Stage 4 – Passage Idea

Saying the Text’s Something

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You have a text, maybe more, but certainly one.  You study it.  You determine what it’s purpose was and the author’s idea.  Then you consider your congregation and the purpose of preaching the sermon.  You shape the idea, then the sermon and preach.  Simple really.  But there are some traps we easily fall into.  Here are a couple to consider:

Don’t Overqualify.  Often the text will be saying something quite strong.  We want to make sure we’re not misunderstood or somehow imbalanced, so we qualify it.  This text says this.  But don’t forget that other text that says that, and the other that says something else.  Before we know it, we’ve overqualified the message and the force of the sermon has been dissipated like replacing a bullet with two dozen marshmallows.  There are times when we must communicate careful balancing of a potentially misunderstandable idea.  Generally though, don’t overqualify a message and end up saying nothing.  A lot of balancing can come through future preaching of other texts.

Don’t Overteach.  It’s easy to cram a perfectly good message with extra information that would be best suited in perfectly good other messages.  Either we can try to dump every scrap of exegetical inquiry into the message, or we can cram too many ideas into a one-idea time slot.  “Seven great lessons from the book of whatever” would generally be more effective as seven separate sermons.  Once the ideas start to pile up, people will either synthesize the message in their own way (over which you have no real influence), or they will take one “nugget” and ignore the rest (and that nugget may be a merely anecdotal illustration), or they will simply take away nothing.  Generally speaking, don’t overteach in a message so that in saying lots, people actually take home little to nothing.

Don’t try to say everything.  Don’t try to say lots of things.  Don’t risk the people getting nothing.  Say something.  Say the something the text pushes you towards.  Say the text’s something and try to say it well.

Rumors of Commentaries

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When I get to listen to a sermon, I sometimes pick up on a commentary vibe.  That is, a sense that the preacher has been spending some time in the commentaries.  Sometimes it is overt references to “the commentators” or a specific commentary (I am describing what I hear, not affirming the practice of citing and quoting the commentaries).  Other times it is a series of background facts that feel like they’ve come from some time in the books.

On the positive side I am always glad to know the speaker has been working in preparation for the sermon.  I’d much rather have somebody who has prepared responsibly than someone who is “winging it” without humble reference to “experts” in the field.

On the negative side I sometimes get a feeling of concern.  It’s hard to pinpoint, but it’s a feeling of concern nonetheless.  I wonder whether the commentaries have been conversation partners in the personal study of the text, or crutches leant on to short-cut the process of exegesis.  I wonder whether the commentaries have simulated wrestling with the structure and flow of the text and consequently the sermon, or whether they have merely furnished a dissected structure on which to hang the broken pieces of a partial sermon.

I thank God for commentaries and good commentators.  We are so blessed today with access to these reference works.  I think it is either arrogance or stupidity that would lead us to ignore them in sermon preparation (provided we are blessed with access to them).  However, they are just one part of our preparation.  We have to wrestle with the text, with its flow of thought, its meaning, its purpose, its idea.  We have to wrestle with the sermon purpose, its idea, its strategy, its structure, its flow, etc.

Commentary study alone will provide a veritable pile of tidbits that can easily fill the sermon time.  But remember that as the preacher, our job is not to fill sermon time, but to prayerfully, carefully, and personally develop a sermon that faithfully explains and relevantly applies the text for our specific congregation.

Do We Preach the Bible or Theology?

/ Peter Mead / 3 Comments

As preachers we have to determine a fundamental perspective in our approach to preaching. Do we preach the Bible, or do we preach a theology? Obviously when we preach the Bible we will preach theology, and hopefully we will do that well. And there are times when we must chose to address a particular theological issue (the atonement, for example). But generally, when we have a text to preach. Which is it to be? Preach the text or the system?

Let me be honest. There are some passages that feel slightly less comfortable in my understanding of theology than others. If you’re honest, that happens to you too. But my conviction is that when I have a passage to preach, I want to preach that passage. If my study of the text prods at my theology, then hopefully the theology is the one that gets reshaped.

The comment that sparked this post was just a throw away line. The biblical narrative was read. After a theological background was put in place we were brought back to the story. It was summarized in one sentence. Then the implication given was along the lines of, “the story is that simple, so let’s leave that behind . . .” The rest of the message felt like the preaching of a theology, with the narrative functioning as a loose illustration of the theology. (It would be better if the passage were ignored, rather than abused in this way, then listeners wouldn’t go away thinking they’d heard the passage preached.)

This is not about homiletical technique. It’s fundamental to our view of our role as preachers. We are to preach the text. Prayerfully wrestle with the text. Understand the text. Preach the text. Let the preaching of the text shape the theology, not vice versa.

The Pre-Sermon Bible Study Journey

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Bible study feels like a journey. Perhaps for others the terrain feels slightly different, but I can often discern three stages I go through in the process of studying a passage. I am not referring to exegetical method here, but rather to a sense of progress in my quest to understand the passage.

1. Apparent Clarity. Not in every text, but often the first reading seems relatively clear. Perhaps I recognize the characters, or note some rich preaching vocabulary or concepts. Whether or not I’m thinking about preaching it, the text seems initially clear. This stage does not last long. Once I start questioning the text, I soon move into the next stage:

2. Complexity and Lack of Clarity. As I seek to plumb the meaning of the passage, hunting for the author’s idea, it often becomes murky. There’s word study, lexical study, contextual analysis, wrestling with the flow of the text, alternating between synthesis and analysis, etc. At this point it is sometimes tempting to quit or go for a shortcut (like preaching multiple distinct ideas from the same text). If I prayerfully push on through, there is often the joy of arriving at the last stage:

3. Informed Clarity. This is where the relationship of the parts and the whole make sense. This is where the section is clear in its relationship to the flow of the book. This is a great place to get to in Bible study. This is the place I like to be before I think about preaching the text.

My fear for myself, and others seeking to be Biblical preachers, is that we will fail to preach out of a “stage 3” informed clarity. I see in myself the temptation to quit in stage two and preach some form of textual confusion (obviously we tend to paper over confusion to give apparent cohesion to the message). At times I hear messages where I wonder if the preacher even entered stage two at all. The presence of some “rich” preaching words seems to be enough to spark a whole message in some preachers! Let’s be sure to be diligent, to study and show ourselves approved, to push through to informed clarity for our own sakes, and for the sake of those who have to listen to our explanation of the text!

Wrestling with Flow

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

There are shortcuts in preaching.  Perhaps some are legitimate, although none spring to mind.  But there is one major shortcut that is very common, but that undermines the whole preaching event.  Failing to wrestle with flow.

It is easy to break a passage into its chunks and preach a sermon from each chunk.  Be sure to wrestle with how the text flows together.  If it is a true unit of thought, then there is unity, but it may take work to be able to understand and communicate it.  How do Proverbs 3:11-12 relate to 3:1-10?  How do the small parts of James 1:2-18 fit together?  Why does Luke 18:7-8 come attached to verses 1-6?  It’s easy to preach two or three sermons welded at the seams, but this is a shortcut that is not worth taking.  Be sure to wrestle with the text more and preach one message – of course it may have 2 parts, 3 movements, or whatever . . . but it needs to be one message.  

So, this week, as we prepare our sermons, let us put on our wrestling gear, enter the arena and give our all to pin down the flow!

Check the AA Map On the Bridge

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In the UK one of the companies concerned with caring for stranded motorists is the AA (the Automobile Association). This is essentially similar to the AAA in the US (and I should mention the RAC over here, who I used to work for and remain loyal to!) So the AA produce road maps to help you know where you’re going. Here’s an important tip – when you’re on the bridge, check the AA map.

Preaching, as John Stott taught, is about building a bridge between the world of the Bible text and the world of your congregation. If you look at the 8-stage approach we advocate on this site, you’ll see two parts to the bridge. The first part of the bridge-building is all about the biblical passage. You select the passage(s), study it, discern its original purpose and formulate the idea in it. That puts you 4-stages through the process. You’re half-way. Now check the AA map.

I don’t mean the Automobile Association. I mean your Audience Analysis. This is important because the last four stages are all concerned with effective and relevant communication of the passage(s) to your congregation. The message purpose, idea, outline and details all need to take into account who you are preaching to. So when you’re halfway across, when you’re in the middle of the bridge, check the Audience Analysis map and make sure you know where you’re going!

Mapping Your Thought

/ Peter Mead / 7 Comments

Some people think in a very linear and text-oriented way.  Others don’t.  I find the use of mind maps or concept maps to be helpful in my Bible study.  Somewhere between analysis of details and synthesis of discourse using a conventional outline, I often find myself doodling a map or diagram on paper.  For instance, when trying to define the relationships between the major themes in Hebrews, I started to map out my thoughts.  Suddenly I have a piece of paper with major and minor themes, circles, linking lines, arrows and so on.  I wouldn’t show this paper to my congregation, but it helps me process the mass of information into a more coherent and dynamic understanding of what is there.

Typically I will take appropriate elements of that thought and convert back to an outline form (and if possible, a full manuscript), but there are also possibilities in respect to replacing outlines and notes with sermon maps.  Perhaps I’ll address that another day.  At this stage I am merely suggesting that some may be helped by free doodling of the themes, ideas, flow and theology of a book or section of book during stage 2 – passage study.

There are software tools available, some free to download.  I haven’t explored those possibilities yet, but if you know of one that is easy to learn and use, let us know about it!

Happy New Year! Resolution Anyone?

/ Peter Mead / 3 Comments

To be honest I am not a huge advocate of resolutions.  But this year I have been inspired.  I have one that is very fresh in my thinking right now.  Of course, as preachers, there are many possible resolutions.

Do You Have One?  Perhaps to pray more specifically and fervently, to apply more directly, to call for response more overtly, to preach from a book you’ve never touched before, to continue to develop by reading a preaching book, or maybe one each quarter, to attend a conference or training event for further equipping, to take a formal class or distance learning course, to get specific feedback or pre-sermon input every other month, to begin the process of mentoring another preacher during the year, to get more involved in your church small group program so as to get to know your people more fully, to read through the Bible in English once, twice, more, to read the New Testament through in Greek, to approach someone and request their input as a mentor, to preach first person properly for the first time, to preach from a difficult genre, to refresh or stretch yourself in exegetical skills, theology or some other area of “divinity” studies.  Do you have one?  Maybe one of these, or maybe another of your own, feel free to share a comment as it may motivate others to follow your lead.

Here’s Mine!  All of the above are good ideas.  But the one that is really burning in me at the moment is not new to me.  It’s not about turning over a new leaf.  It’s about continuing to do what I always try to do, but with even more conviction.  Brief story:  The other day I finished preparation for my Sunday evening sermon on Hebrews 13:20-21.  I had some spare time and was curious what other preachers have done with the text since it is not a typical epistle paragraph.  So I did a search and a quick skim through about ten sermons on the text.  I entered the process with a small amount of interest, I finished with a large amount of concern.  Some of the sermons had good content, very orthodox, theologically solid, but why was it that none of the examples I looked at seemed to be trying to preach what the author intended?  Why did they feel like Bible truths strung together by passing reference to these two verses, rather than actually preaching the intended truth of these verses?

My resolution for 2008 is to strive always, passionately and prayerfully, to actually preach the text I claim to be preaching.  You?

Bigger Passage – Bigger Big Idea?

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Is it possible to arrive at one big idea for a passage, even if the passage is relatively long? The answer is yes, as long as you are dealing with a unit. Where there is a unit, there is some level of unity. In almost every case (maybe in every case), a book could be treated as a unit of Scripture. Within that greater unit there are sub-units. Perhaps we could call them major sections. Within major sections there are sub-sections. Within sub-sections there are complete thoughts. These terms are deliberately vague to allow for the different genres. But essentially a book is like a Christmas tree. The higher you go, the more is included within your chosen section.

For example, is it possible to determine a big idea for Ephesians 1:13-14? Yes, in the English Bible this is a sentence with a complete thought. (I know that for Paul it was not a complete sentence, but we’ll get to that!) Now if you step up a level, these two verses would be swallowed into 1:3-14. Again, big idea is possible, but would be different than just the last two verses of the section. Then you could step up a level again and preach that section swallowed within a larger unit – perhaps 1:1-2:10? Certainly you could move up to 1:1-3:21. Again, a big idea that would have to encompass more text, but still it could be a preachable big idea. Then you could move up another level and preach the whole book.

The main idea of a shorter passage becomes a point or movement within the main idea of a longer passage.

The important thing to remember in preaching a larger chunk of text is that you still have to deal with a legitimate unit of Scripture. Also, the details in the smaller units cannot be reflected fully in a succinct big idea. Be very wary of over complicating a big idea for a bigger passage. It may feel more responsible with the text, but it will undermine your main goal of communicating the text relevantly to your listeners.

Take a Good Thing and Make It Better

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

Ideally the passage is studied fully, leading to a strong passage idea.  Then the congregation is taken into account and a message idea is formulated.  Great!  That’s already put the message into a league above many that lack such unity.  But just having a big idea or message idea is one thing, having a good one is another.  Some preachers try so hard to be pithy and clever they’ll sacrifice the idea on the altar of wit.  Don’t do that.  Others have ideas that are almost as long as the message itself.  Maybe more accurate, but they won’t communicate well, they won’t stick.  So how to refine a long idea?  How to take a good thing and make it better:

1. Write out the idea and count the words. I’m not a huge fan of rules in preaching, but several writers have suggested the idea should not be more than 15 or maybe 18 words in length.  I tend to agree, although it’s a flexible guideline rather than a rule.  If you need more, use them, but in reality most ideas could be refined without harming them.

2. Evaluate it phrase by phrase and trim words. Don’t say in six words what could be said in two. Are you using roundabout ways of saying something?  Could you be more direct?

3. Could internal lists be summarized? Within the idea you may have two or three qualifiers for an element, perhaps qualifiers that will be points in the message.  Consider whether these are needed at the level of the idea, or whether a summary term might be more memorable.  If the message is preached well then that summary word will be explained and defined by the message anyway.

4. Is there a more memorable option available?  Some will give up too much to make this step.  Don’t.  But if there is a song title, pithy phrase, play on words, movie line or contemporary proverb that can be adapted to add memorability to the idea, consider it.

Often just getting the idea in any form takes a lot of thinking.  But if you’ve got any energy and time left, consider how it could be leaner, meaner, more precise, more memorable.  None of us get a killer big idea every week.  Even the authors of preaching books only share the strongest few they’ve managed in years of ministry!  But effort invested here is effort well spent.  Work on the idea pays dividends in the message – you’ll be taking a good message and making it even better!