Moving Your Preaching Beyond Default­ – Part 2

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There are many defaults that could be highlighted.  The fact presenter, exhorter and plodder are just three.  Perhaps you can give yourself another title to underline the tendency you see in your own preaching.  Then prayerfully consider how to push yourself beyond what is comfortable for you, or even what is affirmed by others. 

The fact presenter needs to wrestle diligently with sermonic purpose and audience awareness.  The exhorter needs to purposefully engage with the full range of needs present in their congregation, as well as increase sensitivity to the intention of biblical writers.  The plodding passage guide needs to study not just for phrase-by-phrase understanding, but for a fuller understanding of the flow of thought and emphasis, not to mention creative means by which to structure the message.

Here are a few more ways to stretch yourself beyond default, whatever your default may be: 

  • How can you preach so that people will not just know the passage, but also experience it?
  • How can the message itself be constructed as a plot to be experienced by the listeners?  As preachers we can easily dissect a biblical plot (narrative) and end up preaching an interesting but lifeless set of parts.  We should let story be story, but more than that, how can we take a didactic sermon and add features of plot to it?
  • How can the message maintain tension or intrigue throughout?  This means careful consideration of how each point works within itself, and how they work in relation to each other.
  • How can the transitions be worked for maximum effectiveness?  How can they be smooth rather than clunky, clear rather than random?

Moving Your Preaching Beyond Default

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In every area of life we naturally have a default mode. It’s what comes naturally. It’s the way we function without adding thought and effort. This is true in any relationship, any hobby, and also in any preaching. If you are preaching for the first time, you are probably all thought and effort. You’re probably trying to fill the time, survive the experience and not make a fool of yourself. But for those of us who’ve preached a few times, perhaps its time to evaluate ourselves and push beyond default. In this post I will suggest some default modes I’ve observed in myself and others. In part two I will suggest some ways to crank it up a level.

Default Mode – Bible Fact Presenter. It is easy to study a passage at length and then fill the preaching slot with facts you have gleaned in the process. Historical awareness and Bible trivia may impress people to a certain extent, but this approach will usually hide from questions about purpose. What is the sermon supposed to achieve? Just because your information comes from the Bible or is about the Bible, does not make it a truly biblical sermon. The passage has not been inspired, recorded, copied, canonized and translated just to be a source of trivia.

Default Mode – Ethical Exhorter. It is easy to define a purpose, irrespective of the nuances of a passage, and then harangue the listeners. Some preachers never say anything strong, but others can’t seem to say anything but. Again, some people will be impressed by passionate finger pointing. Indeed, some people seem to have a strange theology that affirms the need to receive a verbal thrashing from the pulpit, somehow fulfilling a kind of personal penitence. The Bible does exhort us in many ways, but it does so much more, and listeners are also complex creatures. We must carefully consider our sermon purpose in light of the text’s purpose and the need of our listeners.

Default Mode – Plodding Passage Guide. Given a biblical passage and a piece of time, it is easy to methodically plod through the passage trying to run out of passage and time at the same moment in the meeting. In this approach every phrase or sentence in the passage is considered equal, given equal explanation and roughly equal time. In reality time will often start to slip away and the last part of the passage will often be short-changed. All Scripture is inspired and every word counts, but not every word counts equally in a sentence or a section. Sometimes a significant proportion of a text may require very little explanation or development, while another part may require diligent focus in our presentation.

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Laughter In The Pews – Part 2

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A couple more thoughts on the use of humor in preaching:

Beware of the temptation to stir response by using cheap-shots.  While effective humor is either natural or difficult to pull off, cheap-shot humor is actually quite easy.  It is easy to take cheap-shots at a culture or gender or certain occupations.  It is easy to get a reaction with such humor.  But think very carefully.  Just because people may laugh now, that comment could linger longer than you intended and ultimately become a significant distraction.  I recall one sermon I heard a few months ago.  In the space of two minutes the speaker managed to throw out two quick cheap-shots.  Both got a reaction.  One was at the expense of the president of a nation.  The other was at the expense of the main broadcasting company in another nation.  Both comments were ill-informed.  Both were borderline offensive to the two nationalities targeted.  Both left a bitter taste in the mouth.  Unfortunately for the speaker, those two nationalities formed 90% of his congregation.  Why is it that six months later I remember those one-liners so clearly, but can’t recall the “important” elements of the sermon?

Laugh at yourself rather than at others.  In the example just described, the cheap-shots at other nationalities were only made worse by an apparent unwillingness to laugh at himself or his own culture.  Without making yourself out to be a fool, don’t take yourself so seriously that you elevate yourself over your listeners.  

Where there is no humor, smile appropriately.  A sermon or occasion may not be conducive to the use of humor.  You may be personally challenged in the area of humor.  Or you may be in tough preaching situation, such as preaching through a translator in a foreign culture.  Don’t despair.  Look for opportunities to express joy and delight through well-placed and natural smiles.  God gave us smiles to communicate warmth, affection, connection and life.  Laughter often seasons a sermon effectively, but a natural smile should be a staple element in almost any message.

Laughter In The Pews – Part 1

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There are differing views on the place of humor in the pulpit.  For some, the somber reality of the occasion precludes any place for humor.  For others, humor is considered one of the most effective tools in the preacher’s toolbox.  I naturally find many reasons to laugh throughout the day.  So naturally there will be some humor in some of my messages.  Filter these comments through your own theology of humor and laughter in the preaching event:

Joke-telling is a very complex skill, assume you don’t have it.  Hershael York would go so far as to instruct his students not to tell jokes.  I tend to agree with him.  Most people are not effective joke-tellers.  The necessary combination of clarity, timing, demeanor and so on require very fine tuning.  Often a joke will be placed at the start of a message, which is actually a risky moment for something that needs such precision.  I am not a joke teller.  I’m thankful that I know that.  If you think you are, then it is probably worth getting the honest opinion of several others (preferably those gifted in bluntness  and tactlessness) before you exhibit your skill from the pulpit! 

Humor does not have to come from jokes.  Often the most effective humor relates to subtle comments, passing observations, sometime bizarre comparisons.  If an element of a passage is funny, simply recognize that and help others to see it (most Christians need help not to read the Bible with a stained-glass voice!)  An attitude of delight in a passage, a message and a group of people will often result in quite natural and appropriate humor during delivery.

Delivery is More Than What You Say – Part 2

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There are three more channels of non-verbal communication. Litfin’s introductory text, Public Speaking, gives a helpful summary of each:

4. Physical appearance – Whether you like it or not, people infer a lot from how you look.  Be consistent with your message, your listeners and the occasion. The question is not if you will communicate by your appearance, but what you will communicate by your appearance.

5. Facial expression – Over half of our non-verbal messages are transmitted through the face. Default should be relaxed and pleasant. Then vary according to what you are saying. You may be very expressive before delivery, then frozen during delivery. It is easy to inadvertently communicate hostility through a furrowed brow, flared nostrils, a tight jaw or squinting eyes. Bright lights can have a huge effect on our facial expression too. Be aware.

6. Paralanguage – everything communicated by the voice apart from the words. The intonation can radically change the meaning, while keeping the same actual words. Thus it is important to use the voice carefully, fully and attractively. Attractiveness of voice, according to Litfin, involves articulation, rate, loudness, pitch and quality.

Delivery is More Than What You Say – Part 1

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Any beginner’s course in public speaking will soon instruct that effective delivery is so much more than mere word choice. Any self-evaluation of early attempts at preaching will probably point to the same thing, and if it doesn’t, a helpful listener will soon point it out! Dr.Duane Litfin, president of Wheaton College, is the author of Public Speaking: A Handbook for Christians. In his chapter on delivery he lists six channels of non-verbal communication. It would do us good to evaluate our awareness of these channels as we seek to communicate effectively. The first three:

1. Proxemics – the perception and use of space. Not an easy subject to grasp, but specifically helpful in three respects. First, there is the issue of distance. Physical distance is related to psychological distance. Generally speaking we should minimize the distance between speaker and listeners. Second, Litfin mentions elevation. If you are elevated above them, this suggests that you consider yourself above them. If you are below the congregation (amphitheatre), then the dynamic is reversed. Usually it is better to be on the same level if possible. Third, obstructions. A blocked view means blocked communication. This can refer to floral displays, a bulky podium or even your notes. Let people see you.

2. Kinesics – technical terminology for body language. This incorporates gesture, posture, movement. There are very few rules, but make sure your physical action complements and reinforces what you say. Request feedback from listeners, and watch a video once in a while. Without knowing the term “kinesics,” people instinctively know what you are communicating nonverbally.

3. Eye behavior – small things, but very powerful in communication. Don’t look above people, don’t look past people, look at people. Select an individual and look them in the eye for a moment before moving to another person somewhere else in the congregation. If you have eye contact with one person, several people feel connected with you, but if you avoid eye contact, then all will feel left out. Consider the earlier posts on “no-notes preaching.”

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World Four

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The world of the Bible, the world of contemporary culture, and the world of the local congregation. Three worlds in which the effective preacher must be able to move freely and knowledgeably. Then there is a fourth world in Robinson’s list. This is the inner world of the preacher. This one is easily neglected. Yet it is critical because it can color everything else.

As a preacher, I am studying the Bible, determining author’s idea, wrestling with sermonic purpose, considering effective ways to communicate, etc. Yet I do not stand aloof from the process of building the bridge as some kind of outside contractor. I am part of the culture. I am usually part of the congregation. I have my own presuppositions, history, family issues, temperament, baggage and emotional perspectives. The more we can prayerfully understand ourselves, hopefully the better we can avoid our own baggage becoming dead weight in our sermons. Homiletical harangues, sermonic scoldings and religious rants are often born out of personal issues. These tirades spell trouble for our listeners, so consider the fourth world. It is not healthy to navel gaze, but it is also wrong to be oblivious to our own inner realities. Allow the Holy Spirit, personal times of evaluation, helpful books from Biblical counselors and interaction with close friends help you know yourself. You’re building a bridge, know how your subconscious life may pre-determine the direction and manner of your construction.

World Three

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After mentioning the world of the Bible and the world of the contemporary culture, Robinson mentions the third of four worlds – the world of the specific local congregation.

His observation that the local church congregation has a very specific culture of its own that only partially reflects the broader culture around is spot on. What is true of this particular congregation? Rural, suburban or urban? Established or new? Educational level? Socio-economic strata? Past crises and present struggles? Interpersonal dynamics? Sin-stained baggage? The two “worlds” of culture and congregation do overlap, but it is helpful to distinguish them so that the preacher doesn’t think that a message will work without change anywhere in a culture. As preachers we must do everything we can to know the specific people we are preaching to. If you are the pastor, be a continual student of your people. If you are a visiting speaker, you may only have fifteen minutes to familiarize yourself, but use those fifteen minutes to the max by asking questions without ceasing. You’re building a bridge, know where it has to land.

World Two

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John Stott’s classic book on preaching was entitled Between Two Worlds. His metaphor for preaching has been quoted by a generation of preaching writers. The preacher must inhabit both the world of the Bible and the world of the contemporary listener in order to build the bridge between these two worlds. Haddon Robinson suggests there are four worlds with which the preacher must be very familiar. The world of the Bible comes first. Of course, if preaching is to be expository this world must be present and must be first in the list. Second, he lists the world of contemporary culture. How are we to familiarize ourselves with the culture in which our people are immersed every day?

A preacher cannot hope to communicate effectively if their life is lived in a cultural vacuum, secluded in solitude from the people to whom they preach or the culture in which they live. It is important to have our eyes open. Observe society. Don’t just drink in societies messages without discernment. But use the same skills we use for sermon preparation on the messages all around us. What is the main idea of that advert? What was the big idea in that movie? What is the intended purpose of that song? Without conforming to the culture around us, we should be familiar with the movies that define the thought of our culture, the books people read, the music that forms the background noise of life. Let your specific congregation (world three), determine which aspects of culture you pay most attention to. A rural aging congregation may be relatively untouched by movies, music and sports. So with the limited time you have, select carefully where you can best get your finger on the pulse. Book reviews? Specific magazines and newspapers from all sides of the political spectrum? News or culture watching websites? Certain blogs? Your people live in this world all week, and if you hope to communicate to those still outside the church, this becomes even more critical, because the world of the local congregation has not become theirs yet.

The Holy Spirit and Your Preaching – Part 2

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Thankfully preaching is not just you and your listeners. It’s so much bigger than that. Your preparation is critical stewardship before God. Their openness to listen is also a vital stewardship of their opportunity. But there is also the Holy Spirit:

The Spirit of God is at work long before the sermon passes through the air. The work of God in the people of God is constant. Our privilege is to be a tool in that greater work. So long before we stand to preach, the Spirit of God has already been working in peoples’ lives – drawing them to Christ, convicting them of sin, disciplining believers, orchestrating life’s circumstances and so on.

The Holy Spirit is critical in the delivery of the sermon. The older writers referred to the “unction.” Today we might refer to the “anointing.” The fact is that true preaching goes beyond our preparation and ability (both of which require of us good stewardship), to have a contagious vibrancy that can only be credited to the delivery taking place in the power of the Spirit. This is not something that can be stirred up by our own pre-delivery ritual, but can surely be harmed by our character, motives, attitude – by sin.

The work of the Spirit continues after the sermon is finished. Thankfully it is not our responsibility to follow up on every individual in minute detail, convicting, encouraging, filling, urging, etc. When we lay our effort before the throne, God’s work presses on. Praise the Lord.