How Jeff Is Trying to Get His Preaching Groove Back

One serious challenge I faced when I came to Cupar Old Parish Church
in November, 2008, was my preaching. I have always loved to preach
and have sought every opportunity to do so. I have experienced so
much joy in preaching from the Bible about Jesus. When I was in Bos-
ton from 1981 to 1998, I had plenty of opportunities to preach, both in
English as well as in Spanish. The preparation and the delivery of ser-
mons gave me much pleasure. The highpoint was in 2002-2003 when
I pastored two great churches in South Dakota. I got to lead worship
and preach twice every Sunday for one short year.


But upon arriving in St. Andrews, Scotland, in 2003, and for the follow-
ing five years I was at the University, I did not receive any opportuni-
ties to preach. I was very involved in different ministries at the local
church I attended, but there were no invitations to preach. That was
the case until I arrived at the Parish Church at the end of 2008. After
preparing and delivering my first sermon at the church soon after I ar-
rived, I realized just how rusty I was after five years of not preaching.
Since then I've preached over twenty times. I have cut down on my
preparation time and have grown more confident in my delivery. I de-
sire to get back into preaching on a weekly basis, hopefully in the very
near future.


I have wondered if my heart valve replacement surgery in late 2006
had injured some of my mental functions I draw upon in preaching. I
have sensed some recovery of these functions, but it seems slow. After
listening to recordings of my preaching, I asked the Church of Scotland
for a voice coach. I twice met with a coach who provided me with great
feedback. I have also been listening to other preachers, preparing prac-
tice sermons, and actually preaching out loud up in my room. Ziggy the
house cat has been a frequent visiter when I practice my sermons, but
has a tendency of yawning and falling asleep as I get into the first point
of my sermon. He often gets up, stretches, and walks out before I get to
my sermon conclusion.

Since I am no longer on ministry staff at Cupar Old, I don't have oppor-
tunities to preach. I have put my name forward to the Presbytery to do
pulpit supply, but have not yet been called upon. But I still take time
each day to work on some part of preparing and delivering a sermon. I
am starting to feel again a fire in my bones to preach. I'm slowly getting
my preaching groove back again!


Blessings to you and yours,