Preaching Fails

Very rarely in nearly 600 of these have we ever said who wrote what. But today — this one is Dale’s Fail.

The week after Lady Di and Mother Teresa died — I preached a sermon that came across as condemning two very beloved women. Even if they weren’t Christians, they were admired — and my timing could not have been worse.

Then there was the Mother’s Day sermon. I tried to do something “different.” Instead of honoring mothers, I spent the day lamenting how motherhood had “gone away” and calling out moms who focused more on work than home. (True statements? Maybe. Best day to say it? Absolutely not.) The not so pro tip here - don’t lambast mom’s on Mother Day!

Then there was the Fruit of the Spirit series. I didn’t feel like I had the introduction to “get everyone on the bus.” Driving in that morning, passing Kroger, I thought, “Grapes!” So I bought some, and during the sermon, tossed them out into the crowd to illustrate (or, as the members said it: “You threw grapes at us”). They remember it to this day… but not in a good way! 

And yes, there were others. Like the sermon that became forever known as “the sock sermon.”

Here’s the point: I failed sometimes. You will too. You may feel like yesterday wasn’t your finest. Like something just did not land. Like you were off. You wish you could re-preach it - or never preach it again!

But if you preached Christ — faithfully — you did not fail. Measure yourself by the faithfulness of a lifetime. You are planting seed that heaven sees even when earth doesn’t applaud.

Don’t quit on a Monday.

“Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)