Preaching is hard work. Anyone who tells you otherwise either has the gifting of Charles Spurgeon (highly unlikely) or is not doing biblical preaching.
But the hardest part about preaching is the heart work it requires! The biggest challenge I face as a preacher and teacher of God’s Word is keeping my heart in good order week in and week out. Preaching is not just hard work; it’s heart work.
In first half of The Heart of the Preacher, I highlight fifteen heart-level tests preachers and teachers often experience as they seek to communicate God’s Word. Tests like dealing with ambition, comparison, fear, laziness, criticism, pain, and failure.
In the back half of the book, I present ten practices we can use to strengthen our souls and guard our hearts in life and ministry.
My prayer has been that God would use this book to strengthen the hearts of those who preach and teach His Word.
You can order a digital or print copy of The Heart of the Preacher from Amazon or Lexham Press. Note: Lexham Press also offer a Logos edition of the book.
Recommendations for The Heart of the Preacher
“The Heart of the Preacher is as easy to read as it is hard to hear. With refreshing and unrelenting honesty, Rick Reed gifts those of us who preach with a disturbingly accurate MRI of our souls, and then helpfully guides us forward. Every pastor needs to buy this book. And give a copy to a colleague.” J. Kent Edwards, Professor of Preaching and Leadership, Talbot School of Theology.
Speaking in a pastoral tone to today’s preachers, Rick Reed helps identify, examine, and navigate the inner conflictedness of public ministry. . . . Reed fills a gaping hole in current homiletics literature on the spiritual dynamics of sermon preparation, and generously sprinkles practical hints on the mechanics of an effective sermon too. This book will be a required text in my course on spiritual preparation for preaching.” Ramesh Richard, Professor at Dallas Theological Seminary and President of RREACH International.
“In The Heart of the Preacher, my friend Rick demonstrates that these loves are strong in his heart, and provides insights to sustain them in ours, so that we may minister with integrity and longevity for the glory of our Saviour and the good of his people” Bryan Chapell, President Emeritus at Covenant Theological Seminary and author of Christ Centered Preaching.
Rick and Linda Reed 