What The Blues Teaches Us About Preaching
Some preaching can holler loud, hit the right runs, and get folks on their feet… but when you sit down and really think about it, there ain’t much meat on …
How Blues Rescues Us From Hollow Celebration Read More
Some of you know that old gospel-blues number: Trouble in my way, I have to cry sometimes. Trouble in my way, I have to cry sometimes. I lay awake at …
Trouble in My Way: Preaching When the Answer Is Still “No” Read More
You ever notice the real note isn’t always the one on the page? In the blues, the right note is often in between the notes. Not the clean pitch the …
Blue Note Preaching Read More
Isaiah 2:1–5 March at Midnight The church year don’t start at high noon. It doesn’t begin when the sun’s shining, the bills are paid, the choir is tight, and everybody’s …
March at Midnight – First Sunday of Advent- Year A Read More
I was listening to Wynton Marsalis recently—one of the great jazz trumpeters of our time—and he broke jazz down into three essential elements. This is my summary of what he …
The I, The Us, and the Hope In Preaching Read More
There’s something strange and beautiful about the blues. It’s a music soaked in pain—lost love, long nights, empty pockets, broken promises, unanswered prayers. The blues doesn’t pretend everything is alright. …
The Blues, The Dance, and Preaching Read More
Real preaching doesn’t promise you the new car. It doesn’t guarantee a bigger house, a better job, or a fairy tale ending. Because the Bible doesn’t either. You can name …
Three Things the Blues Will Do To Your Preaching Read More
You ever notice it? That preacher starts to rise near the end of the sermon — voice bending, throat tightening, rhythm building. And suddenly, they’re not just talking. They’re singing …
The Moan and the Whoop: Where Blues Meets Preaching Read More
Let’s go ahead and say it: some of these sermons out here sound like lectures. Long on information, short on inspiration. Packed with notes, but no oil. Now look — …
Sermon is Art Not Lecture Read More
If you’ve ever spent real time in the Psalms or the Prophets, you know they don’t sound like the neat, polished songs we often sing in church. They’re raw. They’re …
Why The Psalms and the Prophets Sound Like Blues Read More
Yes… I’m still thinking about the blues, y’all. And the more I sit with it, the more I realize the blues has made me a better preacher. When we talk …
How The Blues Helped My Preaching Read More
Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On opens soft, like a prayer hanging in the air: “Mother, mother, there’s too many of you crying. Brother, brother, brother, there’s far too many of …
Preaching Truth Through the Blues Read More
I’ve been thinking about celebration lately—what it really is, and what I actually do in my own sermons. And I’m going to get back to you soon with more on …
What The Blues Teaches Us About Celebration Read More
“I“I don’t yell or whoop, how can I bring that energy to my sermon?” Good question. Very good question. Some preachers are so monotone and lifeless that they appear to …
Stop Sleeping In The Pulpit Read More