They are working us this year to become preachers. We have an 8am plenary for quite of a few weeks, then a 1-2hr precept where we preach, and we also have a 5-7 week Preaching Workshop where we preach and get critiqued on delivery, body-language, enunciation, etc. I think they’re actually trying to get us to look like Franklin Graham over here. He’s pretty intense. I have my Harley Davidson leather jacket on order, so hopefully they don’t have me preach before it gets here (keep your fingers crossed!!!).
They really want us to get good – we are required, for the most part, to preach with manuscripts. And we have to turn in our exegesis paper for the sermon before we preach. But, I’m sure it’s all for a really good reason in the end. And if you want one example of why perhaps it’s good to be prepared and have a manuscript, you should definitely check it out.
If all of this crazy preaching intensity is to keep me away from having a slip like that in my sermon…alright, it’s probably worth it!