Have you ever sat through a boring sermon? I know I have, both in the pew and in the pulpit. I know, I know, you only get out of it what you put into it. As a preacher I've said that many times. "Even a boring sermon can be beneficial if you listen with purpose!" Truth is, most of us preachers just say stuff like that to put the burden more on you when we've gone and really tanked one. Can you get something out of a boring sermon? Sure, but the truth is no one really wants to preach a boring sermon any more than anyone wants to sit through one. (My opinion is) it's the preacher's job to try to make the message as engaging as possible. After all, the word of God is "active and living and sharper than any two edged sword," making it interesting shouldn't really be that hard. But sometimes it is. 

If you walk into the classroom of any good school teacher you will notice right off you are walking into an environment meant to stimulate thought and reinforce what's being taught. However, you walk into most churches you walk into stark white walls and sparse decorations. And as far as something to stimulate thought, you might find it on the screen but not anywhere else. In fact, most church auditoriums seem to make me want to take a nap (but that could just be me).

So many sermons lend themselves to visual aids and "props" in addition to what's put on the screen.  The problem is, coming up with good props, or finding or making what you need even when you do have an idea is difficult. That, and it takes a lot of time to track stuff like that down. That's why most preacher's I know (including myself) don't use more visual aids and props when we speak. Recently I had an idea (which Tracy can tell you is always a dangerous thing). Why should the sermon be limited to just what I can accomplish? Our worship is a cooperative effort, each of us doing our part to make our worship both pleasing to God, but also as encouraging to each other as we can. So why should the sermon be no more than what the preacher can manage? My closets at home may be full, but it seems they seldom have what I need when I get an idea for a prop. And though I can build some basic things, my skills in that area don't even come close to comparing to what some of our members can do.

So Here's the deal. I'm asking those who are interested and willing to go to the website and sign up for the Prop Shop Newsletter. The way it will work is this: when I have a sermon coming up and I have an idea for a visual aid or a prop for that sermon, but need some help making it happen, I'll send out an email to the "Prop Shop" and see if there's anybody willing to help make it happen. Or, sometimes I may have a sermon or a series that I think needs a good visual aid, but I'm drawing a blank, then I'll send out a short summary of what that series will be about and see what kind of creative ideas others can come up with.

All my experience in ministry tells me that the sermon will always be a key part to the success of a worship service. It's also one of the parts of the service that has a good chance to reach out and encourage visitors, or send them away discouraged. I think if we work together to make each sermon the best experience it can be, then we will all be responsible for helping to make the most out of our time together in God's word each week. With your help the sermons can be far more than what just I can make out of them, they can be the ministry of the entire congregation.

If you want to sign up and help with the Prop Shop, then simply click this link and fill out the online form. (As always, don't worry about me selling your email address, no body would pay me enough for them anyway!)