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!

Purposes – There May Be Two!

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It’s a fairly simple truth, but an important one. Sometimes, perhaps even often, the passage purpose (stage 3 in our model) and the message purpose (stage 5), will differ. While it may sound very orthodox and biblical to suggest that the purpose for preaching any text is the same as the writer’s purpose in penning the text, this is not always the case.

Take 1Corinthians 15 as an example. Paul is addressing a church caught up in an idea of their time. The idea that the church had swallowed from its culture was that bodies are bad, being spiritual means being non-physical and there was essentially nothing more to come in the future, because they had already “arrived” spiritually. So, for example, when Paul tells them that both the living and the dead believers will have their bodies transformed at the coming of Christ, that would have been felt quite forcefully. Today however, our common thinking in the church is often somewhat different. Perhaps a congregation may generally accept the reality of the coming resurrection and not be caught up in an anti-somatic (“anti bodily existence”) philosophy, or perhaps they give no thought whatsoever to our future resurrection. Obviously it depends on the congregation. Just because the need of the people may differ, this does not mean that the text is needed any the less. We just have to be careful to think through the author’s purpose, and our purpose in preaching that text. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful . . . and part of our responsibility is to know our people enough to know what angle on the passage idea they need to receive!

Be sure to think through the author’s purpose in writing any text, but also think through whether your purpose in preaching it will remain the same (sometimes), or differ (sometimes).

The Commitment to Expository Preaching

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Over time words can change their meaning and the connotations attached to them.  This is true of both “expository” and “preaching.”  As you probably noticed, gone are the days when the preacher in town was highly respected and appreciated by all.  Today there are many who view the whole concept of preaching very negatively.  As preachers we might be tempted to avoid the term.  Maybe in some circles that might be a good idea.  For instance, when interacting with a non-believer.  When I’m travelling and sit next to a stranger on the plane, I’ve learned not to shut down the conversation by referring to myself as a missionary, a minister, or a preacher.  Other job descriptions are more intriguing and stimulate further conversation (anything from lecturer in Ancient Near Eastern Spirituality to communications trainer will keep things going).

However, within church circles, let’s not be bashful about the concept of preaching.  In reality the people in your church are not bored with preaching.  If anything, they are bored with your preaching!  I get told that people can’t concentrate beyond 25 minutes of preaching.  I may not say it, but I tend to think that actually they might prefer only 25 minutes of the preaching they’ve heard.  The onus here is not on the church culture to correct its view of the biblical importance of the preaching ministry.  The onus is on us preachers to improve and make sure that the specific preaching our people are thinking of when they refer to preaching is good preaching!  As Haddon Robinson said on one of the early Center for Preaching podcasts, “not all preaching is worth it, but good preaching is worth it!”  Let’s agree on that and press on to develop so that our listeners will not be among the voices of disapproval for this critical ministry.

The Elements of Expository Preaching

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The study of expository preaching can be a lifelong journey. For many of us it should be a lifelong journey. And the complexity of this ministry allows for a lifetime of learning. Consider the complexities of biblical interpretation and the diversity of biblical genre and form. Think about the continual changes in society, not to mention the ever developing experiences and needs of each individual listener. Ponder the numerous variables in effective oral communication, seemingly increasing all the time as advances are made in the fields of communication, rhetoric, education and homiletics. It is clear that there is plenty for us to keep studying and stretching ourselves as preachers: from applied linguistics in discourse analysis to the epistemological paradigms of postmodernity. From family systems dynamics to unintentional perlocutions in the preaching event. There’s plenty to learn for all of us.

But let’s not get caught in a fog of confusion here. The core issues are still the core issues. Preaching must always be concerned with the specific meaning of the biblical author and with the relevant and effective communication of that meaning to contemporary listeners. Preaching remains a spiritual endeavor very much concerned with the work of the Trinitarian God in you and through you. Excellence in Bible study, effectiveness in communication, relevance in presentation, and all of the above in a close reliance on the Spirit of God through prayer. Boil expository preaching down to its elements, and it is not much more than this: God, you, them & Bible study, communication and relevance.

Take stock of the basic elements – where should your learning and passion for growth be focused at this point in the process?

Illustration Variation – Part 2

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A mixed group of people will not all connect with your default type of illustrations from your favorite sport, era of history, Charles Dickens’ story or volume of “sure-fire, guaranteed, pithy, quotable, useable” illustrations.  So what to do?

Determine the purpose of the illustration – The purpose should not be to fill time or just to be interesting.  The illustration is needed in the sermon to either explain, to prove or to apply the truth being communicated.  When you are clear on the purpose, then you can select or craft an illustration that will achieve that purpose.

Target each illustration at a different individual in the congregation – How would this truth be applied in the life of the young mother with three children under the age of four?  Or the recently retired middle-manager now trying to find his role and status outside the office?  Or the art student home from university with questions about what comes after graduation next summer?  Unless you are the chaplain to a football team, it is obvious that sports illustrations won’t work for everyone.  Nor will movies.  Nor lines from old hymns.  Nor literature.  Nor poetry.

If illustrations allow for connection to occur, then make sure that different listeners will have a variety of possibilities to connect.  A sermon with lots of illustration is generally considered more interesting than one without. However, unless there is variation in illustration source and type, a good proportion of the congregation might prefer no illustration at all!

Illustration Variation – Part 1

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Abstract truth served up without some form of illustration is like a rich steak without accompanying vegetables – after a while it is just “too much.” So generally we look for ways to have truth touch down on the tarmac of reality. I tend to prefer the concept of relevant applications rather than illustrations, but for this post, I’ll stick with the traditional term. Today let’s take an inventory of our typical illustrations, then in part 2 we’ll have some pointers for adding variation.

Beware of your default source of illustration – It is so easy to get into a rut. We tend to naturally think in certain ways and illustrate accordingly. Take stock of your illustrations and where they come from. Perhaps you default to a certain sport, or to sport in general, or to movie scenes, or to classical literature, or to poetry, or to a chunky book of random pithy quotes and anecdotes. Try to get out of your default at least for one illustration in every sermon – preferably more than once!

Beware of other defaults in your illustration – It is easy to profile in your illustrations. Perhaps the character that looks good is always you, or someone you love, or always male, or always female. Perhaps your illustrations are always quotes, or one-liners, or two-minute twenty second stories. Predictability can become a distraction once people pick up on the patterns.

People always say they’d rather hear lots of illustrations than none. In reality, if there is little variation in illustration type and source, the majority of listeners will not feel touched by the truth of the sermon. A rich steak needs vegetables, but remember that asparagus is not to everyone’s liking. A sermon of truth plus sports illustrations is like a plate of steak and asparagus for a good chunk of your listeners!

Protecting the Final Preparation

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Yesterday I sat in church next to my wife (after the four children were safely in their classes) and got to listen to my friend preach.  He did well.  So I told him so.  Turns out he had been run ragged in the 24 hours leading up to the service.  I assured him that it had not shown in the preaching anywhere near the extent to which he had felt it.  He responded with gratitude and something along these lines – I determined this would not happen to me again, but I need to revisit the situation.

As you know there are long lists of details that go into a Sunday morning service at church.  All it takes is one person to be away, or a series of minor crises, and suddenly a lot of the last minute hassles can fall on the preacher’s shoulders.  Take a few moments and evaluate yesterday’s preaching experience.  Were there distractions at home, at church, in the last few hours?  Did you find yourself dealing with issues relating to music, seating, announcements, unlocking the church, preparing communion, notice sheets, hymn books, projectors, lights, greeting people, seating people . . . several of these, all of these?

The time to make sure your final preparation is not crowded or distracted is not next Sunday morning.  It is now.  Who can be enlisted to shoulder burdens so that you are free to preach?  Or if someone else is preaching, what can you do to free them for the task?  The New Testament knows nothing of the one-man ministry models so many churches fall into.  Take stock of your duties, divide them into categories and delegate them away.  Ideally, try to find people with a passion for the things you don’t have passion for, but end up doing anyway.  Some people are passionate about selecting songs, welcoming guests, organizing seating, doing the “children’s talk” if your tradition still has that, etc.  Praise God for people with different passions.  Pray for people with different passions.  Take stock of yesterday, revisit the situation before it’s too late . . . again.

Controversy, Defensiveness and Timing

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Obed submitted a comment on The Full Meal Deal concerning the timing of presenting a controversial or challenging topic. I suppose we could complicate things, but it seems to me that there is a fairly simple principle here. Know your listeners well enough to know how they may react to a controversial idea. If they are likely to get defensive, then lay the groundwork first. I use the image of a boxer’s guard (forgive the martial imagery if you are a pacifist in the sporting arena). Is what I am going to say likely to bring up the hands to guard the face? If so, then what follows will only strike to the surface. As a preacher I need to preach so that the hands remain down and the idea gets through.

The classic example of this is Peter on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. “God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ!” That idea was very likely to stir up a negative reaction among a crowd of Jews in Jerusalem just weeks after Jesus’ death. So Peter did not present the idea in the introduction. This idea was not printed on the notice sheet or bulletin (they would have noticed and put the bullet in, so to speak!) This was not a deductive sermon. Peter knew the listeners’ likely reaction, and used the first part of the sermon to prepare the people for the big idea. Once it came, their reaction was not murderous, but they were convicted.

If your idea is controversial. If the listeners are likely to become defensive. Then time the presentation of the idea. Preach so their hands remain down and the idea gets through, not only to the head, but so that they are “cut to the heart.”

Overcoming Fear of Public Speaking

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Michelle just submitted this comment to the site, a plea for help!

I just joined a preaching/homelietics course at my church and we are using Robinson’s Biblical Preaching book. On the first day I learned that we will be giving a fifteen minute sermon at the end of the course. The course is seven wks. long. I’m terrified. I had no idea that I’d be speaking in front of our pastor and the other ladies in the class. I’m so tempted to drop out but it was open to a selected few. I joined because I am a leader for bible study fellowship and we use homiletics. I thought this would be a great way to better myself at the skill of homiletics.
I want to be able to prepare and deliver passages just not in a preaching setting, more of a small group. I have made up my mind to finish the course but I was wondering if there were any resources you could recommend that would help me get over my GREAT fear of speaking in front of large groups.

Anything would help!
Thank You,
Michele

So let’s see if we can help.  Feel free to add your comments to the post and supplement my few thoughts.

Fear of Public Speaking is Normal – You’ve probably heard that manipulated statistic that tells us that more people fear speaking in public than death itself.  The fear is normal.  Over time and with practice the fear subsides and you are left with some level of gentle nervousness.  In this case, Michele, you have to get through one event in order to take this class that will benefit your ministry in Bible Study Fellowship (a very strategic ministry from what I’ve heard!)

People Don’t Think What You Think They Will Think – The fear often relates to what others think in some respect.  It helps to realize that in a preaching class, everyone is in the same boat.  Consequently everyone respects everyone else for going through with it.  Even the pastor was once a first-timer, sitting nervously in a seminary classroom trying to remember his opening few lines as he awaited his turn.  A class like this is typically like a New Preacher’s Anonymous group, and once you speak, everyone is really welcoming and appreciative!

Re-Orient the Group to Your Goal – Since you are taking the class to help you improve your skills for the BSF setting, your pastor may allow you to take a few brief moments at the start to set up the context for your “message.”  People with a context in which to apply what they learn are usually better learners anyway, so why not?  Simply describe the setting as it would be at BSF and then present using what you’ve learned in the course, but in a way appropriate to that setting (so if you normally sit, then sit, for example).  I teach essentially the Haddon Robinson approach and have had people turn the end of course preaching into a youth group lesson, a Sunday School lesson, etc.  It can be done, people will “play along” and it puts listeners mentally “on your turf.”  For nerves, this can help a lot.  (Talk to the leader first and follow whatever restrictions to this advice that they suggest.)

Someone will probably quote the standard “tool” for overcoming fear, that of imagining your audience naked.  I won’t mention that though, because I think it doesn’t quite fit with the more serious realities of preaching!  Ultimately fear that pushes you up against God has to be a good thing.  The course should be a real help for the great ministry at BSF.  Furthermore, you’ve probably already done the main thing – committing to going through with it despite the fear.  You won’t regret it!

I’ve gone on way too long, other tips?

The Smaller Hats Worn in the Pulpit

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This site is dedicated to stimulating biblical preaching.  The main hat the preacher wears is that of the biblical and relevant communicator.  There are lots of angles on that main role, and they are explored post by post on this site and others.  But I would like to mention some smaller hats worn in the pulpit.  These are typically not your main role in preaching (although in a particular sermon they may be), but these are roles to be aware of.  Areas of strategic influence for the preacher:

Materialism Underminer – Throughout the week the people in our congregation are bombarded by messages of materialism.  It’s everywhere they look – billboards, TV, radio commercials, shop windows, magazine racks, etc.  A constant stream of a very powerful big idea.  When we preach, whatever the text and message might be, we break into that stream of information and give a few moments of spiritual reality again.  Perhaps in passing comments or illustrations we even undermine the message of materialism too!  (The same could be said of society and media obsessions with independence, evolution, humanism, etc.)

Family Support Officer – Many people come from, live in or have come out of broken homes.  The enemy is attacking the family unit at every level.  Yet for those minutes on a Sunday morning, people are allowed to look through the windows into your life.  I’m not saying you should air your private laundry, or show-off your family or children (be sensitive to those who don’t have what you have).  However, glimpses into a healthy home can be powerful antidotes to the stream of failure society parades before us.  I still remember the illustrations given from the home life of one of my profs at seminary.  Bruce Fong is now president at Michigan, but in his Multnomah days the Fong family functioned as an inspiration to single me and others.

Missions Mobilizer – We’re living in a world of desperate needs, yet none as desperate as the 9 people dying every 5 seconds, most of whom step into a lost eternity.  The greatest need in world missions today is still people, followed by finance and other resources.  The only source of people who could go and make a difference is the local church.  That puts us as preachers in a key role.  Let’s be aware of the opportunity and inspire our people to be genuine global Christians!

That’s three more hats to ponder.  Any others that come to mind?