How do they do that?

David Murray is a professor at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. I recently stumbled across his blog Head Heart Hand where he writes about Biblical and secular models of leadership. He is serializing an e-book there called How Sermons Work, and what I've read so far is excellent. The first five chapters have been posted. Of course, this material will be of most interest to pastors or seminary students (I know there are a few of you that read this blog) but Murray would like laypeople in the pews to read the book.

He writes:

Lastly, I would like non-preachers to read the book. Given that the most important hours in a Christian’s week are the 1-2 hours they spend listening to their pastor’s sermons, I find it surprising how few Christians are interested in “how do they do that?”

Some people seem to think that pastors “receive” their messages direct from God. They imagine some mysterious process by which the pastor just “gets” a sermon. That is too high a view of preaching. It makes preaching more for angels than for ordinary mortals. I want to show that, just like any other work, there is a reasonable and logical method and system to follow.

Others think that a pastor just spends the week relaxing, gets up on a Sunday, and says the first thing that comes into his mind with little or no forethought or planning. That is too low a view of preaching. Anyone with a bit of verbal fluency could do it. I want to demonstrate that behind the 30-45 minutes you see and hear on a Sunday morning are many hours of mental, emotional, and spiritual labor.

If you want to increase respect for your pastor and his preaching, ask "How do they do that?" Then read this ebook and find out the answer.

You can do just that at his blog. Here's Chapter One.