One of the vexing problems in a busy pastor’s life is the necessity of giving the church secretary the title of a sermon long before it has actually been written. If the people are to be given a “bulletin” or “program” for the church service, it has to be printed, and the printer has to fit it into his schedule. Sometimes it’s done in-house, but not always; and even when it’s an inside job, the printer usually isn’t available at the last minute, late on Saturday night. And when the sermon is advertised in the local newspapers or on the announcement board outside, the title may be needed a week or more in advance.
That’s the problem Lloyd Douglas faced as the new year, 1920, began. His sermon on January 4 was titled, “Sermon.”
As he explained to his congregation, “I spent considerable time last week trying to find a name for this sermon. Once I thought of announcing that I would preach this morning to ‘Women Without Maids’; which idea was promptly rejected when I reflected that the discourse was of no less interest to me. I then half-decided to call it ‘The Proper Way to Wash Dishes,’ which sounded clap-trap. And while I debated the question, the bulletin went to press without an announcement of the topic — no very serious matter, I suppose, and hardly worth mentioning except that it furnishes me an introduction for what I am going to be saying today.”
This is just a brief word of encouragement to all you busy people out there: it happens to the best of us, at least occasionally. And when it does, the best thing to do is to admit it, perhaps with a touch of humor, and just keep going.
The Lloyd C Douglas Page 