Delivery

They Make It Look Easy

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This year I was in the States when the Wimbledon tennis championships were taking place.  So I missed the annual spectacle.  I’ve watched it many times.  Not just the tennis on TV, but the resulting tennis in the local courts.  People watch their heroes on TV, the best tennis players in the world.  Then they are inspired to go to the local courts and have a go themselves.  Courts that sit empty for most of the year are always busy the first week of July!  Why?  Because the best make it look easy.  It’s true in tennis, in football, in every sport.

In some ways that is our challenge as preachers.  We have to be the best that we can be.  We have to study exegetical stuff that would never be a bestseller.  We have to wrestle with the complexities of current trends and the complex motivations that move people to think in certain ways.  We have to somehow interact with all levels of social, religious, spiritual and fashionable trends, sometimes at very high levels.  Yet in it all, we have to be careful not to come across as high academics.  It’s tempting to do that.  After all, it’s easier to not translate from erudite verbosity to normal speech.  It’s better for the ego to dazzle and impress our listeners.  But remember the great tennis players.  They make something immensely complex look so easy.

Let’s strive to do the same.  Replace the twelve letter word with a five letter word or a couple of them.  Speak like a compelling communicator rather than a dull lecturing “expert.”  Let’s do the extra work and put aside our egos in order to communicate effectively.  Perhaps then the gospel will be free to access lives with all practicality.  Perhaps then people will rush out to the tennis courts of their lives and apply God’s word for themselves!

Truth Is Still True

/ Peter Mead / 2 Comments

We all know that truth is taking a bashing on many fronts.  The notion of truth is questioned like never before by philosophers as well as the countless pseudo-philosophers excited by a couple of books they have read recently.  The representatives of truth are under scrutiny due to numerous news stories of ship-wrecked integrity.  The security of truth is generally jettisoned as people find their personal security in personal shaped worlds of their own making.  The reliability of truth is continually undermined by “progress” that shows previous pronouncements from scientists and social commentators alike to have been premature at best.  The availability of truth is shaky in a world where access to information is greater than ever, but in-depth study looks much like infomercials or virtual investment scams.

Truth is under attack.  But truth is still true.  You know your audience when you preach next time.  You know how much “apologetic” is needed for the truth that you will preach.  You know what approach will work best for those people at this time in their lives.  But remember this, truth is still true.  When you have studied God’s Word and have a central concept, a main idea, a biblical truth to proclaim, then proclaim it.  State it.  Say it.  Preach it.  Whether or not you choose to tune the apologetic element of the sermon to a high pitch, make sure you state the truth.  In a world of false and flawed claims, truth carries an uncanny attraction.  In a world of false teaching, God desires for the truth to be known.  If you have something true to preach, preach it.  Truth is still true.

Why Reject a Shortcut?

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If there were some technology that would help our preaching, surely we should consider it, right?  Sure.  I’d consider anything.  But some shortcuts are not worth the time they save.  I was contacted by a company that sells a technology for public speakers.  The technology is supposed to cut preparation by 90%, both the work and the stress.  I look past the hype and see a technology that I might support for business presenters and sales people, but not for preachers.  Why?

Because preparation is important.  Our process is as important, maybe more important, than our end “product.”  The technology in question allows a pre-recorded message to play into the ear of the speaker who then repeats what is heard.  Supposedly it creates a more natural presentation than a teleprompter.  I’m sure it would.  But more natural than genuinely natural?  I don’t think so.

Genuine Preparation Matters – The time we spend wrestling with the text, exegeting to the best of our ability, prayerfully developing, growing and crafting a sermon is good time.  It’s time with God.  It’s time for Him to work on us and in us so that when we preach it is not information transfer, but genuine preaching.  I’m glad I don’t have to spend hours turning pages in concordances, lexicons and commentaries.  Technology has allowed more time for genuine preparation, prayerful thought and wrestling with the text and sermon.  But I don’t want to cut preparation by 90% because when it comes to preaching God’s Word, genuine preparation matters.

Genuine Delivery Matters – Speaking with your head in your notes is not the most effective way to preach.  It is disconnected and can seem like a canned presentation lacking in the authenticity people crave.  But the solution is not to fake a natural delivery.  Pretending to speak naturally by some trick of memorization, the skill of an actor learning a monologue, painting eyes on your glasses that allow you to “look up” while really looking down at notes, or hidden technology . . . it’s all somehow a pretense.  If integrity matters anywhere, it matters in preaching.  Natural is good, but genuine is critical.  Get as natural as you can, but don’t compromise your integrity.  When it comes to preaching, genuine delivery matters.

So, my apologies to the company involved.  I wish them well in their business.  But for preaching, sometimes I feel the need to reject a shortcut.

Personal Presentation

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When I teach preaching I make only a passing reference to personal presentation. What you wear, how you look, it matters, but it’s kind of a simple issue for me. For one, I don’t think it is an issue worth fighting over or dying for. If a church expects me to wear a tie, I’ll do it. If they prefer casual presentation, I’ll do it. Some may choose to fight for change (usually in the casual direction), I’d rather fight for other issues in pulpit ministry!

Here’s my simple summary of what matters:

Don’t let how you look distract your listeners. Your clothes should match. They should be appropriate for the setting (a tuxedo can be as distracting as shorts in the wrong context!) Be appropriately well-groomed. Don’t wear a dark shirt if you raise your arms while preaching and are likely to sweat. If you happen to be attractive to the opposite gender, don’t dress in a way that might be considered provocative!

Don’t let how you look undermine your credibility. Sloppy clothes or grooming don’t convey a sense of credibility. As much as it depends on you, demonstrate some discipline in regards to what is inside your clothing too.

(Oh, and since we’re getting a bit personal, I try to have breath mints in my pocket too, for the sake of those I chat with afterwards!)

Any tips to add?

The Patriotic Pulpit

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Since many who read this site are in the USA, I’ll take this opportunity to raise the issue of patriotism in the pulpit (4th of July weekend, etc.)  Now I recognize the potential irony since I am writing as an English man on the day when Americans celebrate one of our only military defeats in a long history!  But actually I raise this issue for preachers in every culture.

Some church cultures espouse a very strong patriotism, while others seek to eliminate almost every reference to the country in which they are located.  I don’t want to suggest that there is a right approach.  I do suggest it is an issue worth thinking about (I suppose I’m saying be patriotic on purpose, just like I say use Powerpoint on purpose or cross-reference only if there is a real purpose in doing so, etc.)

When the listeners are thinking about patriotic issues – such as on a holiday weekend, or a day given to remembering those who gave their lives in war, etc. – it makes no sense to pretend otherwise at church.  Hopefully we would refer to a major news incident, so why not a major holiday?  God does not call us to despise our nationality or be unpatriotic.  Yet at the same time He does call us and give us a new citizenship.  During the Olympics I’m definitely British, but in all of life I am Christ’s first and foremost.  I am Christ’s more than I am British or English.  I bring my ethnicity to the unity so wonderfully created in Christ, but I never confuse my ethnicity or nationality with my faith and identity in Christ.

It’s an issue worth thinking about.  Some people think their religion is determined by their passport.  We want to be careful not to encourage such thinking in any visitors to our church on a patriotic day.  Some people may overly esteem their nationality, so that it is held on a par with their faith.  We wouldn’t want to encourage that.  Some people may despise their ethnicity or nationality for various reasons.  Again, let’s not encourage that either.  Somehow we have to be sensitive to the patriotic and the disillusioned, the elderly who fought for our freedom and those that have somehow been hurt or marginalized by that same society.  We have to be sensitive to those with a clear understanding of their true citizenship, and even more to those confused about where home really is.  We want to honor both the diversity in the church and the unity of the church.

I’m patriotic, probably more patriotic than many English people these days.  I’m married to an American and have no problem enjoying their Independence Day (although I have a few one-liners ready if I need them!)  I appreciate good-natured patriotism from any nationality (including the Scottish!)  I just think we need to think through how we approach patriotism in the pulpit.  What do you think?

First-Person Dangers – Part 3

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One more post in this series.  Again, I affirm first-person preaching as a powerful tool in the preacher’s repertoire, but I don’t affirm poor first-person preaching!  Hence this list of dangers to be aware of when venturing into this realm of preaching.

Danger 6 – Excessive humor or frivolity.  First-person preaching provides many more opportunities than regular preaching for humorous and even frivolous comments.  Sometimes humor is helpful.  Sometimes humor can help to cover a potentially distracting moment.  Sometimes it can provide relief from tension.  Sometimes it helps, but only if it is sometimes.  I don’t see any court jesters in the Bible, so there’s no need to preach like one.  First-person preaching inherently carries the risk of being seen as more entertainment than preaching.  Don’t exacerbate that through excessive humor or frivolity.

Danger 7 – Inadequate or strained relevance. This form has inherent strengths in terms of being engaging and disarming.  It also has the inherent weakness of struggling to be relevant.  If the audience are invited to listen “back then,” applications can only be timelessly conceptual, i.e. vague.  If the character has traveled through time then they have to portray a convincing understanding of contemporary culture and issues if they are to make any attempt at relevance.  While it is certainly possible to preach the entire sermon in character, it is also possible to step out of character for specific and concrete application.  Whenever you preach in first-person, pay careful attention to the need for relevant application.

Danger 8 – Not being appropriate to your audience.  This covers a lot of what has been stated already.  But I would go further.  Analyze the congregation to decide how much first-person preaching they will truly value.  Some congregations love it and beg for more. Others can gain a lot from it once in a while.  Some are so rigid they cannot hear the message because the form is a potentially offensive distraction.  As always in good preaching, we have to know not only the text, but also the listeners.

Please preach first-person when it is the best strategy available, but please always do it with as much excellence as you can muster!

First-Person Dangers – Part 2

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In part 1 we saw three potential dangers in first-person preaching. Today I share some more. I share them not to warn you away from first-person preaching, but to encourage excellent first-person preaching!

Danger 4 – Distractingly amateurish dramatics. Even people who enjoy the amateur dramatic scene do not appreciate amateurish dramatics. Unless it’s someone you love, you probably wouldn’t want to spend the time cringing at a poor dramatic production. How much less poor dramatic preaching? This means that if costume is used, it should reflect the same quality as the sermon (leave the curtains and towels to children’s nativity plays, then maybe eliminate them there too!) It means striving for real consistency in content (Would the character know that? Is the speaker’s personal culture shaping content too much?)

Danger 5 – Losing sight of natural delivery. This may seem strange, since first-person by definition is about preaching as someone other than yourself. But this one actually follows from the previous danger. The goal in delivery is to be both effective and natural. (Isn’t it true that the best actors seem to be natural?) The natural element here is often lost due to dramatic excess. Sometimes the problem is “too much.” For instance, thirty minutes of excessive shouting and gesturing simply because the biblical character is seen as somewhat feisty is probably too much! Even feisty, strong-willed people don’t shout and gesture incessantly! While larger audiences require larger gestures, the goal is to communicate naturally!

Tomorrow I’ll finish the list, although feel free to add more!

First-Person Dangers

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When you have an idea and a purpose for your sermon, you then choose the strategy that will best allow the idea to hit home.  Once you realize the potential in first-person sermons, this form will regularly suggest itself.  First-person preaching done well can be immensely powerful and profoundly effective.  But there are also a few dangers.  I’ll gently share a few, perhaps you can suggest others.  This is not to dissuade preaching in the first-person, but to encourage careful planning so that it is maximally effective.

Danger 1 – Don’t leaning on the form to do the work. Just because first person preaching has an inherent interest factor, you cannot rely on that to carry you through.  The form is a strategy chosen to serve the main idea, not a master that defines your content.  It is easy to pour energy into the “first-person” part of the sermon and fail to put the effort into the “sermon” part of the first-person.  The form may help, or it may utterly hinder your task of preaching the Word!

Danger 2 – Preaching event rather than text. It is enlightening to bring good first-person perspective to a Bible story or message, but remember that it is the text that was inspired, not the event itself. Don’t just bounce off the text to preach an event, but rather study the text and be sure to preach its message. 

Danger 3 – Not doing the extra work necessary. There are no two-ways about it, first-person preaching is extra work.  You have to do all the same work as any other sermon in terms of studying the text and the audience, formulating main idea and so on.  Plus you have to study extra historical, geographical, social, and cultural background.  Furthermore you are adding a dramatic element that takes extra work (just as a powerpoint is extra work and can easily suck away preparation time if you don’t recognize that!)

In part 2 I’ll add some more dangers to be aware of, but feel free to add any you like by commenting at any time.

A Ninth Stage?

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I like the eight-stage approach to sermon preparation we use on this site.  It makes sense.  It works.  Sometimes I’m tempted to add a stage, but I think I’ll stick with eight.  Yet if I were to add a stage, what would it be?

It could be something to do with the invitation to preach that comes before the eight-stages.  Perhaps I’ll develop that thought in the days ahead.  I suppose you could make a case for adding delivery as a stage.  After all, delivery of the sermon is critical.  But then again, if these are the stages of preparation, then really it would need to be something about preparing to deliver, rather than the actual delivery.  Perhaps I’ll develop that thought too.

At this point in time, if I were to add a stage, it would come between stages 4 and 5.  After grasping the idea of the passage, before attempting to develop a message, it’s time for audience analysis.  This is critical.  The very definition of expository preaching I teach incorporates the notion of relevance to specific listeners.  How is relevance possible without consideration of the audience?  It may be the first time you preach to them, or the thousandth, but it is worth considering them and the timing of the sermon to them during each preparation.

I haven’t added it as a stage.  I still use and teach eight stages.  But I have added it as a category.  So if you click on Audience Analysis on the menu to the right, you will find previous posts on this important issue.

Don’t Say Too Much

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My post last Sunday concerned preaching like it is your first message and your last.  I meant something specific under both of these points, and was not referring to the negative elements of each.  In reality your last sermon might be foggy with deteriorated thinking faculties, bitter with built up hurts, disconnected through losing touch, etc.  Your first sermon might have been messy through lack of training, stumbling through excessive nerves, etc.  But one of the comments on last Sunday’s post makes a very worthy point.

Most of us, in our first sermon, tried to say too much.  We tried to cram in all we knew on that subject.  We tried to miss nothing, preached dense and probably missed everyone listening.  Keep that in mind today.  Don’t try and say so much that you end up effectively saying nothing.  Don’t feel the need to prove how many hours of exegetical work you put in, or what exegetical bunny trails you pursued to no avail.  Say one thing, and say it well.  Say it clear.  Say it more than once.  But don’t say too much!