Yesterday I posted a couple of observations made while watching a low budget film this Christmas.  Observations that demonstrate I was thinking about this blog while watching a film (which probably gives you opportunity to make an observation about me…)

While recognizing the difference between preaching and acting, I noted how actual speech is critical and how it is hard to be natural in an unnatural environment.  I’d like to add another speech related lesson, then point out a couple of other lessons that stood out to me.

3. Don’t try to make every line a humdinger. In a good film every word counts, but not every word is presented as if it is meant to count.  The film I watched seemed to try and make every line a memorable quote (but in effect became a bit tiresome rather than effective).  It might be a rare disease, but there are a few preachers who try to make every line count, even when they don’t.  Probably the more common problem is to waffle and say nothing of substance, but some do seem to say a lot of sentences as if they expect you to write them down and ponder deeply.  Perhaps you recognize this by the pregnant pause, the verbal selah, the look on the face, the rhythm and intonation.  But every line cannot be a humdinger, a home run, a knockout blow, a profound wisdom saying.

4. Historical and cultural details matter. Now to be fair, the film I watched did very well at this.  The history had been researched, the costumes and props were realistic, there was no helicopter flying in the background of a historical scene.  But there were a couple of tiny details.  Small ones, insignificant ones, but distracting ones once noticed.  And while the history was well researched, the accents weren’t.  Historical and cultural details can be a significant distraction to the “audience” both in a film, and in a sermon.

Actually, I’ll save the other two lessons for tomorrow.