In Preaching Articles: "Performance"

Building A High-Performing Team

By Lance Witt on Apr 21, 2022

The bullseye on the target of a great team is both health and high-performance.

Tags: leadership, Teamwork, team building, Performance, Leadership  (view more)  (view less)

Should Pastors Perform Weddings For Unbelievers?

By John Piper on Jul 29, 2024

John Piper shares his input on "if" and "when" it's appropriate for pastors to marry unbelievers.

Scripture: Isaiah 43:1, Isaiah 43:1

Tags: Children, Preaching, Pastors, Reason, Weddings, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Preacher Or Performer? The Crying Baby Test

By Jeremy Smith on Aug 8, 2021

The way you handle distractions may indicate how you see your role in the pulpit.

Tags:

Should You Swing For The Fences Every Sunday?

By Philip Nation on Jun 25, 2025

Why do we think every sermon has to be a home run?

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:1-2

Tags: Preaching, Pray, Performance, delivery, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

What Are The Internal Scripts Driving You? Part 2

By Lance Witt on Oct 9, 2023

For many Christians shame isn’t about a sordid past or dark skeletons in our closet. We live with a low-grade nagging feeling that we are never “enough”.

Tags: Shame, beloved, Performance, Identity in Christ

Identity Theft

By Lance Witt on Sep 21, 2023

For many years I did ministry as an employee rather than as a son. My value and acceptance were dependent on how well I performed.

Scripture: 1 John 3:1

Tags: children of God, Trust God, Performance, Children of the King, Estrella genio  (view more)  (view less)

10 Things You Can Do To Make Your Pastor’s Sermons Better

By Jared Moore on Nov 18, 2020

Healthy congregations understand that preaching is not a performance to consume but a sacred moment to steward with prayerful participation and practical support.

Scripture: James 1:21-22, Acts 6:4, Hebrews 13:17, Galatians 6:9, 2 Timothy 4:2  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Preaching, pastor, teach, Learning, Improve, Pastor, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Death To Dancing Bears

By Lance Witt on May 30, 2022

“Sometimes as a worship pastor,” he said, “I feel like a dancing bear. It’s my job to get up and perform for the crowd, and as long as the performance is good, everyone is happy. Except me. Something is missing and I don’t know what to do.”

Tags: Ministry, burnout, pastoral leadership, Lost Focus, People Over Programs, ministry  (view more)  (view less)

8 Must-Have Elements Of Your Easter Sermon

By Josh Reich on Dec 10, 2024

Easter preaching should not be an annual performance but the weekly pattern of faithful proclamation that points to Jesus, offers hope, and calls for clear response.

Scripture: Ezekiel 22:23-31, Luke 24:1-12, Romans 1:16, John 11:25, Colossians 1:18  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Easter, Preaching, Pastoral Ministry, preaching

What I've Learned Preaching With Parkinson’s Disease

By Tom Teichmann on May 13, 2020

Living with Parkinson’s reshaped one preacher’s delivery, dependence, and understanding of the gospel’s power beyond personal performance.

Scripture: Romans 10:14-17, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Isaiah 55:11, 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, Galatians 4:13-14  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Preaching, disease, disability, Improve, Pastoral Ministry, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

How John Piper Learned To Preach

By Outreach Inc. on Apr 8, 2025

John Piper reflects on how God shapes preachers not through polish or performance, but through Scripture, suffering, and deep love for God’s Word.

Scripture: Galatians 1:15-16, Romans 10:14-17, 2 Corinthians 4:5-7, Jeremiah 20:9

Tags: obedience, Preaching, obey, Expository Preaching, preaching, expository preaching  (view more)  (view less)

How To Preach Like The Weeping Prophet

By Chris Surber on May 20, 2025

Jeremiah’s power was not merely in his message of judgment, but in his brokenhearted love for the people he addressed. Preaching that moves souls flows from love, not performance.

Scripture: Jeremiah 1:18, Jeremiah 15:20, Jeremiah 9:1, Jeremiah 15:17, 1 Corinthians 9:22  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Prophet, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Preaching, Weeping, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

The Word Nobody Likes… Part 2

By Lance Witt on Dec 4, 2023

One of the reasons the word accountability gets a bad rap is because of the way some people have carried out accountability. Holding people accountable is not using your position as a club to embarrass, humiliate, mistreat, belittle or shame people. Our accountability of people should make those on our team better not bitter.

Scripture: Daniel 6:1

Tags: Humility, leadership, relationships, Accountability, Performance, Feedback, Pastoral Ministry, church ministry, Empowering Others, Effective Leadership, Leadership  (view more)  (view less)

Hope Sermon Outline Template For Pastors

By Josh Read on Mar 9, 2026

The word "hope" has become church wallpaper. It's on coffee mugs in the lobby, printed across banners above the baptistry, and threaded through every worship set since 2015. Your congregation has heard it so many times it slides off them like rain off a windshield. Here's the tension: the biblical word for hope has almost nothing in common with the sentiment we've domesticated it into. The Hebrew word "tiqvah" literally means "cord" or "rope", something you cling to when the ground gives way. The Greek "elpis" in Paul's letters is never wishful thinking. It's confident expectation aimed at a future only God can deliver. This sermon outline is built for the Sunday you peel the bumper sticker off and show your congregation what hope actually costs and why it's the most defiant act a believer can perform.

Scripture: Lamentations 3:21-24, Romans 5:3-5, Psalm 42:5, Hebrews 6:19, Romans 8:24-25, Isaiah 40:31, 1 Peter 3:15, Jeremiah 29:11, Colossians 1:27  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Hope, sermonprep, SermonPrep, PastorLife, ChurchLeader, PreachingHope, BiblicalHope  (view more)  (view less)