It's Happened To All Of Us, If We'll Just Admit It

There's no doubt in my mind that most people in the ministry, either local church or para-church, go through this at some point in time in their life. The key paragraph here I believe is:

I opened my heart and invited everyone inside. The message that Sunday was unembellished: no humor, no quotes, no poems. It was void of clever sayings orpoints starting with the same letter. But the message was true. I held nothing back. It was the biggest public risk I'd ever taken. It was also my first authentic sermon, the first time the real me made a showing. In the middle of my talk, something happened, something new …

If they'd teach you that in seminary, and to always keep Jesus as the center of the sermon, preaching would be much more fruitful!