Sermon Writers Block

I always type a full manuscript of my sermons, but I sometimes get stuck and experience writers block. Here are some practices that prevent block in the first place or break me out of it when it happens…

• I also create PowerPoint sermon graphics to go along with my sermons, so when I feel blocked, I switch over to creating the PowerPoint, and working with the visuals almost always causes my creativity to come back.
• Looking at other sermon art also sparks my creativity (See “Advent Sermon Series Art“), especially to create new sermon series from the beginning.
• I keep a digital recorder in my car, and I record sermon ideas for the current sermon or future sermons while I drive.
• In my experience, the best sermon preparation takes place over a long period of time. As I get ideas, I create a new Word file or image file and let it build over time as I add new files of related ideas. In the Poets Prophets Preachers conference, Rob Bell calls the files “buckets” and a growing bunch of files “chunks”. Once the chunk becomes big enough, you have a sermon (Go to “Poets Prophets Preachers Film Set”).

Also see “The Cure for Writer’s Block”.