5 Reasons Pastors Should Prepare Sermons on Monday

By Thom S. Rainer, Op-ed Contributor Monday, February 15, 2016

I love listening to pastors.

I love learning from pastors.

And as I listen and learn, it is my desire to share that information with you, the readers of this blog.

Lately, I've been hearing many pastors talk about the importance of doing most of their sermon preparation on Monday. To be sure, this approach does not apply to all pastors, but I thought it would be helpful to learn why many of them value Monday as their key day for sermon preparation.

Here are five key reasons:

1. Pastors' workweeks are crazy and unpredictable.

There are too many possible interruptions for pastors during the week. It is imperative for a number of them to get the sermon preparation done as early as possible.

2. It reflects the priority of preaching in pastors' ministries.

For a number of pastors, Monday sermon preparation reflects the priority of preaching in their ministries. It is too important to wait until later in the week when there may be inadequate time left to prepare.

3. It allows for more fine-tuning during the week.

If most of the work is done on Monday, pastors can adjust or add to their sermons during the week. This option is not available for "Saturday night specials."

4. It can relieve stress.

The life of a pastor is often stress-filled. Having an incomplete sermon on Friday or Saturday adds to that stress.

5. It can provide better continuity from the sermon of the previous week.

Last Sunday's sermon is still fresh on Monday. If there needs to be some type of connection between the two messages, Monday sermon preparation allows for time proximity between the two.

I hope many of you pastors who do the bulk of your sermon preparation on Monday will share with us the reasons you do. I hope you pastors who have another approach will let us know why you favor something different.

And I hope all of you church members will understand the importance of the sermon, and allow your pastors the time they need each week to handle the Word of God with care and study.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Originally posted at Thom Rainer's blog.

Dr. Thom Rainer is president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.