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Kathy and I usually stay in a hotel when preaching (OK, she doesn’t preach—just me because THAT would be awkward). Though I would be happy to stay in a church member’s home, that is difficult for me.

Due to my handicap, I really need a handicapped-accessible room in a hotel. Specifically, please reserve a room with a roll-in shower that is flush with the floor (no step into it). It need not be a fancy hotel, and there is no need for chocolates on the pillow, but a roll-in shower is pretty much a must for me.

It would be of great help if the church or conference organizer could reimburse us for travel expenses, including mileage reimbursement and airfare if we are driving.

If I am driving and we have other churches or conferences scheduled before or after yours, those expenses can be shared. If I am flying, I will purchase the ticket myself, and the church can reimburse me later. There is no need to send money ahead of time. I will look for the best deal, and economy class will do just fine.

I do not have a set fee for coming and preaching. Something about saying, “I will not come and preach the Gospel to your congregation unless you guarantee me ‘X’ amount of dollars,” just doesn’t sit right with me. That being said, traveling and preaching are the primary ways this ministry is financially supported. Typically, churches take up a love offering, and whatever that turns out to be is perfectly fine.

If I am coming to do the seminar, Clouds Without Water, I will need to run the presentation from my laptop on stage. Unfortunately, the presentation is too large and complex to put on a thumb drive, and have someone else in the sound booth in the back advance the slides for me. I’ll have to run it from my laptop. So, I’ll need to patch my computer into the church’s projector and the audio cable into a mic jack for sound. I use an Apple laptop. 

I will need a table large enough for my laptop and Bible and a chair (preferably one that is height adjustable and without arms) to sit on. Also, if we could have a table somewhere in the church to set up our resources to make available for people, that would be much appreciated.

Given the length of each CWW session, there is typically not much time for music. Sometimes, a church will do one hymn at the beginning as people get settled, but that’s usually about it.

One of my favorite parts of doing a seminar is having time for Q&A. People really seem to enjoy it as well. Experience has taught me, however, that opening up the floor to whoever wants to ask a question can be risky. Ninety-nine percent of the questions are sincere and good questions that I am always happy to answer. 

Every once in a while, though, somebody will ask an off-the-wall question or use their time with the microphone to wax eloquently about their pet peeve about this or that. I have found that the best way to handle the Q&A is to have people write down their questions on a piece of paper or index card. These questions can then be collected, and either I can read them, or they can be read to me by the pastor, and I will answer them to the best of my ability.