hyatt

3) Your heart directly impacts your influence. Michael Hyatt

Your heart is the greatest gift you bring your team. Michael Hyatt

4) your heart is either healthy or unhealthy (many of us have unknown cardiovascular disease). Michael Hyatt

5) Your heart is under constant attack. Satan’s primary objective is to take you out thru your heart. Michael Hyatt

70% of ministers have no close friend. Over 50% would quit ministry if they could find another job. Michael Hyatt

Sabbath is critical to guarding your heart. Michael Hyatt

Too many Christian leaders think “I need a bigger platform so God can get greater glory.”

Nothing tells your kids they are second rate more than you coming home still talking on the cell phone. Jon Acuff

We get drunk on what’s next and what’s new and we miss the now. Jon Acuff

I don’t believe compliments but I think critics have PhD in me and they are always right. Jon Acuff

1000 compliments + 1 critique = 1 critique. Jon Acuff

The more sucessful you are. The less accessible you are. Andy Stanley

You can’t shut it all out. But you can’t take it all on. This is the primary tension of ministry. Andy Stanley

Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone. Andy Stanley

Go deep rather than wide; go long term rather than short term; go time not just money.That is, engage deeply with a few.Andy Stanley

When you do for one, you end up doing for more than just one. Andy Stanley

Greatness is not a function of circumstance but of choice and discipline. Jim Collins

In a chaotic world, knowing What to do isn’t as critical as having the right Who with you. Jim Collins

Leadership is not about personality (charisma) but about humility (submission to greater cause and will to do it). Jim Collins

Hubis-outrageous arrogance- is the great enemy of leadership. Jim Collins

Bad decisions done with good intentions are stil bad decisions. Jim Collins

Fanatic discipline is critical to leadership. The greater the chaos, the more important discipline is. Jim Collins

Empirical creativity is critical for leadership. Leaders look at empirical data and then act creatively using that data. Jim Collins

Productive paranoia is critical to leadership. Always ask What If? and act productively on the answer. Jim Collins

The signature of mediocrity is not refusal to change but chronic inconsistency (eg no unchanging values). Jim Collins

Key to innovation is to keep the values but change the practices. Jim Collins

1) run good to great diagnostic tool from jimcollins.com; Jim Collins

2) what are your key seats to fill and what is your plan to fill them in 1 year? Jim Collins

3) who will you allow to mentor you? Build a personal board of directors Collins

4) get your personal hedgehog – your passion, your genetic makeup, what you make a contribution in – Jim Collins

5) set a 20 mile march and stick to it 6) navigate uncertainty fire bullets – 6 small new things this year; Jim Collins

7) turn off all electronics 2 days every 2 weeks create a stop-doing list – Jim Collins

9) double your reach to people half your age by changing your practices 10) set a BHAG that makes you useful. Jim Collins

Most in ministry need to double the amount of time they are spending on staffing. Dave Ramsey

People matter; a culture of excellence matters; slow and steady matters–don’t overreach the resources God provides

When you care deeply about why you are doing something, rather than just what you are doing, you excel. Dave Ramsey

When God is present, fruit is borne, no matter what else is not present. Francis Chan

If I could look at a transcript of your prayers from last month, would a hunger for God’s presence be thematic in them? Francis Chan

I don’t smoke crack because this [Jesus] is good enough for me. Judah Smith

Since when is Jesus not enough? Judah Smith

If you want to make a big difference, start small. I began by helping 250 and now have helped 2 million. Blake Mycoskie TOMS

TOMS is driven by the biblical promise that if we give God will bless. Blake Mycoskie TOMS

Fear is always an opportunity to trust or to sin. Mark Driscoll

Criticism today is instant, constant, and global due to technology. Mark Driscoll

The Bible’s answer to fear is this: Fear Not. This is the most oft-mentioned command in Scripture. Mark Driscoll

“Fear Not” in Scripture is almost always followed by “I am with you.” Mark Driscoll

This is the last appearance of Jesus in the timeline covered by the Gospels.  As he has done several times before, Jesus does again—he blesses.  Jesus ascends to the right hand of the Father and prays for the Father to bless those who remain behind.

Imagine the scene.  Before your very eyes Jesus is ascending.  You are standing beneath him.  He looks at you.  Then he lifts his eyes to heaven and he prays for you.  What does he pray?  Does he pray, “Father, help ___ to get straightened out!”  “Father, help ___ to be worthy of the sacrifice I’ve just made.”  “Father, don’t you have anyone else but ___ to carry on the mission?”  I fear that for many of us, as we imagine this scene, the prayer we hear from Jesus’ lips is not a positive prayer.

But here is the truth: Jesus’ last prayer for you in the Gospels is a prayer of blessing.  His last action was to pray for the Father to bless you.  Not to curse you.  Not to put up with you.  Not to make due with you.  But to bless you.

What blessing do you imagine Jesus giving the Highland family as he ascends to heaven?  Pray now for that blessing to fall upon us.

John Ortberg tells of being at a hotel swimming pool with his two daughters who were three and five years old.  Before getting into the water, Ortberg gave his daughters a stern lecture about the danger of drowning.  Then, while his five year old jumped into Ortberg’s waiting arms in the water, the three year old accidently slipped from the pool’s edge into the water.  Within a second Ortberg grabbed the three year old and lifted her out of the water.  The three year old starting bawling: “I drowned, Daddy.  I drowned.”  “No you didn’t, honey,” Ortberg replied.  “You didn’t drown.  You were only underwater for a second.”  The brief submersion was terrifying to her, but Ortberg knew she was always within reach of her father’s arms.

Jesus knows this truth.  Though submerged in a deep and dark pool of suffering, he knows that he remains within reach of his Father’s hands.  Jesus understands that though the circumstances may suggest that the Father’s hands have slipped, those hands actually still hold.  Jesus is able to entrust himself into those reliable and ready hands.

What about Highland’s future do you need to entrust to those same hands?  Is there something about that future which in some way seems endangered?  Picture it in your mind and then pray: “Into your hands, I commit ______________.”

Forsaken.  This is a strange word coming out of the mouth of the Son.  Just as you and I have never known life without skin or oxygen or a heartbeat, Jesus has never known life without Trinitarian community.

Remembered.  That’s the word that should be coming out of the mouth of the Son.  That’s the word that describes what has been as characteristic to Jesus’ life as breathing is to ours.  Yet here Jesus is, forsaken.

Note what Jesus does: he prays.  He prays to the very one whom he feels has abandoned him.  Jesus prays hard words.  He prays raw words.  But the important thing is that Jesus prays.

When we are wounded and upset, what matters most is not the kind or quality of our words, just presence of our words.  Keep communicating.  Keep talking.  Keep praying.

Is there something in your life about which you’ve just stopped talking to God?  Is there a pain, an injury, or a wound that you no longer share with God?  Take time today and this week to re-start the communication with God in that area.

This intercessory prayer represents the height of prayer.  There is no other prayer in Scripture that demonstrates the level of maturity and compassion found here.  If prayer is a ladder, this one is the top rung.  If prayer is a building, this is the top floor.  If prayer is a mountain, this is the peak.

When despair and darkness hit, the natural reaction is to pray about ourselves and our pain.  Jesus has elsewhere demonstrated how to do this.  The non-natural reaction in times of pain is to pray about others, those whom we love.  Yet the supernatural reaction is to pray for the very people responsible for our pain.  That is what Jesus does here.  He takes prayer to its greatest height.  There is no greater sign of spiritual maturity than to intercede for people who have injured us.

Bring to your mind someone who has hurt you, disappointed you, or caused you some pain.  Now, repeat after Jesus: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Once again, Jesus is praying for his disciples. To be “sanctified” is to be set apart. Set apart for what? In this prayer Jesus links being “sanctified” with being “sent.” Just as Jesus was set apart for the purpose of being sent into the world, so now he prays for the disciples to be set apart for the purpose of being sent into the world. Jesus prays about their mission. He begs the Father to set these men apart for the holy task of continuing Jesus’ mission. He prays that they might fulfill their true purpose in life.

What is Highland’s true purpose in life? As we near our 90th birthday, what is our mission? Pray for God to set Highland apart for that mission.

This is another part of a prayer Jesus offers on behalf of his disciples. Even though Jesus has every right to only pray about himself in these final hours, he finds the compassion to pray for others. Here, Jesus prays that God might keep the disciples from the evil one.

Andrew Lincoln notes that in this part of the prayer, Jesus demonstrates “the two antithetical spheres of power operative in the world.” Positively, Jesus prays that the disciples would be guarded by the Father’s power. Negatively, Jesus prays that the disciples would be protected from Satan’s power. In other words, Satan is real. He is active. And prayer is one of the primary ways in which we combat his reality and his activity. Not by our own power. But by the Father’s power.

Consider the many ways in which Satan may wish to harm, hurt, and harass Highland so that God’s next big thing never happens. Pray for God to keep Highland from the evil one.

These lines are part of a prayer which Jesus lifts on behalf of his disciples. Here, what Jesus has been doing (“I have kept them in your name”) he now asks the Father to do (“keep them in your name”). As the disciples have prepared for their mission, Jesus has kept them, guarded them, and protected them. Now, as the disciples pursue their mission, Jesus asks the Father to keep them, guard them, and protect them. Jesus places them in the protective custody of the Father so they may engage fully in ministry.

Think of the names of people or organizations who are involved heavily in ministry, Christian charity, or Christian education. Spend this day in constant prayer for them, asking the Father to keep them, protect them, and guard them.

Consider the elders, staff, deacons and ministry leaders at Highland who pursue their ministries with such passion. As the Father to keep them, protect them, and guard them.

One of Jesus’ three closest friends is about to stab him in the back. Still, Jesus prays for him. Jesus prays that Peter’s “faith may not fail.” Jesus spends some of his last moments praying for the faith of one who won’t even have the courage to admit that he is a follower of Jesus.

Whether you keep a mental or written prayer list, how many people like Peter are on it? My tendency is to remove from my prayer list the people who make my life painful. Jesus’ tendency is to add them to his list. Who are the challenging, difficult, irritating, disappointing, and aggravating people in your life? Add them to your prayer list and start praying!

What difficult people or groups may challenge what God wishes to do through Highland in the near future? Pray for them.