Jeanna and I attended a standing-room-only session last Friday afternoon, listening to Dr. Robert Smith, Charles T. Carter Baptist Chair of Divinity, speak about the elements of sermon preparation. He initiates the process by reading the biblical text at least 50 times. Next he fills notebooks with his own questions and thoughts, preparing himself intellectually and spiritually to “have conversations” with commentaries and scholarly articles. Only then does he “begin” the composition of the sermon. In the case of Dr. Smith, I suppose a 40-minute sermon must consume 80 hours of study . . . and a lifetime of preparation.
The world is better because of the discipline, intellect and spirit of Dr. Robert Smith.