How to . . . ?

Point 3

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

ExclamationFinishing off the list of potential dangers that come from pouring our efforts into generating memorable outlines, rather than seeing the sermon outline as our strategic plan (which is for us, rather than primarily for them).  The strategy and the weapon should not be confused in warfare, and the strategy / arrow confusion in preaching can undermine the process.  So continuing on:

4. The potential for present impact can be dissipated by energy poured into future recall.  Let the present message mark deeply now, rather than relying on recollection later when impact may be diminished.  In fact, preach in such a way that present impact is as profound as possible, combined with motivation to get listeners back into the Bible on an ongoing basis.  (What if people don’t feel capable of finding the three brilliantly stated points when they look at the passage again?)

5. The arrow of the main idea can be lost in the listing of lower level sub-points.  Deliver one idea effectively and you will see lives transformed.  Overwhelm people with numerous sub-points and impact won’t be the description being used of the preaching.

6. The listener can develop the notion that preaching is about poor education.  You know the type of education I mean, listening for the points that will be on the test, then forgetting everything two days later.  Preaching can imply life is like that, but it isn’t.  We need to know someone, much more than we need to know lots of things.  Spirituality is not defined by taking notes or filling in the blanks.  As I’ve written before, “It’s weird, but when my wife opens her heart to me and speaks, I don’t reach for a pad and a pencil, I open my heart and I listen.”

I could add more thoughts, but will leave it there.  Feel free to add more, or disagree, of course (after all, taking away the transfer of outlines from our view of preaching is not a small move).

Point 1

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

ExclamationSome quick-fire suggestions to strengthen the points part of sermons:

1. Actually say something.  Don’t settle for titles, instead write full points.  Make a statement.  Declare something.  It is better to have a full sentence than a label.  Labels and titles are written communication, but spoken communication doesn’t use titles.  When we tell a story from our day, we don’t use titles:

“So while I was filling the car at the petrol station I noticed that the tyre had a bulge in the side.  I checked it, and sure enough, a hernia in the tyre wall.  Tyre Replacement.  So I took the car into town and ended up having two tyres replaced at the place next to the car dealer.  It was not cheap, I can tell you, but safer than . . .”

We don’t speak like that, so let’s not preach like that.

2. Try to make the point contemporary rather than historical.  Why talk for several minutes about the ancient near eastern historical background to a point made by a letter writer back in the day…and then make an application before moving on.  Listeners could well have moved on long before you get to the application.  Why not make the point itself relevant to us and then support that from the text?

3. If you want to write a commentary, write it, don’t preach it.  The last two points really mean that we are not called to preach a commentary (with its historically rooted titles for sections).  So while commentaries may be useful in our preparation, they can never do the work for us.

Lots more to say, what would you add?

Jesus vs Religion – Honouring God

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

StainedGlassJesus2So I am halfway through Eldredge’s list of ten indicators of religious distraction from true Christ-centred Christianity.  Let’s see if I can finish the list in a single post, actually I won’t bother trying.  I’ll finish the list tomorrow.  All to do with honouring God:

6. The holiness of God is taught by making him “unknowable” or unapproachable.

“God is spoken of as a mystery so high and lifted up we cannot possibly be friends.  The talk may be very intellectual and philosophical; it may be hyperspiritual talk of the heavens; it might be existential “dark night of the soul” stuff.  Do you ever hear Jesus talk like this?  Of course there are mysteries to God, but Jesus came to make God known.”

The incarnation is about the unseen God being seen, and touched, and met, and talked to, and heard, and known.  The New Testament critiques the proto-gnostic notions of an un-incarnate Christ because that tendency was in the churches.  In modified forms it still is.  While it may get us kudos as we stand at the church door and shake hands with the impressed, let us instead offer them the only begotten God who has made the Father fully known.

7. Holiness is substituted with rule-keeping.

The church seems to propagate technical righteousness and the minding of evangelical manners.  Is this what holiness is all about?  If we can’t make the connection between holiness and the fellowship of the Trinity, but only speak of separation from sinful acts, then perhaps our view of holiness is too superficial.  If the preacher doesn’t get it, the congregation have little chance.

Tomorrow I’ll finish the list . . .

 

Wide View Application

/ Peter Mead / 6 Comments

WideViewIf we are not careful we can easily misfire when it comes to applying Bible texts.  One cause of dangerous misfiring comes from too narrow a view of the text.  The result is application that functions as a legalistic burden – appealing to the flesh, but not consistent with the gospel.

In Narratives Look Up.  In Bible stories we can easily focus on the human characters and determine to copy or not copy them.  The moral of this story is . . . oops.  This is a recipe for burdensome preaching.  It is not a recipe for gospel preaching.  It is not really good news that the Bible is full of examples for us to copy or not copy in our own strength.  We need to always look up.  The characters are not just humans in action, they are humans living in response to God and His Word.  Their response is instructive, but we don’t live as their copycats, we live as people responding to God and His Word too.  In preaching narratives, be sure to use a wider view and include the divine dimension.

In Epistles Look Out.  In epistles we can easily focus on the commands and determine to obey them.  The lesson for today is . . . oops.  This is a recipe for burdensome preaching.  It is not a recipe for gospel preaching.  It is not really good news that the Bible is full of imperatives for us to harvest and apply in our own strength.  We need always to look out.  The imperatives and commands are not just stand alone instructions for holy living, they are imperatives and commands coming in the context of a whole letter that was written to be heard in one shot.  The recipients would have felt the force of the instruction in light of the gospel content.  Ephesians 4 is to applied in light of Ephesians 1-3, otherwise it becomes just another burden for our weary souls.  In preaching epistles, be sure to use a wider view and include the divine doctrinal dimension.

Transitions 3

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

Spheres2Transitions are a tiny part of a message, but they can make all the difference in terms of being heard properly.  We’ve looked at the first two types of transition.  Let’s ponder the third: concluding transitions.  Or to put it another way, transitions to a conclusion.  This is very biblical, by the way.  I was just looking at Galatians 5:1-12.  I think that is Paul’s transition from his second main point and body of his argument to the conclusion and application phase of his letter.  An abrupt move from main point to conclusion may not be effective.  So?

Concluding Effectively

Review clearly – These would be true of a message conclusion as a whole, but I am speaking of a transition from body to conclusion.  This is a good place to review where we have been together.  Anything more than clear and crisp statements runs the risk of sounding like the development of another element of the message.  Don’t add explanation to this.  Don’t restate in a way that might appear to be development rather than restatement.  Keep this element as clear and punchy as possible.  Try to make the message sound clearer than it did when you preached it!

Regain any drift from relevance – There is always a danger that in the development of the main argument of a message, with all the biblical and theological explanation, that listeners can lose sight of its relevance for them.  This shouldn’t happen if you make every movement relevant and apply as you go, but sometimes you need to give time to explanation.  Lest any be drifting from the moorings of crystal clear relevance, use the transition to underline that this is for us today.  Paul did this in his transition in Galatians 5.  The sermon to the Hebrews reinforces relevance in every transition throughout the sermon.

Avoid apology – I haven’t mentioned this yet, but this applies at any point.  Almost always avoid apology during your preaching.  Some have the habit of half apologising in transitions. “Well, anyway, that could have been clearer, but . . . ” or “I wish we had more time, we haven’t really gotten the point of that section . . .” and so on are not helpful.  There may be occasion for apology.  If you have a cough or weak voice, apologise if you feel it is necessary, but do so confidently.  Basically the listeners will respond to your tone – if you are apologising, they will feel bad.  If you are confident, they will take that on board.  So avoid undermining a message by apologising in some unnecessary way.

Transitions 2

/ Peter Mead / 2 Comments

Spheres2Transitions are disproportionately significant.  They don’t convey the content of the message, but their critical role can significantly support, or significantly undermine the message as a whole.

Last time I looked at the introductory transitions (A on the image).  What about a transition between two movements in a message?  This is the purest form of transition.

Transitioning Effectively (B)

1. Slow down noticeably.  The sermon is an unsafe vehicle.  There are no seat belts or doors that guarantee your passengers will stay with you.  When you take a turn, make sure they are right there or you’ll leave them in the aftermath of the previous movement.  Slow down through the curves.  Listeners can seem like they are with you at a certain pace of delivery, and they might be able to stay with you in a straight line, but when you go in a new direction they may be unable to keep track and they will be left in a heap with dust settling around them.  Slow down.  Change pace.  Pause.  Make the transition clear.  Sometimes in our anxiety to press on and get through it all we can cut corners at this point (since it isn’t content at this point) and in doing so undermine the whole message.  If you must speed up, do so within a movement, not between them.

2. Look both ways.  That is to say, use the opportunity to provide both review and preview.  Where have we been so far?  Where are we going next?  Just a couple of sentences can make the world of difference.  It is the difference between an enjoyable ride in a nice car with a good driver, and an uncomfortable ride in an overpowered car with an overconfident teen at the wheel.

3. Mark physically.  Slowing down the delivery and reflecting / previewing are helpful.  But why not reinforce the shift in direction by a physical marker?  You could physically switch from one side of the lectern to the other (assuming you don’t hide behind it all the time), you could gesture appropriately, change you orientation by a few degrees, etc.  Subtle reinforcement in this way can communicate very effectively.

Notice that I haven’t suggested simply saying, “Now for my next point…”  If you have to, fine, but consider that this may have a soporific effect if the listeners don’t have confidence in you.  Good transitions should give a sense of momentum and progress.  Bad or patronizing ones can either lose people, or reinforce the sense of boredom.  Maybe a minute of your message will be taken up by this kind of transition . . . but this minute could be make or break!

Transitions

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Spheres2The bulk of preparation effort usually goes into the main content of a message.  We wrestle with the text, we allow it to shape our theology, we think through how that content marks our lives, we ponder all this in light of who will hear the message.  This is all work on the points, or movements, in a message.

Then perhaps we ponder illustrative material to help make sense of those movements.  We consider how to introduce the message.  We might even give some thought to how we will conclude it.

But often there is too little thought given to the transitions between movements in a message.  These are represented by A, B, C on the diagram.  Too little attention given to these little moments will result in too great a negative effect on the whole message.  Great messages bomb because of poor transitions.

Here are some nudges to help us better transition during our preaching:

Introducing Effectively (A)

1. Emphasize clearly.  The listeners need to know that you are moving from whatever introductory material you have given into the first movement of the message.  You can do a star jump, pause for two minutes and turn to look at a powerpoint slide.  Or you can be less awkward.  Vocal variation can serve to underline your shift effectively: perhaps a pause, a change of pace, a variation in pitch.  You can say, “So for my first point…” but that is probably hinting at dullness already.  But something along those lines could be helpful: “So let’s see how the passage launches . . .” could work, as long as people catch what you just said (so think through how to add emphasis).

2. Preview appropriately.  What is appropriate depends on the type of movement that will follow.  If you are presenting a declaration and then supporting it, as in a typical deductive message, then you might be able to simply offer a preview of the point by stating it and telling what will follow (i.e.explanation, application, etc.).  By previewing and then re-stating the point as you progress, listeners will spot the entry into a section of the message.  If the point is the development in a narrative, then you may not want to give it all away at the transition.  You need to decide how to make sure people are with you as you enter in.  Perhaps a question that will be answered – some variation on “so what happened next?” might work.

3. Introduce confidently.  Whatever you are about to say, convey confidence in how you introduce it.  Don’t apologise.  Don’t downplay in some supposed act of humility.  “Oh, I guess I should probably say a few words about . . . ”  Uh, no.  “Just a disconnected story first before we get into . . .”  Again, no.  “I wasn’t sure where to start, so. . .”  No.

Delivery Dynamics: Do They Trust?

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Microphone2Delivery matters because communication does.  We have considered two important questions: can they hear and will they listen?  Another important consideration relates to how listeners perceive the speaker.

Do They Trust?

There are many factors that influence whether listeners will trust or distrust the speaker.  For instance:

1. Eye Contact.  You wouldn’t buy a car from someone who refuses to look at you.  Shifty eyes are a real turn off.  If someone wanted to tell you about a wonderful place they visited, but kept hesitating and checking some notes, you might be suspicious.  Eye contact is massively important in the whole package of sermon delivery.  Whatever we can do to maximize appropriate eye contact, let’s do it.  Don’t skip around or you’ll seem flighty and untrustworthy.  Don’t linger too long or you’ll communicate intimidation or intimacy.  But do make and maintain meaningful eye contact with listeners if you want them to trust what you are saying.

2. Belief.  Bert Decker’s book, You Have to Believe to be Heard, is well worth a read.  We are able, as listeners, to perceive whether someone believes what they are saying.  The signals are made up of multiple factors in tone, articulation, gesture, expression, posture, etc.  If people perceive cockiness, that won’t help.  But if they don’t perceive belief, they won’t trust.

3. Body Language.  So what are some of these visual signals of conviction?  If something is important, then not only should the words chosen reflect that, but the communication of our bodies should reinforce it.  A confident and secure posture is important.  Don’t stand awkwardly and squirm.  Be seen.  Don’t hide behind a heavy pulpit, be as visible as possible.  Leaning forward tends to underline an important point.  Appropriate gestures help.  Leave the hands in pockets casual look for a casual illustration.

Reading and Preaching

/ Peter Mead / 8 Comments

StudyI remember hearing about someone who made the mistake of writing down a book suggestion for someone he was discipling.  The book was ideally suited to the situation, but the author was just too different.  The man was chased out of his church.

What makes a Bible school “liberal?”  In one sense the term refers to wide and free reading across the spectrum.  Strangely, I hear that there are many of the more “liberal” schools that won’t include “conservative” books on their reading lists.  At the same time, many “conservative” schools will recommend and even require the reading of “liberal” scholars.  If this were all that a label referred to, then they would need to be reversed!

Seems like we should be reading widely (and I’m not really referring to facebook / blog surfing!)  At the same time, it may not be wise to advertise the breadth of your reading habits in some circles.

Good reading should not only reinforce your understanding by affirmation, but also by challenging what you believe.  And as maturity increases, so can the band-width of your reading spectrum.  It seems to be a very immature trait to dismiss books simply because they are not 100% on target.

Read widely, disclose wisely.

Beware of Re-Assigned Language

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ConversationLast night I led a discussion on the New Age and Eastern Mysticism.  It was fascinating to try to get a handle on what is sometimes described as a “meta-network” . . . a network of networks where the religious ingredients may have some commonality, but are essentially optional.  I suppose it was a bit like trying to grasp a jellyfish.

The real benefit of the discussion, though, was for people in the group to not only be alert to some of the core features of this movement, but also to recognize where they might misunderstand what others say to them.  For instance, coming from an evangelical church, it is easy for some to get confused when they meet someone who “believes in Jesus.”  That language carries certain meaning in church-world.  It carries different meaning in non-church world.

As preachers we must be alert to this.  We can’t hide in a church ghetto and preach Christian language without clarifying the meaning we are seeking to convey.  We will not even know if people in our church are understanding what we intend them to understand.

I suppose there are several dangers to be alert to.  People need to know what others mean in order to interact with them and know where the disconnects may be occurring in the conversation.  It is not good people thinking they’re on the same page as someone who means something entirely different by enlightened or saved or delivered or believe or whatever.

At the same time people need to know not only what is different with other understandings of reality, but also what is attractive about other understandings of reality.  It is easy in a church setting to look down on the silliness of other views, but that is not at all helpful.  There is a reason people are drawn into different philosophies and religions.  There is a reason why people who’ve grown up in good churches can be drawn into these other religions.  To simply mock or ridicule is to fail to engage meaningfully with what others hold dear.  At the same time it is to set up people from the church to be picked off when they discover a more compelling presentation of an alternative than they were led to believe is possible.