My brain froze during Sunday’s sermon. Or my brain derailed. Or whatever metaphor fits. I rehearse a sermon beforehand and then in worship preach mostly from memory. I keep an outline at hand to check on as the message flows along. But Sunday when I glanced at the outline toward the end, I got confused on where I was, and my thoughts came to an abrupt stop.
It took a few seconds for my brain to right itself again. It seemed a lot longer, of course. Then I doubled the error by calling attention to it: “Sorry, lost my train of thought there.” The lapse later amused my listeners. “I’ve never seen you blank like that before.” I was embarrassed but also, thankfully, able to laugh at my flaws.
The problem for a preacher when this happens is you lose momentum. Momentum in physics is mass times velocity. A sermon has mass, and preaching has velocity. Once it stops abruptly like this, though, it’s difficult to overcome inertia and get moving again. It’s much different than an intentional break for a sip of water. It took a minute or two Sunday to regain speed. Fortunately I recovered enough momentum by the time the sermon reached its final point, how emptiness can be an asset. This I wanted to emphasize.
I felt like a figure skater who fell down on a triple axel. You have to get up and skate on. Everyone saw you go bump. It won’t be the last time.
…noting this for future reference
Yup. That happens.
Kudos for having the guts to preach from only an outline. I’m not there yet – and my brain still freezes sometimes!
Pastor Mack, I used to preach wholly from memory, with no notes at all. But that got too stressful after a while… it was hard to enjoy worship. Having an outline handy makes me feel more secure. The biggest change I ever made to my preaching was when I stopped using a full manuscript in worship. That helped my preaching immensely.