Editorial draft for review. “From the guide” sections are Parker's words; “Working it out,” examples and worksheets are editorial.
Guide sections: The Posture of a Growing Preacher
Read
Read “From the guide” first, out loud if you can. Then read “Working it out.”
From the guide
Study wide, then study deep
Don’t just listen to one or two voices.
Bury yourself in study.
When you find pastors or scholars you align with:
- Find out who discipled them
- What shaped them
- What wells they draw from
You’re building a lifelong ecosystem of voices.
Land somewhere
Consider all positions.
Then resolve where you stand and why.
Resolve saves time and gives direction.
But never stop learning.
Stay rooted. Keep drilling deeper.
Ask questions constantly
Deep questions.
Strange questions.
Basic questions.
The sign of a good disciple is one who asks good questions.
It’s ok to say:
“I don’t know yet. I’ll get back to you.”
Take notes aggressively
Taking notes pulls more out of leaders.
People give more when they see hunger.
Build a personal archive of:
- quotes
- ideas
- outlines
- illustrations
- books
You are building future sermons every week.
Working it out
Trace the wells. When a teacher helps you, go one step back. Who taught them? What did they read? This is how one or two voices become an ecosystem.
Land, then keep drilling. A preacher who never resolves anything has nothing to say. Pick one question your passage raises, consider the main positions, and write where you stand and why. Hold it firmly and stay open to learning.
Say “I don't know yet.” In your mentor sessions and in your church, an honest “I'll get back to you” builds more trust than a guess. Keep a running questions log for your sermon.
Take notes in front of people. Bring a notebook to every mentor session. Hunger you can see draws more out of the person teaching you.
Read critically (editorial addition). Learning from a teacher is not the same as endorsing everything they say.
Example
A planter (fictional) kept one archive with five sections: quotes, ideas, outlines, illustrations and books. A year later he could find any idea in minutes, and three of his sermons had started as single lines in it.
Discuss
- Whose voices do you listen to most? Who shaped them?
- Where do you need to land on a question this passage raises?
- When did you last say “I don't know yet”? What happened?
- Where will your archive live so you will actually use it?
Mentor: name the two or three voices that shaped you most, and who shaped them.
Practice
Pick one teacher you trust and find out who discipled them and what they read. If that is not publicly known, write “not publicly known” and the next place you would check. Write where you stand on one question your passage raises, and why. Start a questions log for your sermon. Set up your archive with Parker's five categories. Add an entry, with its source, wherever you have one that is genuinely useful; label any empty category “not yet found” rather than adding filler.
Worksheet
Copy onto paper or download below; nothing is saved here.
- A teacher I trust / who shaped them / what wells they draw from
- A question my passage raises / where I stand / why
- Questions log (question / where it came from / answered?)
- Archive: quotes / ideas / outlines / illustrations / books
Review
Artifact: Teacher trace, one landed position, questions log and archive.
Complete when: All four exist, the position includes a reason, and the archive has at least one useful sourced entry, with every other category holding an entry or labelled “not yet found”.
- One teacher traced one step back, or marked “not publicly known” with the next place to check.
- One position stated with a reason.
- Questions log has at least three real questions about the sermon.
- Archive has all five categories; each holds a sourced entry or is labelled “not yet found.”
Mentor feedback
Bring the work you made, not just your answers. Show one place where the passage shaped a decision. Name one strength, choose one useful improvement, and check the revision together.
- Name one real strength in the work.
- Name one priority improvement, based on evidence in the work.
- Revise, then recheck against the review list.