In answer to Todd's question

In answering Todd's question about growing as a preacher, I offer the following thoughts in no particular order of priority:

1. An increasing grasp of the theological significance of the act of preaching.  Too many in the Reformed world seem to make no distinction between preaching and lecturing.  Preaching is not simply the transmission of correct information.  It is an existential confrontation between God and human beings which, as Luther might say, kills, resurrects, tears down self-righteousness, establishes the rule of God, breaks hearts, lifts minds to heaven.  I did my pastoral placement in 2005 in Scotland under a minister who talked constantly about the romance of preaching, by which he meant that self-conscious realisation that preaching is a supernatural action.   In this context, I find P T Forsyth's book, Positive Preaching and the Modern Mind a constant source of help and encouragement.  I would also recommend Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students and Lloyd-Jones' Preaching and Preachers.

2. Increasing attention to practical application.  The technically true claim that the imperative must be grounded in the indicative seems too often to function as a form of pious throat clearing which excuses never actually reaching the imperative.   If you do not connect the dots between doctrine and application (as Paul routinely does) you can be sure that most, if not all, of the congregation will not do so and you will have failed in your duty as an under-shepherd.

2. Finding my own voice.  You should only preach like Tim Keller or Mark Dever if you happen to be married to someone called Mrs Keller or Mrs Dever.  Every preacher needs to find their own voice so that when they preach it sounds neither contrived nor affected to the congregation.

3. Listening to other preachers to see what works for them, what does not, what they do right, what they do wrong.

4.The ordinary means of grace.  Preaching, like any other calling, occurs in the context of routine Christian discipleship in the church.  There is no substitute for public, gathered worship, the reading and preaching of the Word, prayer, and the Lord's Supper.   This needs to be coupled with a regular disciplined, day-to-day Christian life.

5. Good elders.  They are vital as sources of wisdom, encouragement, and advice,  Just last night the session met at my house and, during my report, I asked their advice on a couple of points I intend to make in my sermon next Sunday.  Their input was very helpful.  I could not preach without excellent elders to encourage and advise me.

6. Preaching to the same people week after week.  This has made a huge difference.  Years of hit-and-run sermons are easy and do not really offer the same challenge and delight as preaching to the same people all the time in the context of regular pastoral ministry.  When you know the people to whom you preach, when you grow to care about them as individuals and families, that makes a huge difference on all levels.  Yes, we are meant to love the people of God as a whole; but 'the people of God' can so often be a concept or a statistic.  I know the names and faces of the people of God to whom I speak week by week.  For a preacher, there is nothing compares to that or that will substitute for it.