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Panic in the Pulpit

Most of us learn to preach by imitation and we imitate what we admire.  When I was in seminary, the preacher I most admired wrote his sermons in a black, 6 b 9 notebook -- so I bought a 6 by 9 notebook.

Moreover, I noticed that when he was ready to turn a page, he made a dramatic gesture toward heaven and while everyone was looking up, he flipped the page.  I practiced that maneuver too.

 

Like most seminarians I thought I had a call to ministry, but I was not certain that I would ever get a job in ministry.

 

All the churches I had served as a seminarian were very small when I was there and became defunct soon after I left.  I did not think that their closing was attributable to my preaching, but I often wondered.  In later years, I became the presbyter's designated hitter.  When a congregation was...

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