Advice To A Preacher

Words matter,
never to be tossed casually from
pulpit to pew like confetti.
Saturation is a weak strategy.
Light a sky rocket, not a sparkler.
Trajectory, timing, tempo are
important ingredients in the recipe.
Content helps, too.

The effort is not meant to please,
certainly not to entertain like
a stand-up performer.
Command of the language is good,
a bit of knowledge helpful,
integrity essential.  Say it with
poise and passion, then sit down.
The rest is out of your hands.

Will anyone remember day after 
tomorrow the point, the poem,
the story, the elegant exposition
of an obscure sentence in a 
book that few read?  Probably
not, but then the life expectancy
of the spoken word is mere minutes.
In the off chance that the worlds
of hearer, speaker, and Spirit
collide, it's worth it.

Preach with head and heart.
Tread gently on tender ground.
If you say it, mean it.
Love them anyway.