Summer Preaching Break

A few people have asked why I haven’t preached in the last few weeks at Revolution. One of the blessings the elders have given me each summer is a summer preaching break. Typically in the summer, I take 3-4 weeks where I don’t preach and in that time I usually go on a family vacation. We didn’t do this the first year of Revolution because I didn’t have anyone else to preach. That year I preached 50 weekends. But I’ve learned from older pastors that one of the ways they make it to the end in ministry and finish well is taking a summer preaching break. The misconception is that a pastor who has a summer preaching break is just sitting at home playing xbox, doing nothing. Other pastors may do that, but for me, my preaching break for me consists of me working, just not preaching. Steven Furtick explains well why he takes a summer preaching break.

There are a couple of benefits to this. It helps me stay fresh as preaching is tiring, mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally. It gives me time to spend extended time with God, filling my tank so that I have things to say. It gives me a chance to look ahead and plan future sermon series. During this time I typically write study guides for upcoming series. On this study break I wrote the study guides for our series on Titus and Jude that we are doing this fall.

It also helps me with my family time. Giving me an opportunity to have some flexibility to go to church with my family, a rare treat. Be more focused on them as when I am preaching I am very focused on my sermons, prepping my voice, mind, heart and body for it.

It helps our church not just hear from me. I appreciate that Revolution loves hearing me preach and I love preaching, but it is healthy for them to hear other communicators. It gives a chance for new communicators in our church to get developed. One of our goals from the beginning is to fight as hard as we can against the tendency for Revolution to be built around one person. It is hard but having 8-10 weeks a year that I don’t preach is a big part of helping that to happen.

This summer, my break got moved up. It was supposed to be at the beginning of August, but I ended up getting laryngitis from my allergies at the beginning of July so we had to switch things around. It has been a challenge for everyone, but our team has been great about being flexible and making it happen.

One of the last things it does is makes me love preaching. As I said in other posts, preaching is spiritual warfare. It is hard and draining. I love every minute that I get to preach, but it is hard. I remember a preaching professor telling me that after preaching one sermon you should feel like you just worked an 8 hour day, if you don’t, you left some on the field so to speak. Now, I preach twice a week. Taking a break reinvigorates that love of preaching, keeping me focused on the prize of preaching, which is life change. Right now, I can’t wait for July 30, which is when I am back to preaching again.

But this week, I’m pumped to sit at Revolution, worship with my church family and hear Brent Thomas challenge us from the book of Ruth. Pastor, if you don’t take a break in the summer, let me encourage you to do so. You need it. Your family needs it. Your church needs it.