Ride

[Ed Hurst]

I can speak directly to that, Jay. A lot of preachers think of their service as a job, a profession. This is the result of trying to do the job without any valid inspiration from God. They have to present something that will keep the audience engaged with the branding. This is the kind of stuff that gets a lot of discussion in ministerial training courses. There are whole sets of courses out there on different approaches to "sermon prep." Most of it comes off okay, but failure to really dig into the academic background of the Bible results in some really nutty stuff in the pulpit, and from people who want to wear the mantle of preacher in politics.