How To Have A "Good" Funeral Minister's Toolbox

Funerals are one of the difficult responsibilities assigned to ministers that no one truthfully wants.
Unfortunately, funerals can be made worse when a church leader uses the occasion to showcase their preaching instead of honoring the person who has passed.
Today, we share some tips on doing wakes and funerals in ways that can help lead people to Christ. Here are my tips for conducting an excellent funeral
I also mentioned getting a free book from Audible.com
If you need a basic minister's manual, here is one that has a lot of wisdom and insights.
Transcript of Today's Podcast
One thing ministers are asked to perform that no one actually wants to do is funerals. Like weddings, funerals are one of those rare times in a person’s life when they most open to contact either a church or a minister.
Nowadays some people eliminate the church and ministers completely, especially if they are totally unreligious; but for the most part, pastors are usually called in to provide some sort of service at a funeral.
I grew up in family where everyone lived long. As a result, no one close to me actually died until I was in my mid 20’s. As a result, I never attended or was asked to officiate a funeral.
Since that time, I’ve been to dozens of funerals of all shapes and sizes. They are never fun, but they can be anointed by God to advance the Kingdom of God when a minister understands his or her function in the process.
Like many of you, I’ve been to the funerals of close friends and family members so I know first-hand know how it feels to lose someone you really care about. It feels like someone punched you in the stomach and you can’t get rid of the pain.
As a matter of fact, earlier this year, a fellow minister died and I felt that way for weeks. He was brilliant, funny, and talented servants of God I’ve ever known. Bob left an enormous hole in the community where he served. Many miss his absence greatly.
It is vitally important for you as a pastor or church leader to genuinely identify with the family that is grieving, even if you don’t know them very well. You may or may not know the deceased, but in all likelihood you remember how it feels. Always keep that in the forefront of your thoughts.
At the other end of the spectrum, my wife and I recently attended a funeral that was just terrible. It was already bad because we both missed the person who died, but what made it much worse was the way that minister conducted the ceremony!
In this particular case, he was an evangelical who was keen to preach a doctrinally sound sermon. He did this for nearly an hour. If you’re thinking to yourself, what’s wrong with that? I am about to tell you.
During the sermon, the name of the deceased was mentioned twice. We never heard much about her life, her family or key memories. Instead, we were treated to a seven point sermon that might have been preached on any Sunday.
The sermon did little to connect people with God. People sat bored and twitching in their seats. No doubt this young preacher thought he was having a tremendous impact, but I think the opposite was true.
If you have not done so already, I invite you to listen to an earlier podcast about weddings because weddings and funerals share some things in common for a minister. Both occasions bring new people into your church building, many of whom are atheist or agnostic. Both occasions present pastors and church leaders with a window of opportunity to share the gospel. How we do that is the focus of this podcast today.
Another time, Patti and I attended the funeral of a dear friend whose wife had passed away. They had spent more than 50 years together, but she was barely mentioned in the sermon. Instead, the assembled audience had to endure a one-hour dissertation outlining the power of the gospel.
As I surveyed the congregation, it was apparent to me that everyone there were long-time friends of the deceased and Christ-followers, yet the sermon was given as i