Here's what I'm all about...
Hey! Thanks for stopping by. I’m Lane Sebring, a pastor, author, entrepreneur and preaching coach.
I’ve written two books on preaching and have been featured on sites like SermonCentral.com, ChurchLeaders.com, Unseminary.com and Pastors.com.
Have you ever asked yourself these questions:
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“How can I improve my preaching so that I feel confident every time I get up to preach?”
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“Is is possible for me to capture and maintain the interest of my listeners in such a distracted world?”
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“What is the best way to outline my messages for the biggest impact?”
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“How can I maximize my sermon prep time on a tight schedule?”
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“Is it possible for me to preach for life-change and actually see it happen in my listeners?”
If so then you’ve come to the right place! Whether you’ve been preaching for decades and you want to sharpen your skills or you are just starting out and you’re overwhelmed by the thought of preaching your next sermon, I can help you.
The first thing you should do is grab my free 21-Day Guide to Creating Killer Sermonsand get started! I look forward to helping you preach at your best!
My first sermon was a sham…
I was 15 when I started to feel God was calling me to ministry.
Why me? No! Pick someone else. These were all the things I tried to tell God.
It took two full years for me to finally say “yes” to what God wanted for my life. It shouldn’t have take that long, but it did.
Nonetheless, I found myself 17 years old with a passion to lead and teach others about Jesus.
My pastor asked me to preach, but there was just one problem: I was TOTALLY insecure about my preaching abilities.
I didn’t think anyone would listen or care if I preached a sermon I wrote. So, I copied a sermon from one of my favorite preachers nearly word-for-word.
This is called plagiarism and it’s bad form, unethical and dishonest. I have long since stopped using other people’s material without properly crediting them.
But at that time, I did not believe in what God could do through me. I was insecure in my own gifting and abilities.
The thing I have found is that other preachers second guess their abilities too.
Fortunately God Uses Messed Up People...
In college I was able to work at two different churches and learned a ton about ministry. My degree was in Communication so I learned how to connect and communicate with people.
Then I went to seminary and learned how to bore everyone with the Bible.
I’m not bashing seminary. I found my time earning my degree was invaluable in a lot of ways.
But the way we were taught to preach in seminary was so technical and stilted. It was great for a seminary class when you were being graded by your prof and your classmates. But in the real world all that technical mumbo jumbo fell flat.
I started to see there were certain preachers whose preaching truly moved me. Preachers who connected with me in a powerful way and motivated me to action. These preachers weren’t following the “rules” I was taught in seminary.
What they were doing was decidedly different. It was still biblical. It was still the gospel. But it was nothing like I had been taught.
I set out on a journey to discover what made the difference.
Preaching Can Be Compelling...
I wanted to know if it was possible for me to learn how to preach in a way that was compelling and life-changing. Could God use me that way?
This question fueled my passion to improve as a preacher and eventually start helping other preachers as well.
I have since served in ministry for the last 15 years. I served at a church in the Washington, DC area for 10 years and now serve at a church in Knoxville, TN.
