Today marks one year since my dad passed unexpectedly on Easter. It's been a whirlwind this year. The tension of grieving great loss but also experiencing great life. There has been many weekends and speaking opportunities that I flat out just didn't want to do. I've had to preach through the feeling of not wanting to preach more this year than any other year. Preaching in weakness. Preaching vulnerable. Preaching from an honest place. His grace is sufficient. There was something Nathan Finochio posted months ago that has really resonated with me. I wrote it down. Found myself telling myself this when my mind was going astray. Shared this with friends who were walking through their own loss. Here it is... "Grace means nothing you had was earned in the first place. Which means nothing taken from you is evidence of God's betrayal!" 😭🙏🏽 Love you all!

This past week in the DYP coaching group we talked about one of my favorite parts of the sermon writing process.....OBSERVATIONS. In the I.N.S.P.I.R.E.D. sermon framework it is step two: NOTICING. It's the unlock that will make you more confident as a communicator, more valuable than AI, and give the ability to never run out of things to say. It's the step many are tempted to skip... It's much easier to pull up YouTube, rely on cliches, or go straight to the expert in a commentary. But what you want to do is SIT WITH THE TEXT. Well... before that.. pray what David prayed: "Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law."- Psalm 119:18 Then... SIT WITH THE PASSAGE. LOOK. LOOK AGAIN. LOOK AGAIN AGAIN. WHAT'S HAPPENING? WHO'S TALKING? WHERE ARE WE IN THE META-NARRATIVE OF SCRIPTURE? WHAT ARE THE ACTIONS OF HUMANITY? WHAT ARE THE ACTIONS OF GOD? ASK QUESTIONS. ASK MORE QUESTIONS. MAKE CONNECTIONS. Your heart is not to see something "no one else has seen before." That's arrogant. The heart is to see something YOU'VE never seen before. A connection you've never seen before or a greater enlightenment on a simple truth. Anything that God wants to show you. I'm writing those observations down. I'm turning those observations into points. I'm turning my process of discovery into a sermon. There is so much to see. Here's a truth that needs to be a conviction for every preacher: EVERYTHING IN THE PASSAGE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE THE BIGGEST DEAL. Read that back and get that in your heart. I heard a preacher preach on a comma before. "Don't put a period where God puts a comma." lol. People got saved that night. He preached on a comma y'all! I'm opening up a new discussion category for anyone to write out biblical observations from your study. Here's on from reading Psalm 23... The first 3 verses of Psalm 23.. David is talking about God in third person. THE LORD is my Shepherd. HE makes me lie down... HE leads me besides still waters... HE refreshes my soul...

I read something Charles Metcalf wrote that I thought was brilliant. He said, "You will never preach better than the person you are. Preaching is not an isolated skill; it is the public overflow of your private life. As your character deepens, your preaching gains weight, texture, depth, beauty, and authority, but if your life is shallow and small, your preaching will be thin no matter how polished or impressive your delivery is. People don’t just hear your words—they feel your life, and they are trained to sense authenticity even if they can’t articulate it. If you’re disconnected, performative, or simply re-preaching something you heard this week, people know, even if they don’t know how they know. If your world is small, your preaching will be small; limited exposure to people, pain, culture, life, love, faith, and risk produces narrow preaching. You cannot want big preaching and live a small life. Your soul is all you’ve got, and in an age where people can access Scripture instantly and study it deeply on their own, your value is not just information—it’s conviction. Your authority doesn’t come from saying something new, but from living something real. Pray you are well. 🖤"- C In my coaching, we talked about people knowing if what you're preaching is real to you. Tim Keller calls it, "non-deliberate transparency". People know you ate the bread you're serving as a preacher. I told our group: we preach with confidence when we preach with conviction... and we preach from conviction when we have been personally convinced. Here are 10 things the craft of preaching cannot replace. 1. Your secret place with God. 2. Spending time with people not just preparing for them. 3. Having spiritual authority that you're submitted to. 4. Your growing relationship with God. 5. Pain & Suffering. 6. Biblical observations that have first impacted you. 7. The books you read/listen to. 8. A long obedience in the same direction. 9. The art you consume. 10. Steps of faith.

Dear Young Preacher, I know nothing about figure skating. But after watching Alysa Liu win Olympic gold, I realized something: every preacher can learn something from her. I remember going on a weird group date in middle school to watch Blades of Glory. What I do know is… when I watched Alysa Liu’s Olympic gold medal–winning performance, I was captivated. This 20-year-old was the first U.S. woman to win Olympic singles gold since 2002. (Have you seen it? If you haven’t, stop reading and please go watch it.) How could I not be? She was floating…secure, free, light. Not a care in the world while the whole world was watching. She was spinning in the air, twirling on the floor, while vibing to “MacArthur Park” by Donna Summer. She looked like Kanye in 2001. Popped collar, polo backpack…while everyone else was wearing FUBU. This girl is legit! Every time I watch her skate or hear her in an interview, I feel like I’m in a therapy session. She’s got a settled confidence that is inspiring. The other week we were celebrating our friend’s birthday at our house, and here we all are cheesing at the TV like proud parents as Alysa is skating off the ice smiling with that painful-looking piercing. Her set made us watch 10 others… Look… I know nothing about skating. All I know is that when I see Alysa Liu doing what she is called to do, it inspires me to do what I am called to do. Watching her skate, I realized something: young preachers can learn a lot from Alysa Liu... Read Full Article: https://substack.com/@dearyoungpreacher/note/p-190692781?r=2dn239&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action Watch Gold Winning Performance:

We have nearly 160 young preachers in the community in less than a week! Do you me a favor and hit the Map tab and look at where everyone is from. It’s hard to not think of the ripple of impact this community can have in the world! Imagine a young preachers on every continent? (Antarctica? lol) I want to welcome everyone to Dear Young Preacher the community. The vision is simple: THE PREACHERS OF TOMORROW, PREPARING TODAY! Idk about you but I don’t just want to be a little shooting star in the Kingdom of God. I want to be someone ready to carry the Gospel into the future. Make no mistake, I’m preparing right now! My heart is for this platform to be a source of inspiration, encouragement, and edification for you as a preacher of the Gospel! What you can expect: 1. A constant stream of helpful tools/inspiration in the area of preaching and communication. 2. Occasional zoom calls on different topics. 3. Posts where we can collaborate on ideas & a space for you to meet other preachers. 4. Wherever the Lord takes this. Some things you should do: 1. Download the Skool App. It’s more convenient. 2. Engage with posts. Add value. Share the loot lol. 3. Invite 3 young preachers you know! Let’s get to 300! Lastly, Comment an area you would love to grow in as a preacher?