This content is written for Talanton Church Services.

 

How can your preaching increase its impact during a time of crisis. during any time of uncertainty pastors must preach off of a solid foundation. On today's episode of the Thriving in Ministry podcast, we will discuss how pastors and church leaders can make the best out of a bad situation. All this on the Thriving in Ministry podcast. I'm Kyle Willis, the Founder of Talanton Church Services, and as always we are joined by Dace Clifton, Pastor and Founder of www.dailypastor.com. 

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This is the Thriving in Ministry podcast, brought to you by Daily Pastor. At Daily Pastor, we know that church leaders want to better equipped for ministry. You need encouragement to not just survive, but thrive in the place where God has called you. 

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So Dace, I know that you always start us off with a random question of the day. Do you have one for today? 

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Kyle, I do. I'm just curious. You know for many of our listeners, this recent series of events with Covid-19 and all that has really brought about a new rhythm for people. So I want to know, what is one thing, something that you've done or are doing, maybe something you've got done around the house, because of Covid-19? Something that you would not have done otherwise. I totally put you on the spot. 

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Well Dace, I have got some things taken care of that I needed to. Like cleaning the garage and taking care of my lawn a little bit. I've caught up on a little bit of rest but, I think what I have tried to do a little bit of is rearrange my office. I have not completed it yet, I may be adding a tv and some other things, but its a work in progress. As we are Zooming now, if you look around my office and there are some tools and different wall mounts, that is because it has not gone very well to be honest with you. 

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Well, that was totally a loaded question. By the way, I like that you have a picture of buffalo behind you. Did you take that picture? 

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I did not, no. There's bison. There is the Blue Angels back there. You will seed my Talanton Church Services sign. A painting from Bali. It's kind of cool man, so...

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That was totally a loaded question, because there is something I have been doing and there is a back story here. Like two years ago, in some caffeine induced stupor, I mentioned to my kids. "We want a tree fort." and I'm like sure I will build you one. And that was like two years ago and my kids have not forgotten. To make it worse, there are two different dads, like a block down my street. One of them build this amazing tree fort, its multiple levels, its got a castle motif going on and I'm like what in the world? So my kids are like "Dad, we don't have anything in the backyard." A friend of mine suggested I tell my kids not to covet, but I did not do that. Instead, it might not look like much to you, but I actually just texted you. We built a tree fort man! 

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I'm looking at it! It is solid. You have a little patio on top there for mom and dad. I don't see how you are getting up and down though? Did I miss that part? 

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Well, this is a work in progress and so we need a couple more weeks of this pandemic for me to finish the stairs. But we do have four posts, a platform. Each of my kids have hammocks, which also fit adults, which is really cool. Yeah, we have a little area on the top that's got a railing. So you can go and hang out. It actually may not look like a lot. It's been a lot of fun. I really can't take all the credit. I have a neighbor down the street, who is like dying for things to do. So he came over and helped me do some of it. Anyway, it's been cool.

 

To describe it for those listening to us on the Thriving in Ministry podcast, you have four by four posts that you cemented at the bottom, probably eight feet tall. On top of it is where you kind of build this decking. But the railing that goes around it, kind of looks like what you would see at an outdoor restaurant or patio. Are you a welder or did you weld that? What happened here? 

 

So it helps to know people. I put the posts in the ground, with the help of my neighbor, and framed all of that underneath and the decking and all that. But the railing, I know a guy who has a really nice shop. I said, "Man, I build this platform and its about six feet off the ground, the area where you can stand. I have a daughter who is six and I don't want her to fall off there, you know. She will fall off and break her arm. So, he was like, "Hey, I'll help you build some railing. So he had this railing material, this metal, so we built all this. He welded it and I was his go-for going and getting him stuff. So we built all this awesome railing. He didn't charge me anything. He's like, here you go and it was awesome. Well, it was something that only took me two years of preparation and planning. It's not done and I will tell you. There is going to be a climbing wall on the side and my daughter wants a zip-line on this thing. I know this sounds pretty elaborate, but I have been able to do this on the cheap. I'm a pastor, right? So we are talking a couple hundred bucks here and some free labor. It's been good; it's been cool.  

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That's awesome. As we are talking about Thriving in Preaching, specifically in a time of crisis, when your daughter does break her arm, you can come back to these points. But before we get into the four points, Dace can you share with us the verse of the day? 

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You bet, Kyle. It's Galatians 6:9. "And let us not grow weary of doing good. For in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." And so for our pastor friends out there, I just want to say to you. You may be stretched a little bit right now. This whole season has been unusual, unprecedented. All of that and you may have a few people that are irritated at you right now. They are under some extra strain. Show them some extra grace. Pastor, don't give up, don't throw in the towel right now, because we have the promised of God that say, don't grow weary of doing good, in due season you are going to reap. 

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We want to talk about how pastors and church leaders can thrive in ministry. Specifically in their preaching and coming out of this pandemic. But really it applies to any time of crisis. There may be pastors out there who are experiencing some upheaval in their church. They may have had some unexpected loss of someone really integral to their church. Maybe a staff member or key leader in their church. There's a number of different ways that I think that this is going to speak to pastors today. Pastors who really want to improve their preaching, we are just going to lay out some solid foundations. Four practical ways to enhance a pastor's preaching. 

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Well, absolutely. If I could use this metaphor Kyle. Basically in the midst of a crisis or difficultly. Think about being on a ship and it get's stormy, right? There may be someone else who is at the helm of that ship, but during a storm, when things get critical. The captain, where ever he is, if he is off shift, he comes up and takes control of the wheel. If they even use those anymore. He takes control and he is in there leading from the front. I think really in a time of crisis, whether it is a pandemic or some other difficulty, people expect their pastor to be confident in God's promises. We have to not project that in a hollow way but we have to project that in a genuine way, that as a child of God as a person who wants to love other people and serve other people in Jesus' name. We are going to be confident in God's promises. Not to be afraid, to trust in His Sovereignty. To trust that he sees the past, present, and future. He knows what is going on. He's the one that we can depend on and lean into His plan. One thing that we can be confident about God's promises, I think about Romans 8 and the latter part there. Those who are called according to God's purposes. 

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Written for Talanton Church Services. Church Consulting Tulsa | Thriving in Preaching: Crisis