Hey friend,

Nobody talks about
the loneliest part
of preaching.

Ten hours. Maybe fifteen.

That's what a normal week of sermon prep looks like for most of us. And depending on whether you're bi-vocational, whether your family is in a demanding season, whether you're new to the pulpit or have decades behind you... that number shifts. For some, it doubles.

I spend roughly 10–15 hours preparing each week for Life Church. And sometimes... that still doesn't feel like enough.

But here's the part nobody talks about.

All of that time? It happens alone.

No feedback. No sounding board. No one to say, "Yeah, that's it — stay there" or "You're losing me — try again." Just you, the text, your notes, and the quiet creep of self-doubt that shows up somewhere around hour eight.

The Word is always worth sharing — always. But the structure I'm creating? The angle I'm taking? That can feel hollow sometimes. Like I'm stacking blocks in the dark, hoping they hold.

If you have a "preacher friend" — someone you can call mid-week, think out loud with, get honest pushback from — thank God for that person. Seriously. They are a gift.

Most of us don't have that.

We forge on alone. Working to craft something that is faithful to the text, clear enough to land, and engaging enough to hold attention for the people we're preparing to serve. We lay it all in God's hands and trust the Spirit to do what we cannot. And He does.

But the isolation is real.

And I want to say something to every preacher reading this who works through that isolation faithfully, week after week:

I see you. And I honor you.

The work you do in that quiet room matters more than you know.

---

Pulling for you,