Preachers Block

By Richard

This week I have been struggling to put together a message for Mountainview’s Easter Café Service. I'm challenged by the importance of the subject (the Gospel writers devote more than 1/3 of the Gospels to the death and resurrection of Christ) and the limited time to speak (I have less than 15 minutes to say something worthwhile about the greatest event in all of history – and all of eternity for that matter).

But beyond these extremely valid reasons for my “preachers block”, when I dig much deeper into my soul, I discover I have a perfectionist centre. I’m struggling because I want to say it “just right”… I want to sound “impressive”. I know that this must be where the block lies because when it comes to writing these blogs, day in and day out, they flow so easily out of me. Without the pressure to perform, free from the need to be perfect, it’s amazing how easily the creativity flows.

Well these were some of my thoughts last night and then, this morning I read these profound words of Jesus from Matthew 7.

“Watch out for false preachers…don’t be impressed by charisma, look for character. Who preachers are is the main thing, not what they say. A genuine leader will never exploit your emotions or your pocketbook! [And a little later in the same passage!] When Jesus concluded his address the crowd burst into applause. It was apparent [Jesus] was living everything that he was saying.” (The Message)

It was a timely reminder not to get lost in the darkness of perfectionism. Rather to work on staying close to Jesus and being myself. To remove the pressure to perform that is damming up my creativity, to live His life, and enjoy Jesus flooding the pages of my preparation.