Preaching When You Are Stretched

Preaching When You Are Stretched

This will be the last post  in our series on the toughest sermons you will preach.  If you are new to this blog, the first of this series is found at this link.  For the last of these reflections, I want to focus in this post on preaching when you are stretched in your own life to the point of depression or worse.

Background to Preaching When You Are Stretched

I went through three times in my preaching career when I faced depression.  I found it incredibly challenging to make sermons during those times.  The first time it happened, I was preaching in a small church with little resources.  I was the only staff person, so there wasn’t an option to stop and recover.  Later, I was serving a large church, and was given several weeks off to deal with the emotional upheaval I was feeling.  But each time, it was a challenge to create sermons that would comfort and challenge others when I myself was hurting.  So, what helped?  Here are just a few ideas of what was helpful.

Know That You Are Not Unique

It was a rather strange comfort to know that I wasn’t alone in my experience.  Scripture tells us that many of the “heroes” of faith dealt with depression.  Moses got to the point where he was stretched beyond human capacity in leading the Israelites in the wilderness.  He cried out, “How can I bear [the] troubles, burdens, and disputes [of these people] by myself?” (Deut. 1:12).  Elijah faced horrible depression.  He even asked for God to take his life, he was so down (I Kings 19).

Beyond those Biblical figures, you can consider people like the prince of preachers,  Charles Spurgeon.  He would have repeated times of depression that drove him to take breaks from ministry.  Here is how one person described his experience:

Spurgeon was a man who loved life, was serious about joy, had a wonderful sense of humor, was intensely Christ-centered in his preaching, but sadly suffered from severe bouts of sickness and depression. The cause of his depression is not fully known, but personal tragedies, illness, and stress certainly contributed to it. Spurgeon’s doctors believed that one reason for the pastor’s depression was “extra pressure of care or labour”. Spurgeon’s wife believed the weather affected his mental stability.

Does that sound familiar?  Maybe you identify with one of the many things listed as potential causes.

Preaching About Being Stretched When You Are Stretched

One of the things I did during the time that I was being stretched was to study Scripture, seeking insight into what God said about those times.  Preaching when you are stretched is certainly a good subject to consider during your challenging time.  I won’t share every thing that I learned in that process, but I found that Scripture speaks to the person who is stretched.  Psalm 77 is a particularly good psalm to consider.  Here is a sermon on that passage that you might want to reflect on.

Consider the Cause

Another thing I found helpful was to consider the underlying cause of my depression.  In my first church, I found that I was overworking in a ridiculous way.  My weekly schedule involved writing and preaching 2 sermons–one for morning and one for the evening service.  In addition, I taught high school Sunday School before the first service, and led the Youth group after the evening service.  I also directed the choir, with a rehearsal at 4:30 in the afternoon.  I pastored and counseled and did everything else, too.  In addition, I made sure the busses that we used to pick up kids for Sunday School were maintained appropriately.

The schedule was unsustainable.

So, I tried to bring some control into this life I was living.  I was never totally successful.  In fact, the thing that started relief was that I left that church and went to a larger one where I was on staff, not responsible for the whole ministry, and I had ministry partners.

Later, when what Winston Churchill called the black dog returned, I went to a counselor who helped me identify some internal parts of my personality that were contributing.

Preaching When You Are Stretched About Being Stretched

The other thing I did was to preach about depression.  I did this not when I was in the depths, but when I could testify to God’s faithfulness in the midst of the challenge.

Conclusion

Preaching when are stretched by life is challenging, but it will allow you to identify with the people in your church who are struggling with similar life situations.