When I was 16 years old, my Dad and I were riding home from church when I asked him “The Question”, “How do you know if you are called to preach?” I’ll never forget the laugh my Dad gave, but it wasn’t a demeaning laugh, more of the nervous, happy laugh.

I always enjoyed the energy my Dad gave when he preached. You may not always agree with what he said, but you knew he believed it with his heart. I used to say that when my Dad spoke he combined 2 great loves; that of preaching and aerobics, because he could never stand still.

One of the great pieces of advice He gave me (advice I would still give to young preachers today) was “you can never really preach a sermon, until you live the sermon.” If you preach on love, make sure throughout the week you love others. If you preach on giving, make a practice of giving through the week. This should not just apply to preachers, but to all of us who seek to reflect God in our life because we all have a sermon. A lot of people can talk about love, but you can’t preach about it, until God has lived it through you.

My Dad would tell me that I was always his favorite preacher. Though he was probably bias, it always meant so much to me to make him proud. When I was 20 years old my Dad and Preacher Graham (He led my Dad and family to the Lord) listened to me preach. They both came to me afterward and told me that God was going to use me great one day. Praying I let neither one of them down.