Audience Analysis

Limit, No Limit

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

When it comes to preaching there are fewer rules than people might think.  Some like to impose significant amounts of structure on the preaching event, but in reality there are few limits involved.  There may be some limits imposed by the culture and heritage of a church – congregational traditions – and it is wise to think carefully before smashing through those expectations in an attempt to be creative.  However, these limits vary from place to place and it is possible, once trust is established, to carefully adjust such expectations.

However, putting aside the idiosyncracies of specific congregations (and the key change monitors who might take it on themselves to preserve order!), the whole issue of limits seems to come down to two principles:

1. To have integrity as a biblical preacher, I must be constrained by the true meaning of the passage I am preaching. This is the one limit that must be in place.  We commit to preaching the true meaning of the text.  To the best of our ability we must strive to understand what was intended in the preaching text.  We cannot preach on anything from anywhere in the Bible.  Sometimes the pursuit of being “interesting” and “relevant” undermines the exegetical integrity of our ministry.  We need this limit firmly in place.

2. To be effective as a biblical preacher, I have freedom in the formation of the sermon and its delivery during preaching. What shape should a sermon take?  What style of delivery should be used?  Matters of form are matters of freedom for the preacher.  Different texts, different circumstances, different occasions, even different listeners, can all prompt different sermon shape and delivery style.  At this level our goal is effectiveness in communication.  We do not need unnecessary limits in place to hinder our effectiveness.

Sadly too many preachers settle into a predictable pattern where there is freedom – in form and delivery.  And too many choose freedom where there is a limit – in the meaning of the text.  Let’s be sure to get our limit and our no limits the right way around!

The Preparation Process in Question Form

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

Perhaps you have already thought it through in this way, or perhaps this will be helpful to you.  The eight stage preparation process can be stated in the form of questions:

1. Passage Selection – Which passage will you prepare to preach?

2. Passage Study – What does the passage say and mean?  (What is the content of the passage?)

3. Passage Purpose – Why was the passage written? (The intent of the passage.)

4. Passage Idea – What is the author saying about what he’s writing about?  What is the heart of the unit of thought?  What is the main point here?  (The goal is to write a one sentence statement succinctly and accurately.)

At the mid-point (not necessarily half-way through the preparation time), you begin to seriously consider to whom you will be preaching the passage.  Audience analysis is essentially answering the “who?” question in reference to the preaching event.

5. Message Purpose – Why do these people need to hear this passage?  Why will you stand and deliver this passage to them?

6. Message Idea – How can the idea of the passage be stated with an emphasis on the relevance to these particular listeners?  How can the idea be stated in a way that is succinct, clear, accurate and ideally, memorable?

7. Message Outline – How can the purpose of the message be achieved?  How can the idea of the message be delivered?  This is the point of deciding the form of the sermon, the preacher’s strategy.

8. Message Detail – How can each movement in the message be developed: explained, supported, applied?  How can the message be most effectively introduced?  How can the message be most effectively concluded?

Just a couple of observations on this:

Observation A – The idea of a passage must be informed by both content and intent, by both what and why.  Equally, the idea of the message must be influenced by the what of the passage, but also by the why of the message (ie.why preach this passage to these people?)  Too often the idea of a message is influenced by content, but not by a carefully considered purpose for the message.  (Even more “oftener” the idea is absent altgether, but that’s another issue!)

Observation B – The first four stages are all about probing and understanding the passage.  Most of the questions in the last four stages are “how?” questions.  The preparation of the message is largely a “how” issue – a matter of preaching strategy, creativity, deliberate clarity, etc.

Specific Aims

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As you head forward to preach today, are you clear on your aim?  A great main idea that is fired indiscrimately is not as good as a great main idea fired at a specific target.  Do you have a specific statement of sermon purpose?  Is it something you want listeners to do?  Is it something they should believe or know as a result of the message?  Is it something tangible?  Sometimes a sermon purpose will be in the area of belief rather than action, but how might that changed belief influence action this week?

Expository biblical preaching not only explains the meaning of the text, it also lands that text in the lives of listeners so that they can apply it.  Where do you aim to land the bridge today?

The Bigger Picture

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For most people in our churches today, the big picture is a mystery.  Their experience in the Bible is like being dropped in a huge forest.  They recognize some trees, they even like those trees, but what they know and recognize seems as random as trees in a vast forest.  We should not take for granted that people understand the bigger picture, the broad storyline of the Bible.

This is why Walk Thru the Bible was such a huge success a generation ago.  It gave people, in five hours, an overview of the storyline of the Old Testament, then later of the New Testament.

As preachers it is our privilege to help people understand how particular passages fit in the flow of the Bible story.  We don’t help by giving obscure links to random and questionable types and shadows elsewhere (unless they are clear and legitimate ones), but we do help by placing texts and stories in their context in the broad flow of the Bible story.

Preaching to People Who Need Counseling – Part 2

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So as well as excuses and lack of discipline, two more obstacles are worthy of note.  As preachers preaching for life change, we must be aware of these obstacles in the listener, obstacles well known to counselors, but relevant to preachers too:

3. Complicating problems. One area of change may be hindered by a related area that complicates matters.  For instance preaching on joint prayer in marriage will likely be hindered by general communication problems in marriage.  Perhaps another sermon (or series) is needed as a first step, before addressing the first issue.

4. Failure to repent. People may want to be different, but resist repenting for the present sin.  Many may desire a life of purity, but persist in impure habits.  Many may want to be truth tellers, but still live with unconfessed deception in their lives.  Failure to genuinely repent is a common issue, and an obstacle to life change.

Interdisciplinary studies are fashionable these days.  Here we see input from the field of Christian counseling for preachers.  What others interdisciplinary overlaps do you find helpful as a preacher?

Preaching to People Who Need Counseling

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If you’ve ever studied counseling at any level, you will have discovered fairly quickly that counseling is not just for the few.  In fact, the case could be made that we are all in need of counseling.  We all have inner issues that influence how we live, how we respond to God, how we relate to others, etc.  Jay Adams is known for his writing in the area of “Biblical Counseling” or “Nouthetic Counselling.”   He makes an interesting point in his chapter on “Counseling and Preaching” in Preaching with Purpose.  Whatever school of counseling you ascribe to, I think his point is worth taking onboard.

When we preach applicationally for change in listeners’ lives, there are certain obstacles to overcome.  Obstacles well known to the counselor, but just as real for the preacher.  Adams lists four in his chapter.

1. Excuses. People resist impetus to change by making excuses.  As a preacher it is worth thinking about what excuses may come up, and then rhetorically addressing those excuses biblically during the sermon.  It would be a shame to preach a great message, only to have listeners resist change by an excuse that could be easily overcome with a little planning.

2. Lack of discipline. Many preachers experience the polite platitudes of the many, but the definite response of the faithful few (or should I say, the disciplined few?)  Most people don’t only need instruction on what to do, but also on how to go about doing it.  Since it takes discipline to create new habits, perhaps the preacher needs to help people see the path to change more clearly.

Tomorrow I’ll share the other two obstacles to life change that need to be considered for preaching to be ultimately effective.

Crises Don’t Hit Everyone Equally

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

The current “crisis” in our news is an economic one.  I’m not going to post any comment on this (you probably don’t care what I think the cause was or the best way out of it!)  But from a preaching standpoint I have a comment to make.  While the media present things a certain way, the reality may touch the lives of listeners in different ways.  Perhaps the current economic crisis is a disaster for some, only a worry for others, and maybe even a help for some.  I spoke recently with someone working “in the city” who is busier than ever due to the present “crisis.”

At other times the crisis has been different.  A war in a foreign land may be a foreign policy issue for many, but for some in the church it may be a significant concern since they have loved ones in that land, or in the armed forces.

It is easy to take the media perspective on current events (a habit worthy of significant questioning in itself), but fail to recognize the more diverse implications for listeners.  It would be a great shame to allow popular opinion shifts to become insensitive comments to some listeners.  For example, people may tire of a war or ongoing news story and grow complacent, critical or dismissive – but for some listeners with vested interest, it may be a reality that they live with each moment.

All that to say . . . we need to know our listeners.  We preach to them, not to the television.

Dense Packing Doesn’t Prosper

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It is commonly referred to as a mistake new preachers make, but we can all fall into the trap.  A sermon will not work well if it is too overwhelming.

Let’s say you study the passage for several hours.  You discover interesting bits of information regarding background, structure, syntax, grammar, word meanings, not to mention parallel passages, cross-references, informing theology and later use of this text in the canon.  You discover fascinating insights through archaelogical reference tools, an interesting textual critical debate concerning one word that may or may not be original, and an interpretational debate that has gone back and forth since Calvin’s commentary was published.  Plus you stumbled across some useful anecdotes, an amusing story or three in a database of illustrations and you heard a great opening remark that you’d love to fit in, somehow.  Several hours of preparation will yield a significant resource pool of information.

But then you have to pack up what you intend to carry into the pulpit.  You only have a limited time.  Listeners only have a limited capacity to take information onboard.  After all your work, you have enough to load up three large suitcases and a trunk, plus a carry-on bag and a personal item.  But you can only pack a small suitcase and take it with you into the sermon time.  Prayerfully select.  Leave some of your work neatly folded for a future journey.  Graciously drop some of it in the waste.  Pack only that which will help you achieve your message purpose and drive home your message idea with application for their lives.  And don’t mention all that you couldn’t bring with you.

When you travel into the pulpit, just take one small case.  Don’t overstuff it either, tempting as that may be.  In the preaching journey, dense packing doesn’t prosper.

Communicate Relevantly . . . Carefully

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As a preacher who desires to be firmly planted in the world of the Bible and the world of the listeners, it can be a real challenge to be appropriately specific in your preaching.  In a small church, everybody knows everyone and can easily figure out who you are referring to if you give a specific example – confidentiality undermined.  In a larger church, people may not know who you are referring to.  However, the person you are referring to can easily sense you are referring to them, and suddenly their trust can feel undermined.

Here are a few suggestions, perhaps you can add others:

Instead of defaulting to more general applications, translate away from one specific to another. Don’t refer to specific marriage problems when you’ve been counseling a couple in that area, but perhaps the application would work in terms of parenting struggles, work relationships, etc.  Remember that people will translate one specific that you preach into the specific situation of their own life experience.

Keep a record of specific observations, potential illustrations, etc., so that you can adjust them and use them at an appropriate time. Right now everyone knows that particular marriage is on the rocks.  You have an example from the situation that could be helpful, but right now is not the time to use it, even if confidentiality is protected.  So having a good record system allows you to decide when to bring in an example to your preaching.

Always review carefully before you preach, considering how it could be taken as well as how you intend it. It may be easier to become non-specific and generic, but the result is not worth it.  So keep the specificity in your preaching, but be careful to review ahead of each sermon to make sure you are aware of any potential land mines.

Avenues of Audience Analysis

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In order to preach effectively, we must be at home in the world of the Bible, and in the world of our people.  We need to know them.  Jay Adams, in Preaching with Purpose, suggests three principal ways to analyze the congregation to whom we preach.  Perhaps it’s worth evaluating our own ministry through these categories to see where we might be missing out on helpful understanding of our listeners?

1. Informal contact with people. More than just rubbing shoulders on a Sunday or in church activities (where people tend to act the way they feel they should), this means getting into the normal lives of the people in the church.  Spending time with people at home, at work and at play is time well spent.  Without probing or surveying, plenty of useful insight will emerge in this natural environment.

2. Counseling contact with people. Not surprisingly from Jay Adams, he sees the value of counseling people.  Obviously confidentiality must be respected, but analysis of counseling notes will point to trends, concerns, areas of struggle.  He points out that just as preachers are helped by counseling, so counselors are helped by preaching.  If a counselor does not preach then they are in danger from not doing the deliberate and regular biblical exegesis they need to be biblically solid in their ministry.

3. Formal contact with people. Finally, Adams advocates for doing systematic, deliberate analysis of the congregation.  When first arriving in a church it is important to analyze the congregation and review the diet they have received from the pulpit.  Then regular surveys of key people, probing of elders, and so on, all helps to fill in the picture for the preacher.

Do we take “audience analysis” seriously?  Is there one approach, of these three, that needs more deliberate effort on our part?