(Preaching Magazine / FILE)

Here’s an article I wrote for Preaching Magazine:

A retired pastor asked a friend who owned a pickup truck to stop by his house. Once there, he loaded several heavy-duty plastic bags into the back of the vehicle. “Drive me to the city dump,” said the elderly minister.

Once there, he pulled the large black bags out and stepped a few feet away. In a few minutes a bulldozer buried the contents. With a questioning look on his face, the friend asked, “Sir, what was in those bags?” With tears streaming down his face, the pastor said, “Sixty years worth of sermons and notes—my life’s work.” This true story should not have happened.

Perhaps this elderly pastor is similar to others today. As a young man, he intended to publish his work. Procrastination became his friend, and the myths of why he couldn’t write became his enemy. As health and age-related problems crept in, he realized he had become a victim of false beliefs.

As a pastor, what keeps you from writing? Do you fall in the category of believing in one or more of these seven myths? Or do you seek the truth and use writing as part of your ministry? You decide!

To read the full article, click here.

Carolyn Tomlin is a Jackson, Tennessee-based author that has been writing and publishing since 1988. She has authored 19 books and more than 4,000 articles in magazines such as Entrepreneur, Kansas City Star, American Profile, Tennessee Home & Farm, Home Life, Mature Living, ParentLife and many others.