Preaching Leadership Lessons from the Marine Corps

“But I also learned a great deal about leadership, and I want to share with you some of the leadership lessons I learned from the Marine Corps and how I have applied them to pastoral ministry. Three brief lessons follow, each springing from a commonly used Marine Corps saying. I’ll explain the saying as the Marines use it and then apply it to pastoral leadership.”

The Preacher and His Prayer Life: The Power of Prayer

” ‘God has not called you to preach, until He has first called you to prayer.’

This is not a clever slogan—it is a sobering truth. In a day when the power of prayer in ministry is often neglected and preaching can be platformed before it is proven, and pulpits filled before prayer closets are entered, we must remember that the man who would speak for God must first learn to speak with God.”

What Makes a Sermon Work

“I was reminded how we cannot rest and rely on our various strengths to make the sermon “work.” It’s easy for preachers to subtly transfer dependence from God to our own.”