Six weeks ago I threw down the gauntlet and challenged pastors to get out of their offices and meet the people that go to their church, on their turf. My post, A Dare for Pastors, has been read, shared, linked to, commented on, and forwarded a few thousand times.
Here are a few of my favorite responses:
1. A senior pastor who commented on Monday Morning Insight that I was insulting the role of his sermon by saying he should either wing it or let Craig Groschell preach by video. Take this as someone who sits in the pews and occasionally preaches, actions speak louder than words. I guarantee you that your message that week, with little to no prep time, will be more memorable than 90% of sermons you preach the rest of the year. That week every person in the church will know that you lived out the Gospel more than you shared the Gospel. I’ll further the insult by the way. If your pastor claims to spend 20+ hours on a 30 minute sermon each week, he/she clearly not using time wisely. 6 years of education, years of experience, and a 30 minute message takes all week? My message prep takes no more than 5 hours. 8 hours if I have to do some hardcore research. You know we have the internet, right? 20 hours of prep time! Does that involve 2 rounds of golf?
2. A good friend of mine who speaks around the country emailed me and asked if he could steal my idea and challenge church leaders to take the dare. I think that’s an awesome idea. The more church leaders who meet their people in their context, the better ministries will be as a result.
3. Several pastors have emailed me to tell me that they are taking the dare. I know of two churches who will shut their doors to staff and force them to spend 5 half days with the people in their workplaces. I can’t wait to hear the results! The dare is still open. Need help pulling it off? Let me know.
I can’t wait to update more on this dare later in the summer.
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