The Legalism Trap Most Pastors Fall Into | Ep 41

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Somewhere along the way, you picked up a rule: your personal Bible study and your sermon prep have to stay separate. Break that rule, and it feels like you're cheating.

That rule isn't in Scripture. It's legalism — a man-made line dressed up as spiritual discipline.

If you've ever felt guilty for preaching straight out of what God is teaching you personally... this conversation is for you.

This conversation names the legalism trap that quietly shapes how pastors think about devotion, sermon prep, and rest — and what it looks like to trade the rulebook for an honest relationship with God instead.

In this episode:
- Why "separate your devotion from your sermon prep" is legalism, not Scripture
- How a counselor helped one pastor name — and break — that legalistic pattern
- The difference between checking a spiritual box and actually being changed by God
- Why authentic overflow beats "Christian TED talks" every time
- How to build a personalized Sabbath rhythm that actually works for pastors
- What it means to lead as "the lead follower," not just the leader

Legalism keeps you checking boxes. Devotion sets you free to actually live it.

Transcript

Welcome and the pastor's question on devotion vs. sermon prep

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hello there. Welcome to the ReadySet Grow Podcast. I'm your host, Mark Brewer. I have Scott Wilson here and Hunter Wilson. We're glad that you're here. By the way, if you would rather watch this than listen, you can find us over at YouTube, and we'll be patiently awaiting your arrival. So we had a question that came in from a pastor, and it basically was this. I've heard all my life that I needed to separate my personal Bible study from my uh ministry Bible study. And really sermon prep. Yeah, sermon prep. And it really the idea was how do I make that separation and all the things devotional between my personal life and my ministry life? And I think that's something that we heard probably growing up. Yeah. You can't, they can't be the same.

SPEAKER_02 0:46

No, well, the the conflict is is within me because I've grown up hearing it so much and being pressed. In fact, the reason why that guy lost out his ministry and and had an affair or messed up is because he didn't have devotion life. He didn't have he was just doing the job. Okay, well, man, if that's what you're doing, I I can see how that's a problem. Like if you're saying I'm just going through the motions of putting talks together, that's one thing.

Scott's story: learning to preach at 17 years old

SPEAKER_02 1:13

But the reason why I'm bringing this up is because um when I first started in ministry, like talking about it this way, is that I asked my dad, I said, I don't even know. I was 17 years old, I said, I don't even know how to preach. He said, It's simple. Why don't you just get up and tell them what you're learning? You're reading the Bible, you're learning stuff, you tell me every day stuff, like, man, oh my gosh, you should see this. Why don't you just teach them what you're talking about? So, to me, my whole premise of even preaching has been from my personal life. Now, I guess if what you're saying is I'm I'm doing uh message prep, and that is uh it's not really out of a devotional connection to God. It's more of like putting talks together that I heard other pastors do, or I just need an assignment of I got to put this thing together. I basically have made a decision early on in life is I'm not gonna preach anything that isn't out of my life, out of my devotion, out of my own personal life. So I don't know how to do the whole separation of ministry and life because I do everything of ministry out of my life.

Preaching from the overflow of your own life

SPEAKER_01 2:20

So it's even like what the scripture says that the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. What I'm hearing you say is I didn't have to make a delineation, even though we grew up in in cultures that were like you have to have this separate.

SPEAKER_02 2:34

Let's just put this as we as you told me what we were gonna, you were gonna ask a question right before this, and we haven't talked about it as much as just, hey, this is what I'm gonna ask. I'm gonna go, well, what I'm gonna think, what what I think and what I do and how I function is different than how I've always been told. And and uh I I don't want people to misunderstand, like going like, oh my gosh, he's saying don't have a devotion life. No, I I pray every morning. I go through the Lord's Prayer. I'm reading the word, uh, if not every morning, regularly, for for lengths of time, okay? And most of the time, whatever I'm studying in the Bible, that's what I'm preaching. So it comes from a connection with the Lord. I always think of I'm preaching my best message, that's the message I'm preaching. And I'm also preaching my big message, which is what's who I

Why Scott calls himself "the lead follower"

SPEAKER_02 3:21

am. Who I am comes out in every message. That's the more important message.

SPEAKER_01 3:26

Yeah, I like how you have said it a number of times over the years. Uh uh, I'm not the leader, I'm the lead follower. Right. And so even when it comes to sermon preparation or it comes to devotion, you're in the word on a regular basis and you're studying constantly. Why? Well, because you're studying to teach, because you are a teacher. Uh, you you are teaching people on a regular basis, yeah, but you're not attempting to separate your teaching from your application of that word while you're studying.

SPEAKER_02 3:55

I'll show this how I think. God, what do you want me to preach on this next year to the church? What are you speaking to us? Okay, that's how I start. What are you saying to because basically what I'm saying is study to study sake doesn't seem to be as impactful for me spiritually as studying for purpose sake. So I'm not preaching to just preach, I'm saying, God, is what book of the Bible do you want us to study? What is it that you're saying to our church in this season? What are you speaking to us? And then when I say when I determine that's what God's told us to do, then I go heart deep in studying that for my own personal life because it's the message God's given to me in this season to lead people

Asking God what to preach each season

SPEAKER_02 4:37

through in this season. And it's from a relationship with the Father and with the Lord to lead that.

SPEAKER_01 4:44

I even hear a little bit of what you're saying there that as the lead follower of the flock, there are things that God is doing and impacting you in your study of the word and prayer that as you take the lead and get that stuff activated, you're seeing that that is beneficial for the flock as well. So it's not just like, hey, there's things that only I'm getting these things from the Lord as I'm studying, and that's totally separate from any of the stuff I'm getting from the Lord for the people.

SPEAKER_02 5:12

So exactly. So let me let me put it this way there's two ways I that happens in my life. Number one is that I'm asking God, what does he want to speak to the church? What is he saying to us, which he's asking me to lead. If you look in the scripture, every birth person you can think of is in ministry and he they're asking God, what do you want me to say and what do you want me to do? That's part of their devotion life because devotion is about I am in connection to you, living every day, like Jesus said. I only say what I hear the Father saying, I only do what I see the father doing. And so my whole life is about on purpose to minister and to love people in the way that he's calling me to love and to deliver that message. So one is what are you saying to other people? Secondly, is this is what I'm feeling right now, and God, I feel depressed right now, I'm frustrated right now, uh, or I'm angry right now. Whatever I'm feeling, I start going into the scripture and for myself. But do you know how many times? I would say uh 90% of the time, there's a 10% of the time that there's things he's dealing with me on that is just me that I don't

What God teaches you, He means for others too

SPEAKER_02 6:22

share. It's a it's the Lord saying, This is just between me and you. Okay. But most of the time, what he's teaching me, he means for me to teach others. And when it comes out, and I'll say, hey, listen, let me tell you something. A few months ago, I was going through a season of being frustrated, or I was going through a season where I was really hurt. And let me tell you what God's been showing me about that. Hey, I've been going through a storm. Let me tell you how I deal with the storm and what God's been showing me about that. That connects in a way that's different than just, hey, let's look at Jesus walking on the water in a storm in the passage.

SPEAKER_00 6:57

I I think it's the big difference between how you decide at a young age that you're gonna approach this, is I'm gonna approach this as authentic overflow, not Christian TED Talks.

SPEAKER_02 7:08

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 7:09

Dude, that was a good one.

SPEAKER_01 7:10

That's really good. We need to capture that one. Uh that needs to be a real. I like that. That's

Authentic overflow vs. "Christian TED talks"

SPEAKER_01 7:16

super powerful. You just thought that up.

SPEAKER_00 7:17

Well, I haven't said anything all podcasts, so I was just thinking of the one-liner. You know, you were really working, dude. You were designing it. I was just workshopping it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:25

No, that's exactly right. And I think that's what people are saying when they're saying you have a devotional life, not that. But I don't know how to separate it. Well, you know, who helped me do it is my counselor. Yes. I went to my counselor and I said, I'm frustrated, like I don't understand this whole deal of separation and doing this, and I'm reading through the Bible every year, and I'm doing that. And listen, there are some people that may be how you need to do it. That's part of the thing. I'm not telling people you need to do it the way I'm connecting to God and how I function. I'm telling you, there is a way that God has designed you to connect with Him.

SPEAKER_01 7:59

Really good. So what I think I just heard again is this is a way that has been successful for you. You're not saying this is the way that everybody has to kowtow to it. You're just saying, hey, it's been successful for me, so consider it. But that's also how that's that was also the outflow, like you said, out of out of your devotion time, out of your reading time, out of your study, out of your prayer, when you are preaching, you are sharing with people, hey, I've tried this out. Uh, I have learned from this, and I am growing, and this might actually be helpful for you. And it is an overflow of what's happening inside of you.

SPEAKER_02 8:38

Remember when Paul's uh writing, I think it's what to Thessalonians, and he says, I not only gave you the word of God, but I gave you my very life. He's saying it it was illustrated. Everything I gave you everything I am, and that my relationship with God, I was wanting to show you, and and I wanted to communicate to you, but it was from my life. Uh I don't, I can't even I don't hardly ever use illustrations that are his just hey, here's a story about this person. There once was a man or history, you know, or things. There's nothing wrong with that. There's some guys, that's their deal. My deal is here's what God has been saying to me. Here's what I've been going through. Here's it's empathy and authority. Empathy. I know what you're feeling, some of you are feeling today because that's where I've been too. Yeah. But let me tell you what God's done to help me to deal with this. I want to share that with you today. And that's been the flow of how done life.

SPEAKER_01 9:37

But did you ever feel guilty? Because you know, I was just sitting here thinking, I can't think of one scripture that could even proof text this idea that you have to separate your devotional Bible reading from your

The counselor conversation that broke the guilt cycle

SPEAKER_01 9:49

preparation Bible reading. I can't think of one scripture, but I know that statement of you have to have them separated has been in my mind for decades. And I know that there's also been times that it caused me like personal guilt. How did you deal with it? Because it wasn't the same thing for you.

SPEAKER_02 10:06

That's why I went to the counselors. I said, man, I feel guilty. I I I don't feel like I need to keep doing this is this and then this is this, and yet I feel, am I not being authentic? Am I gonna lose out with God because I don't read through the Bible?

SPEAKER_01 10:24

There was a lot of energy around it, right? I mean, think about how much energy was around that one statement that someone made at some point in your life cycle.

SPEAKER_02 10:32

Listen, he basically told me, now this isn't for everybody else, but for me, he says, it seems a bit legalistic now of what you're doing, that this is becoming even a bit pharisaic, that these are the rules you have to live by. Yeah, in order for you. He said, I'd like to assign you not to do your Bible reading uh structure as you've been doing it and start flowing just with God. What do you want to say to me and interacting with him as a friend instead of I checked the box on what I did, personal devotion and did this. He says, I said, Do you tell everybody that? He says, No, I'm telling you that because you need to be set free and start just being friends with God and relationship with God and function in like you do. You don't have it like perfunctory with Jenny in that way. Yeah. You you live life with her. So do life.

SPEAKER_01 11:21

That's very interesting. So what I I I heard was there's a way that you can check the boxes, but that doesn't necessarily mean that God is speaking to you, that there's life change, that there's application. So you could actually check the box and go, I checked the box, I read my passage today, I did my study today, and that may or may not actually be creating life change. But I think

What Sabbath actually means for a pastor

SPEAKER_01 11:45

you don't do that in relationships.

SPEAKER_02 11:46

Yeah. And I think also the Sabbath uh understanding is very important. I had lived a lot of my life, I didn't even know what Sabbath was, because Sabbath to us was make sure you go to church on Sunday. I mean, like that was a big deal of Sabbath. You keep the Sabbath day holy. That means don't go fishing, don't go to a soccer game with your kids. It does mean go to church. Don't do that.

SPEAKER_01 12:09

You can't Sunday morning, Sunday night, uh, the afternoon. You go to church, take a nap.

SPEAKER_02 12:13

So you go to church. This was this was not just told to me. This is how we functioned my whole upbringing. You go to church on Sunday morning, you come home and take a nap. You may watch the cowboy game a little bit, depending on what that is, and then you go back for service Sunday night. Yep. That Sabbath. To people in ministry, that's where I think you may need to really draw a hard line. I not may, I draw a hard line between Sunday as a pastor and Sabbath on my Sabbath. You're a Levite priest, you are working.

SPEAKER_01 12:42

And even the scripture talks about that. How could it be that they missed the Sabbath? Well, because that's not actually Sabbath. It is a time of work for those who are in ministry.

SPEAKER_02 12:51

Yeah, that's why I took a day off on Friday and Saturday. Now I have Sabbath as Saturday. It used to be as Friday for me. And Sabbath means I'm not working. I'm not deal I'm not answering phone calls and ministering problems. I'm not trying to find problems. I've even got other people on assignment on that day. That's a day for me to recover. It's and that's where I think we start needing to have distinction in those areas because um Sabbath is like tithing is uh to time. You know, tithing, first 10% belongs to God, then 90%

Why rest is so hard to protect in ministry

SPEAKER_02 13:27

will be blessed. What we tend to do sometimes if we're talking about separating my devotion life and and my ministry life, talk about the one I think that's a bigger issue is on the Sabbath deal, is that people are saying, uh, I've got to work for God. I work for God. I can't not work doing ministry uh because that's God is so important. And they don't rest and they don't take time and they don't put God first. So what they do is they say, I'm gonna work for God instead of I'm going to trust God. So what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna give my Sabbath as the first day for me of the ministry week. I give this to you trusting that the other six days that I minister and I function and doing ministry of serving and all that, you're gonna cause more to be done in those six days. And on my rest day, you're still at work.

SPEAKER_01 14:21

Which by the way is super hard uh in ministry. Super hard as a pastor because they're never the the fires never die down. There's always a new thing.

SPEAKER_02 14:34

I I'm doing this as unto the Lord, so

Hunter's closing thought on personalized formation rhythms

SPEAKER_02 14:37

I just need to go do this. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:39

Wow, that's big. Any closing thoughts you have there on that, Hunter?

SPEAKER_00 14:43

Yeah, I think a lot of this really comes down to connection and formation and connection with the Lord and pursuit of formation of becoming more like Christ. And a lot of this really comes down to the personalization of I think of I'm one of three kids, your kids, and then I have grandkids, you have grandkids, I have two kids, Dylan has a kid, and one on the way. The way that you connect with me is totally different than the way you connect with my son Teddy, which is totally different than you connect with my older brother Dylan. And in this, I think there is so much personalization that needs to happen for connection with the father in pursuit of formation to becoming like Christ. And I don't think you can take something that is not scriptural, but more of like lore of being a pastor that is applied as a general application to everybody. I think you need the personal uh formation rhythms for Sabbath and connection during the week in pursuit of that formation, which is I think is a lot of what you were saying. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:47

Super helpful today. Hey, thank you for joining us at Ready Set Grow Podcast, and we'll look forward to seeing you down the road.