But when it happens, there are very few moments in the pulpit that feel better.

Preaching is a holy responsibility, and it’s not to be taken lightly. In fact, the public declaration of God’s Word to the masses serves as the primary vessel of gospel communication.

The apostle Paul puts it this way…

14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? (Romans 10:14)

How do people put their faith in the gospel? Well, according to Paul, through preaching. So, preaching, my friends, is a vital part of your ministry. Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be ineffective at the most important part of my job!

No, no, no! When I walk onto that stage, I want the Holy Spirit to speak through me so powerfully and with such grace that everyone in the room repents and turns to Jesus! There are SOULS at stake.

So, I have a divine responsibility to be as prepared and ready for my sermons as I possibly can be! Not just in my content, but also in my delivery. It’s not so I can persuade people with fancy words like “pneumatology”—I always love that one—or so I can stir people’s emotions with perfect vocal inflection and tone in an attempt to inspire awe. Nope!

I want to preach my sermons with everything I have because that is what Jesus deserves.

I am committed to using the best analogies, metaphors, examples, stories, cadence, tone, and every single tool in the preacher’s toolbox because the Holy Spirit works in mysterious ways! Maybe it’s not my perfectly worded sermon main idea, which I call the “Sermon Sentence,” that hits home with my hearers. Maybe it’s the embarrassing story I share about my adolescent days or the silly little prop I use to drive home the point. Truthfully, I don’t care which one the Holy Spirit uses, as long as He uses it!

I have spent 15 years trying to become the best preacher I can be. But guess what? I’m not even close to being that guy yet! However, I have learned a lot along the way. Truthfully, I have been extremely blessed over the years to have had some of the best preaching coaches in my life—people who have preached to hundreds of thousands and people who have faithfully preached to 50. Yet, it is not the size of a preacher’s following that determines whether they are a good preacher. It’s their faithfulness to preach what God has called them to preach and how He has called them to preach it.

So, that is what I want to be for you! I want to be a resource for any preacher out there who wants to sharpen their preaching knife—for the one who wants to be the best preacher they can be. It doesn’t matter if you preach weekly to fivepeople or five thousand people. My desire is to provide a fresh set of eyes and ears for your sermons to land on.

I want to create a place for you and me to sit down, watch your sermons, and talk about their delivery—not so I can be your stiff-necked homiletics professor, but so I can be your friend and co-laborer.

You have done an amazing job preparing your mind for preaching. You study the Word, you read the commentaries, and you dive headfirst into Greek and Hebrew! But do you invest that same level of time and resources into your delivery?

To stay on theme here, here is an analogy:

Imagine a chef who drives to the best farmers market in the city to get the freshest and most beautiful ingredients for his meals. He gets prime, marbled ribeyes; the most unique salts; beautiful peppercorns from Africa; and garlic so fresh that you can practically taste it just by smelling it. But then he goes to the restaurant, throws that ribeye in the microwave, and cooks it until it is completely well-done—the unpardonable sin.

I don’t care how good the ingredients were; that steak is going to be horrendous.

This is what happens when you have the best content but subpar delivery. Just like I enjoy coaching people on how to cook a great steak, I would love to help you bring out the best preacher within you!

So, here is the challenge…

You would never step into the pulpit without studying the text. Why continue stepping into the pulpit without studying your delivery?

This week, listen to your latest sermon. Don’t do it while preparing your next message or answering emails. Give it your full attention, and listen as a coach would listen.

Where did you lose clarity? Where did your energy fade? Which story connected? Which point needed more room to breathe? What habits might be distracting your listeners from the truth you are trying to communicate?

Then ask yourself one honest question:

Is this the best I can do?

If the answer is no, I would love to help.

By becoming a paid subscriber, you are choosing to invest in the calling God has placed on your life. Together, we will sharpen the practical tools of preaching—from storytelling, illustrations, and sermon structure to cadence, vocal variety, stage presence, and delivery.

This isn’t about becoming famous. It isn’t about performing for applause. And it certainly isn’t about replacing the work of the Holy Spirit.

It is about becoming a faithful steward of the message God has entrusted to you.

Your congregation deserves more than a microwaved ribeye. More importantly, the message of Jesus deserves your very best.

So, if you are ready to sharpen your preaching knife, become a paid subscriber today.

You have invested in what you preach.

Now it’s time to invest in how you preach it.

Let’s schedule a call, and get to work.

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• The moment your wife surprised you with a positive pregnancy test.

• That last box is loaded in the car, and your college journey begins.

• The guy you love drops down on one knee, and you’re getting a new last name!

• Your dad hands you the keys to your first car, and it’s nothing but open road between you and adventure!

Moments like these shape your life. They influence your identity, form your hobbies, build friendships, and become landmarks along a meaningful journey. Great adventures invite you into a life of learning and risk-taking—the most beautiful kind of life there is.

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I have been blessed to have many, many moments of adventure in my life. When Valentina said “Yes!” to marrying some soon-to-be pastor from Georgia. Boom! Start of a new adventure! When we moved into a small apartment on the 35th floor of a building in downtown Atlanta. Boom! Start of a new adventure! When she told me she was pregnant with a baby girl. Double boom! The start of the greatest adventure! Or when we decided to plant a brand-new church in a huge city! Boom… terrible decision, pray for me! Lol. Just playing, it has been an incredible adventure!

But the list goes on and on… Adventures are one of life’s great pleasures.

Now, do all of life’s adventures have to be these massive, future-shaping moments…? No! Of course not. Sometimes, the smallest adventures make the biggest impact.

Hint: welcome my 2003 Land Rover Discovery 2 to the chat… My family and I call her “Sadie.” Why? Absolutely no idea, it was a random name we picked, and it just, well, stuck! I have been a fan of old Land Rovers for as long as I can remember. In fact, one of my childhood memories was riding in the rear jump seat of a family friend’s Disco 2. Since that moment, I’ve always wanted an old Land Rover!

So, when the opportunity arose for me to finally get my hands on one, I jumped at it! I found a 20-year-old kid in Knoxville, TN and I stole his Disco 2 right out of the driveway… He never knew it was coming!

Not really, lol. But I had you for a second!

But I did find him on Facebook Marketplace and then met him at a random truck stop in Chattanooga, TN. I gave him the keys to my Ford Fusion, and he gave me the keys to Sadie. Boom! The start of a new adventure!

Over the years, driving Sadie has been one of the best learning experiences of my life. There is just something about driving an old car that resonates deeply with the soul. Maybe it’s the simplicity, maybe it’s the smell, maybe it’s the risk… I don’t know what it is. But it’s special.

But here’s something I didn’t expect about driving my old Land Rover… how much it would teach me about God. Now, hear me out… that probably felt like a sharp left turn! But it’s true, driving an old car teaches you a thing or two about the Man upstairs. So, indulge me for a few moments and let’s go on an adventure together.

1) You’re Not in Control!

If you’ve been following Jesus for more than, I don’t know, 15 minutes, then you know this is true! You, my friend, are not in control of your life. We act like it, we make decisions like it, but that is a façade. We are not in control… and THANK GOD we’re not! Because here’s the truth, the few things I do try to control, I sometimes royally mess up. Thank God for grace, am I right?

But Jesus teaches us clearly in John 16:33,

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Nobody would choose to have troubles, nobody wants that! But they are a reality of a life that you do not control. Anyone who tells you they have no troubles… well… I wouldn’t trust them to drive Sadie. But hear me out, I’m not saying you have no role to play, you do! You have the responsibility as a follower of Jesus to make the right decisions in a multitude of life events, but you are not solely responsible for the outcomes. The outcomes, we trust to God! Here’s some Bible proof…

The heart of man plans his way,
but the LORD establishes his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)

So, how did I come to learn this driving Sadie? Well, let me introduce you to Sadie’s best friends… the “Three Amigos!” This is a comical nickname given to a common issue in old Disco 2s. It’s when the ABS, traction-control, and hill-descent warning lights appear on the dash at the same time, mostly because of a fault in the Disco’s braking or wheel-speed sensor system. In other words, tons of fun!

I was a few miles into a muddy trail when the “Three Amigos” jumped in the car. My all-wheel-drive Land Rover instantly became one-wheel drive. It took hours to get through this short trail all because Sadie’s terrible friends showed up.

I did everything right before going on this trail. I checked my fluids, checked my gear, checked my wiring, I had no warning lights, no fault codes, Sadie was good to go! Until she wasn’t… sometimes in this life, you just have troubles. But Sadie got through the trail. It was hard, but we conquered it.

Life is hard. You’re going to have troubles. But with Jesus, you have a guarantee to get through it.

2) Warning Lights Shouldn’t Be Ignored!

When the “Three Amigos” jump into your car, that’s just a few of the beautiful light displays old Land Rovers give! Here are just a few of their friends… Check engine, low oil pressure, brake-fluid warning, ABS, hill-descent-control fault, transmission temperature, low fuel—the list goes on! All lit up in terrible LED colors!

But these lights serve a purpose… They tell a story. They tell the driver, “Hey… this isn’t a good thing, you should look into it.” A lot of the time, the lights don’t represent a problem now, they represent a problem that will happen if you ignore them.

Do you see where I’m going here?

When you put your trust in Jesus, He sends you a helper. He is kind of like a dashboard warning light. Welcome the Holy Spirit into the adventure! Sometimes, God will illuminate things in your life that are not good. For me, it’s probably pride, arrogance, maybe a little bit of anger. I can’t tell you what yours is, but I can tell you that there are dangerous issues in your life that can cause great damage if not taken care of. They might feel like no big deal now, but left alone, they get worse!

Part of the Holy Spirit’s job is to help us better understand what in us needs to change. He might do it through reading God’s Word, prayer, worship, maybe fellowship with other believers. He has no shortage of tools in His toolbox to fix you… you old car you. But you can’t ignore the warning lights when they pop up. You have to surrender them to Jesus sooner rather than later.

3) Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

Driving my Land Rover every day is an adventure! Especially in Atlanta, because as I write this it’s 92 degrees outside and Sadie’s AC doesn’t work. Adventure! Or misery… haven’t decided yet.

But Sadie has taken me to the most amazing places, and I have seen the most breathtaking views! Tops of mountains, deep muddy ravines, across creeks and rivers, all places that it takes an adventure-seeking vehicle to get to. And I love every second of it! I never would’ve guessed the places I’d go when I got the keys in Tennessee, but I’m glad I did.

While those adventures have been incredible, what I’ve seen walking with Jesus far surpasses them all! I’ve seen people miraculously healed through prayer, marriages restored from brokenness, children healed of addictions, women rescued out of sex trafficking, grown men broken in tears because the Holy Spirit moved. These adventures, these moments, are inexplainable. When you see a broken arm miraculously healed, you don’t walk away the same.

When I truly fell in love with Jesus at 18, I signed up for an adventure of a lifetime. An old Land Rover can take you to cool places, but Jesus invites you into an epic.

4) It Takes a Community

If you’ve read this far, I’ll be more honest with you… my mechanical abilities before buying my Disco 2 were non-existent. I could change a tire, but that was about it. Part of the reason I bought the Disco was because I wanted to learn how to wrench (fix it myself). However, I learned something really quick when my first problem arose… I HAD NO IDEA WHAT I WAS DOING! I didn’t know there were different types of oils for motors, what a driveshaft was, how lockers worked, I didn’t know anything!

I needed some help.

After messaging a few people on Facebook, I met my buddy, Clay. Clay is a really good dude, knows cars, drives a Disco, works for the government. Could be a spy! Who knowssss? But an overall awesome guy. Clay kickstarted my journey of forming friendships in the Land Rover community. A community that we now call our group message, “The Off-Roading Rover Boys.” (Don’t hate, appreciate). Anytime I have a problem with Sadie, these guys help me out! Borrowing tools, diagnosing the issue, helping me fix it, even going on adventures together! It has become an awesome community of guys!

The reason the community is so good is because we all have a common interest. But the greatest community I have ever been in isn’t “The Off-Roading Rover Boys,” it’s the church. The fellowship of believers. People who genuinely care about me and my family. People who would drop everything to help us when we need it. When I lost my grandfather, it was the people in my church that encouraged me the most. When I got my calling into ministry, it was the church that gave me the opportunity to explore that calling. The community of believers, the church, is God’s hope for the world. I could not know and love Jesus like I do now if it weren’t for the church.

So, what’s the takeaway from all of this?

Buy an Old Land Rover… it’ll change your life.
(Or steal it…)
(Jk, don’t do that)

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Have you ever ordered food for more than 200 people, rented a venue large enough to hold them, and then watched 21 people walk through the doors?

No? Well, I have.

Have you ever planned an event so amazing that all your friends and family wanted to come—and then realized they were pretty much the only people there? I’ve done that too.

Have you ever wanted to hide in a closet until everyone disappeared? No, me neither. But my wife has.

Clearly, I’m an expert at planting a church—obviously.

So, this was the scene for the very first event we ever did while launching Awaken Atlanta. I thought, “Surely it can’t get worse than this… can it?” Oh buddy, buckle up!

Welcome to the Mistakes I Made Planting My Favorite Church. While some of these experiences are most definitely due to my mistakes, some of them were simply God’s grace catching me early on. That’s my hope for you too, that my journey can give you a little peek behind the curtain for whatever great conquest you’re starting with God! It might be starting a new church, might be starting a family, could be a brand-new career endeavor! Doesn’t matter, these mistakes are for everybody! Woohoo…

So, here are three mistakes that got me good!

1) Thinking my insecurities were old news.

I’m a pretty egotistical guy—but not in an obvious way. Think less DJ Khaled shouting, “We da best!” about himself, and more Michael Scott proudly displaying his “World’s Best Boss” mug. It’s subtle, but the ego is definitely there.

Planting a church does not let you hide that ego! When I tell you that your deepest insecurities are going to come screaming to the surface like a bat out of that place we are trying to save people from, I mean it!

When you struggle as much as we did to plant our church, you can’t suppress those deep-rooted feelings of inadequacy. If I had a dollar for every time I told myself,

• “You’re just not good enough.”

• “You aren’t as gifted as _____, why even try?”

• “If you spent more time with Jesus, this wouldn’t have happened.”

• “If you were a better leader, more people would’ve shown up.”

I think I could’ve funded our entire church plant or at least bought our sound equipment! If those insecurities you think you have defeated are still deep in your heart, they’ll make themselves known. Prepare for that, it’s coming. Do everything you can now to search the soul.

Psalm 51:10 is my favorite verse in all of scripture; it reads,

“Create in me a pure heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

Pray this over and over and over again until you notice God has done it. Deep in your heart are these fears and insecurities that God does not want for you or from you. You have got to surrender them to Him! The number of times I called an event a failure because I wanted 50 people and only got 25 is disgusting. I cared about the appearance of greatness more than the beauty of the people in front of me. Why? I was insecure about who I was.

2) Downplaying the role of spiritual warfare.

Lordy… don’t do this! You are about to do something incredible for the Kingdom of God on earth! These lessons were learned while planting a church, but they’re really for anyone trying to build something that God has placed in their heart. But you know who hates that calling… Satan. He is going to do everything he can to “steal, kill, and destroy…” (John 10:10) the calling of God on your life. DON’T LET HIM!

When Valentina and I were starting Awaken Atlanta, God blessed us with the most beautiful baby girl in the same season. What a blessing! Yet in the middle of it all, our family entered the hardest season we had ever faced. Valentina was hit with severe postpartum anxiety and depression. For the next six months, her focus had to be getting healthy and loving our daughter—and she did both courageously. I don’t pretend to understand everything happening spiritually, emotionally, and physically in that season, but I know the enemy tried to use our pain to isolate us, discourage us, and convince us to quit. But God sustained our family. He protected Valentina, our daughter, and me through the most intense spiritual battle we had ever faced.

The Bible says, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour…” (1 Peter 5:8)

Satan won’t just attack you, he’ll come for those you love. He wants “someone” to weaponize against you, or sometimes, he’ll just use you.

Remember those spiritual battles you thought you had taken care of? Welp, turns out… you just suppressed those too! Ha, they can keep your insecurities company! In the months leading up to us planting our church, Satan brought those struggles that I hadn’t dealt with in years, right back up! They hit me hard!

The only way I had to take them out was to fight back and the only weapon strong enough was prayer. If I wasn’t going to let these attacks take me out, then I had to learn to pray from the secret place. My pastor, Kevin Myers, gave me the greatest prayer advice I have ever received. He said, “Sanders, you have to learn to pray like a boy, so you can lead like a man.”

God became my Father in this season like I had never experienced before. “Heavenly Father” started to feel more like “Dad.” It changed the way I prayed and strengthened my resolve against Satan’s attacks on my family and me.

3) Cuanto más grande, mejor.

In case you don’t speak Spanish… that means “The Bigger, The Better!” and man, what a mistake that was to believe! For some reason, regardless of what people told me, I believed that the success of my church plant was based on the number of people that showed up on day one! Is size a metric to track the level of impact a church is having on an area, yes, of course! But it is not the most important one. Now, before you write me off thinking, “Oh, this guy is anti-large/mega-churches!” hear me out. Awaken Atlanta would be only a pipedream if it weren’t for mega-churches behind us. I’ve grown and pastored at two of the largest churches in America. It was a mega-church that agreed to help fund and support us to start Awaken Atlanta, so don’t hear what I’m not saying.

Because I grew up in mega-churches, I believed that the only way for my church to be a “success” was if it was on track to be a mega-church! Meaning, I needed the largest start-up parties, the biggest launch day, the biggest launch team, the best of everything! But as it turned out… that isn’t what God had in store. Now, am I so egotistical that I have the cojones to look at God and say, “You’ve failed me, God!” Not anymore, I did then though!

I was so nervous to meet our goals required to receive funding that I was counting everyone I could think of as a part of our launch team! Including my dog, Honey, she was launch team member 50. Gotta do what ya gotta do, ya know!

We don’t have a large church, but we have a beautiful one. Awaken Atlanta is the greatest community I have ever been a part of. We’re healthy, we’re growing slow and steady, and GOD IS MOVING! I found the beauty in that, and you should too.

So, when that start-up party that over 200 people RSVP’d to ends up only having about 21. Don’t worry. God is still in it, and God is still in YOU! If God called you to it, He will see you through it. It’s a tale as old as time. So, prioritize the secret place. Surrender your insecurities. Fight the battles nobody else can see. Celebrate the people God has actually placed in front of you.

The church we planted wasn’t as big as the one I imagined—but it was more beautiful than anything I dreamed of.

And somehow, through all those mistakes, God planted my favorite church.