In Preaching Articles: "Hurting People"

Reluctant Leadership Is Better Than Nothing

By Joe Mckeever on Jan 17, 2021

You ask the question and–this is critical–you remain standing. You are not just expressing a point of view, you are asking for answers. And you are doing so in such a sweet manner, no one can accuse you of trying to stir up anything.

Scripture: Romans 9:1-20

Tags: responsibility, Preaching, hurting people, servant leadership

Five Steps To Respond To A Hurtful And Hateful Email

By SermonCentral .com on Jul 6, 2022

“You have no business being the pastor of our church. All you are interested in is getting your own way and changing all the good things we have going. People are saying you should be fired. I agree with them.”

Scripture: Proverbs 15:1

Tags: Perseverance, leadership, conflict, Criticism, loving people, pastoral leadership, church ministry, Difficult People, Facing Controversy, criticism, Leadership  (view more)  (view less)

How To Stay Healthy While Pastoring An Unhealthy Church

By SermonCentral .com on Dec 30, 2021

Hurting churches hurt people. Including pastors who try to help them. Here are 9 principles to help you stay strong.

Tags: Sabbath, Boundaries, pastoral leadership, Broken Church

Letter To A (Real Life) Hurting Pastor

By Chris Surber on Apr 25, 2025

Author Chris Surber suggests six avenues to handle the hurt and disappointment so common in pastoral ministry.

Tags: Preaching, preaching

When People Leave: 4 Lessons In Rejection From Jesus

By Greg Surratt on Jul 7, 2021

Watching people leave hurts, even for pastors. Jesus’ response in John 6 shows how to process that pain with security in the Father’s love, trusted friends, and confidence in God’s sovereignty.

Scripture: John 6:25-71, John 11:35, Romans 8:28, Matthew 3:17, Hebrews 13:17  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Jesus, leadership, Preaching, Rejection, Leadership, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

How Your Preaching Can Hurt Your Church

By Erik Raymond on Apr 24, 2025

Like so many blessings from God, we can elevate them to become a distraction or even an idol.

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:1

Tags: Preaching, preaching

What To Do When Someone Close To You Is Hurting

By Josh Reich on Jun 19, 2022

Let’s face it, when someone hurts us, we can brush it off and often move on. We can be tough, ignore it, deal with it or get even (although that rarely helps), but something changes when it is our spouse, kids, a close friend or a family member who is hurt. We feel powerless in that moment.

Tags: pastoral leadership, bearing burdens, shepherding, counseling, Shepherding  (view more)  (view less)

11 Times When Preaching Hurts More Than It Helps

By Joseph Mattera on Feb 7, 2024

Preaching is vital to God's purposes--that's why we must get it right.

Scripture: Matthew 13:1-15

Tags: Hurt, Preaching, Purpose, help, Vital, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

4 Popular Preaching Myths

By Brian Orme on Jan 26, 2024

What you think about your preaching while preparing your message might be just as important as the words you say when you deliver it.

Tags: Hurt, Preaching, myth, hinder, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Should Pastors Use Other People’s Sermons?

By Ron Forseth on Sep 2, 2024

Is using another preacher’s sermon always wrong? This article examines plagiarism, conscience, diligence, and trust to offer a biblical framework for sermon use.

Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:15, Romans 14:22-23, 1 Corinthians 10:29, James 3:1, Luke 12:48  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Preaching, preparation, Speech, theft, Plagiarism, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Words Create Worlds… Part 2

By Lance Witt on Aug 17, 2023

It’s not just what you say, but how you say it.

Scripture: Proverbs 15:1, Philippians 4:5, Proverbs 12:18, Proverbs 27:5-6, Proverbs 10:17, Proverbs 10:19, Proverbs 17:28, Proverbs 15:28, Proverbs 19:4  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: words, Influence, Words do hurt, pastoral leadership

6 Things To Do When Someone Insults You

By Josh Reich on Apr 13, 2023

You know the conversation. Someone in your church asks to meet with you, or you set up the meeting because you know they are angry at you, the church or a decision that was made.

Tags: Hurt, church conflict, Dealing with Conflicts, Leadership Listening

Five Ways To Turn Off Younger Listeners

By Adam Ramsey on Nov 6, 2024

If you're still in your first 5 years as a preacher, don’t give up! God has this wonderful way of drawing straight lines with crooked sticks.

Tags: Preaching, God's Love, Laughter, Young people, good advice, young people, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

When People Compare Pastors

By Charles Stone on Mar 26, 2021

Many pastors secretly struggle with measuring up to very successful pastors and churches. It’s tough, but it comes with ministry. People compare pastors. In this post I suggest a few ways to deal with this “measure up mentality.” I begin with one pastor’s experience.

Scripture: Psalm 62:5

Tags: Discouragement, Approval, Comparison, High expectations

You Exegete Your Text, But Do You Exegete Your People?

By Leslie Holmes on Sep 2, 2025

"Bob Easley may not have gone beyond sixth grade, but he taught this quasi-educated preacher that there's a lot more to be learned about preaching than I ever got inside a book."

Scripture: Job 1:1-10

Tags: people, Preaching, Text, exegete, preaching  (view more)  (view less)