How to . . . ?

A Shalom Preacher?

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Are you a stressed preacher? Many seem to be. I know I can fall into that too. The weight of forthcoming ministry commitments always linger in the mind. Interruptions of ordinary and extraordinary circumstances add pressure as deadlines loom. There is a weight to bear as you seek to stand with those under your care. Ministry is hard work. The enemy makes it harder. And we become stressed. Add to this the culture in which we live, a fast-paced not-enough-hours-in-the-day culture. In her book, Time Peace: Living Here and Now with a Timeless God, Ellen Vaughn writes, “”If adrenaline flows in response to a chronic state of stress–rather than being on reserve for emergencies–it’s like revving a car engine to a hundred miles per hour, then leaving it to idle at that speed.” (Page 69)

Answers to this phenomena tend to sound trite. Rest more. Exercise some. Spend more time with God. Cast your cares on Him. Commit to less. Guard your schedule. Establish better boundaries. All of these are part of the answer, but none are the whole answer. How would you rate your stress in ministry? What could you do to live out the ordered “shalom” of our God of order, the One Who is not stressed? Stuart Briscoe once preached that when we live our lives according to the orders of the God of order, we will have peace (shalom). Do you preach Shalom? Ok, but do you live it too?

Stage 8 – Message Details: Conclusions

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Haddon Robinson’s teaching and example always lurk in the back of my mind when it comes to conclusions. His teaching? “You can recover from a bad intro, but not from a bad conclusion.” His example? A consistent nailing of that last poignant and powerful line. Conclusions are easy – get to where you are going, review the journey briefly, encourage application of the idea and stop. But conclusions are hard – they are hard to give enough time for in preparation, they are hard to not modify and over-extend while preaching, they are hard to do well. The key is planning. First, plan to have enough time after preparing everything else in the message so that you can prepare the conclusion fully. Second, use that time and keep up the motivation in order to plan an effective conclusion. Third, generally stick to the conclusion you had planned when preaching, many extra thoughts become unnecessary extensions to a journey. Too many extensions will make the flight of the message uncomfortable and people will be reaching for the folded paper back in the pew in front of them!

Previously on this site – To put it simple, when you get to the end, stop. This is important, but you’ve got to know where you are going! Like flying a plane, your passengers value very highly your skill in landing the bird). The last line, as Haddon Robinson usually exemplifies is critical, so don’t miss that opportunity (although there are some opportunities to be missed). The main thing is to not short change the conclusion.

Stage 8 – Message Details: Introductions

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First impressions matter. In the first moments of a message, listeners are making numerous decisions about the speaker. Some of those are conscious, many subconscious. Is this worth listening to, can I trust this person, does this person know where they are going, is this going to be relevant to my life, etc. So once the message is mostly prepared, it is time to work on a compelling introduction. Robinson succinctly puts it like this, “the test of a good introduction is whether they want you to carry on once it’s done.” Many speakers tend to ease into their message, rather than having a strong and decisive start. Work invested in the introduction will pay off throughout the message. It may be only a few brief minutes of the whole, but these are critical minutes.

Previously – There have been numerous posts on introductions. Here I will point back to a few. Recently we saw the importance of starting strong, but not until you’ve paused purposefully to gain attention. While it is good to start strong, you don’t want to overpromise in the intro. Way back at the start of this site’s history, we had two posts covering the essentials of an intro – the essential ingredients and the focus of the intro. Once the basics are grasped, there are ways to move beyond default, always remembering that some things are best omitted. Finally, Don Sunukjian’s explanation of an effective intro is well worth a review, even if you don’t accept it is the only way – see here.

45,000 Great Preaching Illustrations

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There are numerous books available that promise to help turn tedious sermons into sizzling and vibrant power-sermons.  You simply look up your theme and then choose one of the collected illustrations, like sprinkling seasoning on a bland dish of food.  These tools can be helpful, but I’d like to point you to the best one of all – 45,000 Great Preaching Illustrations.  This is not available in print, nor on a website.  In fact, you already have it.  Using it will help your messages sizzle with seasoning, rumble with relevance and be energized by engaging with your listeners’ lives.  45,000 Great Preaching Illustrations are before your eyes every day – it is normal life.

Here is a simplified list of sources for illustrations, and the order is deliberate:

1. From the experience of both speaker and listener. This is the place to start.  You know what it is like, so you can describe it well.  They know what it is like, so they can see the image form in their minds.  Highly relevant, excellent source of illustrations (even if it seems mundane – such as getting in the shortest line at the store, and being there the longest!)

2. From the experience of the listener, but learned by you. Perhaps you don’t work in an office with non-believers, but you learn about it and draw illustrations of relevance from there.  If you learn well, then the image will form for the listener and you will seem like a relevant speaker.

3. From your experience, but learned by the listener. You can convey these personal experiences well, but you have to educate in order for them to communicate.  These take more time and will feel less relevant to the listener.  With appropriate vulnerability, these can be worth using for the connection it creates between you (even if the experience is slightly foreign to them).

4. From neither your experience, nor theirs. The pithy anecdote from some character in history, or the “canned” story from your bookshelf.  These often feel canned because they are canned.  If you use one of these, make sure the character in question has some appeal to your listeners, and be sure to look for other ways to be relevant.  The 1500’s or 1700’s may be interesting to some, but it is relevant to none.

Remember, the best illustrations come not from obscure anecdotes or historical mythology, but from the everyday experience of your listeners, so learn to be an observer of normal life – this will help you to touch down in their world as much as possible in your preaching.

Stage 8 – Message Details: Illustrations / Support Materials

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I’ll take another couple of posts to focus on introductions and conclusions, but first, it’s time to focus on support material. Robinson calls this stage “fleshing out the skeleton.” You know why you are preaching (stage 5), what your main idea is (stage 6) and what your strategy or structure is (stage 7). Then it is time to carefully plan where to add support material. Where do people need clarification on your explanation? Where might your message be improved by touching down in today’s world? It is important to include illustrative material so that the message does not degenerate into a poor lecture. But merely sprinkling illustrations is not a wise approach. Illustrations, or as I prefer to call them, support material or applications (note correction here), should be planned carefully and evaluated to the same extent as every other element in the message. If they do not support the main idea and help the message to progress, then cut and find a better alternative. Remember, the best illustrations come not from obscure anecdotes or historical mythology, but from the everyday experience of your listeners, so learn to be an observer of normal life – this will help you to touch down in their world as much as possible in your preaching.

Previously – It is critical to remember that illustrations are servants, not masters in the sermon. Try to make your illustrations relevant, and banish boredom from your preaching. There can be great variety in your illustrating (see also part 2), and often you can find illustration images right in the text. The keys to effective illustration use include concrete language and taking enough time (see here too). One option that may need too much time is the use of movie clips (see also part 2). It is important to be pastorally careful (part 2). Don’t forget the power of humor, make your sermon sizzle and maybe even illustrate without illustrations.

Stage 7 – Message Structure

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Once you have defined your message purpose and idea, it is time to strategize. What shape should the message take to maximize the effectiveness of delivering the idea to achieve your purpose? Many people fall into a rut of using the same shape for most sermons – perhaps because it’s what they’ve grown up hearing, or the instruction they received in Bible school honored one shape over others, or even laziness may be a factor. The fact is that there are numerous options for sermon shape.

Will the idea be stated in the introduction (deductive), or only emerge fully toward the end (inductive)? Maybe the idea will emerge at a mid-point, before being supported and applied (inductive/deductive). Will the text be handled in order, or out of order? Will relevance be loaded at the end, or spread throughout the message? Is the idea best conveyed as a subject completed, or would a more united idea allow for greater reinforcement during the message? These are all options, but we mustn’t forget the starting point, the text itself. What form does the text take? How does the genre function and influence the preaching? If it is a narrative, when in the message will you tell the story? If it is poetry, how can your sermon shape avoid dissecting and killing the cumulative power of the imagery? Then you have to ask whether a creative approach, such as preaching in character (first-person), or interactively, or by plotting the entire message will actually augment the message?

Previously on this site I have written much on this subject.  What factors should influence your choice of sermon form – part 1, 2 and 3. It is important to see this decision as your strategy (& part 2). Does the passage shape always determine the message shape? (See also here.) Once you have an outline, how do you write the points, and then evaluate the outline? It’s important to remember that outlines play a support role, they are not to be too prominent. Preachers often misdirect their focus, trying to make the outline memorable. The outline need not show too much, but listeners do need to have confidence that you know where you are going and it is important that they can follow in the text.

For all posts on this stage, please click on Stage 7 – Message Outline, in the menu.

Attitude Check from the Apostle Peter

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Peter wrote to a church facing difficult times.  In the last chapter of his first epistle, he gives some important advice for leaders in the church (1Peter 5:1-4).  His warnings and advice are critical for preachers:

Not under compulsion, but willingly – Remember that preaching, as well as all other elements of leadership, is a privilege.  It is easy when tired or over-busy to start feeling pressured rather than privileged.  Perhaps it’s time to pray this through?

Not for shameful gain, but eagerly – Just because you are a preacher, it does not make you exempt from the common temptations of humanity.  This includes materialism and greed.  Be careful.  This temptation can creep in insidiously and become a motivation in ministry choices.  At all costs, seek to have an eager attitude to ministry, rather than a grabby attitude to money.

Not domineering, but as an example – Perhaps you are not struggling with pressure or plunder, but be careful of the power (where did that alliteration come from?  Feel free to use it if you like that sort of thing!)  It is easy to wield excessive influence in the lives of your listeners.  Rather, seek to maintain a Christlike exemplary influence.

And after the willing, eager, exemplary service comes the thing that is designed to motivate – the crown of glory!  (Or prize, I suppose, if you’re following through on the P’s!)

Helpful warnings for leaders, including us preachers.  Feel free to ignore the alliteration, I usually do, but let’s take the passage to heart!

Stage 6 – Message Idea

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One thing is certain in preaching. If your message idea is not clear, then listeners will synthesize and selectively remember. They will subconsciously choose their own highlight, the point that stood out to them, or the illustration they enjoyed the most. It is far better to do the work yourself and then present a clear, well-articulated main idea in the message. You start with the passage idea, remove any historically specific references (like Paul, Timothy, Roman Jail, etc.), take into account your sermon purpose and then look to phrase the message idea in a way that is memorable and relevant to your listeners. It doesn’t have to be an all-star big idea every time (it won’t be), but it is worth putting extra effort in on this one critical sentence. Once you have it, it will be boss of the message shape and the details – the next two stages. It may seem like a lot of work, but working on the idea is well worth the time and effort you put in.

Just recently we had three posts on ideas that stick – if you didn’t see them, check them out here 1, 2 and 3.

Stage 5 – Message Purpose

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The second half of the preparation process is concerned with taking the main idea of the text and forming a sermon that will be relevant and effective for your specific congregation. In the first four stages, the focus was purely on the text, now you have to give significant attention to your listeners. Consequently it is good to do an audience analysis at this stage.

Before you work on the statement of the idea for the message, you have to be clear on your purpose in preaching the message. The purpose of the sermon will influence the phrasing of the idea, the shape of the message and the details (the next three stages). The concern of the preacher, having understood the text, is to communicate effectively – that is, explain and apply the passage. It is not enough to merely explain the passage (a Bible lecture), or to be relevant (a contemporary monologue), you need to do both.  Clearly defining the message purpose will drive you to more effective explanation and relevance.

Previously – Purpose must drive the message design. The need for relevance requires urgent changes in our preaching. There have several posts that highlight the reality that our listeners live in, the reality to which we must be relevant. For instance, we preach to real ordinary people. Effective communication requires that we drop down the ladder of abstraction. We don’t just preach for practical ends, but rather we preach to the heart, but still add practical steps. In our preaching we should demonstrate that we value application. One final point of clarification, relevance and application are related, but they are not twins.

Check Your Dashboard

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I remember a few years ago hearing a message by Bill Hybels.  He spoke about the gauges on his personal dashboard.  If my memory serves me well, he said that his spiritual gauge was looking good, but something was wrong.  He was heading for burnout, but not because of spiritual issues.  He said that he learned there were more gauges than just spiritual.  If you remember the message, feel free to comment and correct my ten year memory.  But the point is a good one.

What is the reading on your spiritual gauge?  Are you walking in step with the Spirit, living close to Jesus and spending time in His presence through His Word?  What about your emotional gauge?  Are you taking time to rest, to laugh, to play, to wrestle with your children or enjoy a walk in creation?  What about your physical gauge?  Are you getting the sleep you need, ingesting healthy fuel and burning energy (and stress) through running, gym-time, judo or traditional native dance?  And let’s ask about the mental gauge too.  Are you being stimulated in your thinking through a variety of reading, some stretching, some relaxing, some outside your primary areas of focus, etc.  And what about stimulating conversation?  That may be hard to come by, but in the context of healthy relationships, it can work wonders on all four gauges!

Whatever gauges you have on your dashboard, take a reading from all of them.  It could be devastating to be looking at only one of them and find yourself burning out unawares.