Yesterday was the first newsletter sent out as the REBOOT of the Preacher's Pen Email Newsletter. It told the story of the Preacher's Pen, the happenings over the lifetime of this site and the plans for the near future.

The newsletter was sent only to subscribers. They could get a first look at the newsletter and the article below. If you would like to sign up for the newsletter, you can do so below.

Being part of the newsletter list gives you a first look at upcoming articles and resources. Occasionally, there might be some news that would be interest you. Sign up today and enjoy growing together.

Here is yesterday's email newsletter:

Welcome to the REBOOT of the Preacher’s Pen! I am glad you joined us on the new and hopefully improved version of this newsletter and the website.

As this REBOOT begins, I want to take you back to the beginnings of the Preacher’s Pen as I hit the reset button.

Remember 2005?

2005 seems so far away. In fact, because of the Covid-19 events, January 2020 seem so far away. Time and personal experience make years seem distant. I am told, as you get older, time seems to pass more quickly.

In 2005, the Preacher’s Pen website really began. It started as an experiment on our family website. It was a short blog on ministry and becoming better. It was a blog before the blog term became a popular word.  The 2005 version was just a few brief articles based on a weekly email I was sending out to my subscriber list.

Exciting Times

In 2006, the Preacher’s Pen took a new turn with a new set of goals. In the fall of 2005, my family and I moved to a new state to work with a new congregation. Instead of being a series of articles from a newsletter, it became a ministry journey.

As our new journey began, I wrote about what it was like to work with a new congregation. There was not a church building and we met in a local hotel conference room. I had no official office but a small workspace at home and a truck.

It was a fun journey. Many never “had church” without a church building and the idea intrigued them. Others had never been part of a congregation that was “brand new,” especially when there was no split. Those who stayed in touch with the blog got to see the inner workings, the struggles, and the joys of ministry in a new place, at a new time and with a new congregation.

Fast forward a few years to 2008. I woke up one morning, checked my email and then went over to post something to the blog and it was………. gone. All gone. Overnight, the website disappeared. The weird part was the backups even disappeared. The weekly backups that were happening on the site…… gone.

After a round of phone calls to my web hosting company, there was nothing I could do. It was all gone.

Back to the Beginning

After a week of trying to find the website, it was never coming back. Whatever catastrophic event happened took everything. The web-hosting company had nothing on their servers, not even a backup. So, the website started again.

It took a few months, but the articles were being posted again, but this time a bunch of other resources were being posted at the same time.  There were eBooks, study guides, Bible Class material, sermon outlines, audios and more.

During this time, the website grew. The newsletter was blossoming every week. I established a phone number to keep up with the number of requests coming in from different places. Requests for CDs, sermon outlines and more became a weekly responsibility on top of a growing ministry.

Opportunity Knocks

During the second start of the Preacher’s Pen, many opportunities became present.  Opportunities to go overseas, help others raise funds for mission work, spend monies in the local community and speak in a variety of places, including a couple public schools.

An overseas trip led to opportunities to speak in schools regarding serving others in a foreign land. As those opportunities grew, I needed another avenue to ensure the opportunity for continued. With that idea, I began a motivational speaking website. This would enable me to be classified as a motivational speaker to get into schools, and many other places.

This opportunity became an excellent way into the schools to speak to kids, volunteer, and lead groups of workers. However, with every excellent work, there comes a negative. The negative was a few people using everything to work against you.

Satan has a way of influencing people to focus on the negative instead of the positive. When the negative people entered the picture, it was time to slow down the motivation speaking work and not post as much online, even on the Preacher’s Pen.

With every bright day comes a few clouds. The key is not to focus on your problems, but to let the world see God even through your problems. The Preacher’s Pen did just that. Even though there was a slowdown, the work continued.

The work of the gospel should continue despite the troubles, the negative influences of Satan or even people. The work never stops. It is a monumental work that must continue. For the next several years, the Preacher’s Pen continued to publish articles and other content, but not regularly.

Onward

From 2009 to 2014, the Preacher’s Pen had several hundred thousand visits a year and encountered many people.  Hundreds of Bible Study books, sermon outlines and various other materials were downloaded for personal and congregational use.

It has always been the purpose of the Preacher’s Pen website to assist other in creating a better day today for a better life tomorrow based on the teachings of Jesus Christ.

The Facebook page was growing and the Twitter account was in contact with others across the globe. It was an effort growing week by week.

A small bump arrived in the road in January 2014. On the first Sunday of January 2014, I resigned from our work at the congregation we served. I began a step away from ministry to clear the mind, the body, and the thoughts of ministry.

During my break from ministry, I always knew I would get back into somehow but never imagined how. After working in the insurance industry, taking part in marketing groups, running business-to-business networking groups and sales, I desired to get right back to the purpose I set out in the beginning—To help people get better every day.

At the end of 2014, our family left our home of 9 ½ years and journeyed to another state where we only knew a few people in the entire state to work with a congregation.

Today—Where are we now?

Today the Preacher’s Pen is in REBOOT.

A reboot is exactly that… a reboot…. aka. a restart, a reset, a starting over point.

The past six years have been up and down with the Preacher’s Pen. The journey has been great, the ministry is excellent, but the writings on the Preacher’s Pen have not been as consistent as I like for many reasons.

However, today is different.

Today, the newsletter is revived and available for anyone. The newsletter will arrive every Tuesday and contain information to spur you to a greater life. Some of it will be spiritual, some secular, some motivational and, hopefully, all of it useful. I am glad you are a part of the newsletter.

Today, plans are being made to get back to the original purpose—“to assist others in creating a better day today for a better life tomorrow based on the teachings of Jesus Christ.”  To find the original intent and purpose again will set the Preacher’s Pen back on track.

Here are some of the current plans:

• • • New articles each week.
    • New sermon outlines and PowerPoints each week
    • An upcoming weekly podcast (with interviews, current event discussions, and more)
    • Motivational Video classes and courses you can take.
    • More whiteboard animated children’s classes
    • More class material you can use
    • An expanded YouTube Channel
    • Upcoming VBS Material (coming 2021)
    • A planner for ministers for 2021
    • …and more.

As you can see, there are many things arriving shortly.

I hope to make the Preacher’s Pen website a resource and a tool you can use in your everyday life and one that you feel confident in sharing with others.

A few more things that you might want to know:

• • • The articles on the Preacher’s Pen are available if you want to publish them in your publication.
    • The Bible Class material, the sermon outlines, and PowerPoints are available for download and you even have permission to edit them and use them as your own.
    • I strive to make all the material on the Preacher’s Pen available for free. We do not charge for any material from the website. However, if you would like to support our efforts, you make “buy us a cup of coffee” using the Donate (PayPal) link on the bottom of each page.
    • We have a Store where we will make a few items available to help support this effort. If you are interested, you can visit our store and see what we offer.

Well, I think this is long enough for now. Thank you for reading and staying in touch.

I look forward to talking to you soon,

Just my thoughts,

Chris Gallagher

Well, there you go. The REBOOT is out and the updates are here.

Thank you for reading and sticking with the Preacher's Pen.

Stay tuned for more over the next few weeks. May we all grow in our faith.

Just my thoughts,

Remember, you can sign-up for the newsletter below!