Category Archives: delivery

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Making An Emotional Connection With Your Passage

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Look at the image. If you’re like me, many times we make a rational connection with our Sunday preaching portion (e.g., 1 Cor. 15 and all the proofs/arguments for the resurrection). Goodness, I’m in a Bible Church so I don’t feel an emotional connection to anything! But that’s not important right now.

What is important is understanding why making an emotional connection with our Text is so important to preaching. It has to do with one of the top characteristics of all good preaching:

the presence of passion.

I just finished reading, Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-speaking Secrets of the Word’s Top Minds, by Carmine Gallo.

I selected that book to continue my practice of reading one new book the week before I begin teaching a new class. I am currently teaching Advanced Homiletics to a fine group of students in the MAM or MDiv program at Lancaster Bible College/Capital Seminary in Lancaster, PA. This year I selected Gallo’s book because I wanted to spend some time reading about effective communication (I’m usually reading heavy hermeneutics stuff throughout the year).
I wasn’t surprised to read: “passion is the key to mastering a skill like public speaking.” (p. 8)
It’s one of the keys to “mastering a skill like” preaching too. Chances are good that if you heard a “good” sermon, passion was one key ingredient. Which is why Gallo writes,
“Dig deep to identify your unique and meaningful connection to your presentation topic….passion is contagious, literally. You cannot inspire others unless you are inspired yourself. You stand a much greater chance of persuading and inspiring your listeners if you express an enthusiastic, passionate, and meaningful connection to your topic.” (p. 17)
We might think that would be automatic for preachers: “Of course we preachers are deeply passionate about every preaching portion we ever preach.” Right? Wrong. Especially if you are preaching through books of the Bible. The topical preacher has a better chance of connecting emotionally with their topic/texts because they selected it for a reason. Expository, through-the-Book preachers don’t have that luxury. The next Text is, well, the next Text. It might be up your alley or it might not.
So, what can we do to make an emotional connection with this weekend’s preaching portion?
  • Love God this week. Feel something for Him. You know it’s possible for us to study hard all week and not do this, right?
  • Love His people in your church this week. Feel something for them. You know it’s possible for us to study hard all week and not do this, right? (these first two form the foundation for the next one)
  • Identify the one place where you are inspired by your preaching portion. How did it cause you to worship God as you studied it?
Before Sunday, make an emotional connection with your passage so you can say with 2004 TED presenter, Matthieu Ricard, “‘I am just full of joy to be able to say a few words about…’” (p. 23)

Preach well so God receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Listening to Yourself While You’re Preaching

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Every once in a while I realize I’m listening to myself while I preach. And it’s a good thing because sometimes I need to back up and correct or clarify myself. If only we had an autocorrect feature built into our sound system! It would be helpful because, if you’re like me, you don’t naturally pay attention to what you’re saying while you’re saying it.

In his theology of preaching, God’s Human Speech, Bartow writes: “Preachers are self-critical, that is to say, throughout the homiletical process, in the preparation and delivery of sermons, and, afterwards, when the preaching moment is revisited. This does not mean that preachers are ‘uptight,’ forever second-guessing themselves. But it does mean that they are self-aware, conscious of what they are doing, not just before and after, but also while they are doing it.” (p. 129, emphasis added)
It was the “while they are doing it” part that jumped out at me. Being self-critical during sermon delivery is not automatic, but the congregation is better for it when it happens.
Here’s what I’ve experienced that helps me listen carefully to myself while I’m preaching:
  1. The better I know the material, the easier it is for me to listen to myself while I’m preaching. I’m not thinking about what I’m going to say next. When I’m prepared in heart and head I’m in the moment.
  2. There are times in the sermon when I know I didn’t use the right word. When I catch myself, I can back up and use a better word. There’s no shortcuts to expanding one’s vocabulary. Next to my Bible, my thesaurus gets a tough workout every week.
  3. There are times when I know I wasn’t clear. Writing out the sermon manuscript word for word helps decrease the chances of being unclear on Sunday. But there’s usually times when a puzzled look in the congregation tells me it’s time to pause for clarification.
Bartow writes, “Somehow we know that something just said needs modification, amplification, correction. Somehow we sense our involvement or lack of it, our believability or unbelievability. We sense the involvement or lack of it of our congregants too. And we take action as needed on the basis of our tutored (by our criteria) instincts.” (p. 130)

So, before Sunday be ready to listen to yourself preach so that God’s glory is enhanced in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Avoiding “Ping Pong” Preaching

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Not that long ago I finally finished reading Bartow’s, God’s Human Speech. I say, “finally,” because for years I’ve read authors who quoted Bartow. In the book he says,

“there is no need for what has been called ‘ping pong’ speech, exposition followed by application: ‘This is what the text meant then, here is what the text means now.’ Whatever the exegetical method behind the sermon, in it, with texts of Scripture, God speaks to us in the present….It may deal with the past. it may look to the future. But its stance from beginning to end is in the here and now.” (p. 131)

There is no need for ping pong preaching because of the nature of Scripture. In Scripture God is addressing us. But expositors, in an effort to be biblical, often spend precious sermon seconds in background material and historical exegesis. As I’ve written before, preachers are often more historian than theologian (real bloggers would now write, “tweet that”).

Remember, our task isn’t to talk to our listeners about the Bible, but instead, we talk to them about them from the Bible. God is addressing us every Sunday.

To avoid bouncing back and forth and giving your congregants chronological whiplash, try the following:

  • begin the sermon with a clear, concise statement about how we will worship in response to this revelation (somewhere in the introduction, say, “This morning we worship by…”)
  • think in terms of “you” and “us” and “we” instead of “the Corinthians…”
  • translate as much exegesis as possible into theology that functions for and addresses the church (as opposed to historical, exegetical fragments about the text)
  • repeat and restate the intended worship response at strategic moments/minutes in the sermon (as opposed to only thinking about a big idea that summarizes the content)
  • rhetorically speaking, speak in such a way that your listeners never forget that God is addressing us.

Before Sunday, especially this coming Easter Sunday 2017, write your sermon manuscript–yes, you should write it out and leave it in your study (another topic for another time!)–with as little ping pong approach as possible.

Preach well so God receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Talk to Them About Them from the Bible

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I recently had the privilege of hearing 12 student sermons for the final grade in two sections of Advanced Homiletics at Lancaster Bible College/Capital Seminary and Graduate School.

Haddon Robinson once said that he heard so many bad sermons it’s a wonder he was still a Christian. Yikes!

One preaching deficiency I see each year and experience myself many weekends if I’m preaching any other genre other than NT epistles is getting caught in lecture mode. Preaching through Judges has been especially challenging in this respect.

Lecture mode is when I am talking to congregants about the Bible. I am not talking to them about them; I’m talking to them about the Bible. I’m giving them all kinds of good information about the particular preaching portion. But I’m not talking to them.

A huge part of expository preaching is relaying God’s message to the Church. Theological exegesis involves discovering how God’s Word in a particular preaching portion functions for the Church. So, preaching is not primarily me talking to my parishioners about the Bible. It’s about me talking to them about them from the Bible. God’s Word is addressing us.

I’m currently reading Green’s, Practicing Theological Interpretation.

Using the epistle of James as an example, Green asks, “Who is the ‘you’ to whom James addresses his letter? Are we willing to be that ‘you’?” (p. 15).

Are you willing to address your congregants the way that your preaching portion is addressing them? If you are, that means minute-by-minute you will be talking to them about them from the Bible.

Before Sunday, look at your notes. Do you read yourself talking to them about the Bible or about them from the Bible? Are you preaching or lecturing?

Preach well so God receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Church Has Left A Bad Taste In Their Mouth (part 5 of What Are Our Listeners Thinking?!)

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In this series I’m highlighting some of the insights gained from reading, Belief Without Borders: Inside the Minds of the Spiritual but not Religious (by Linda Mercadante). I wanted to get a better understanding of what many of our congregants bring to the equation each time we preach. This kind of information affects sermon content and delivery.

For instance, many of our listeners have had previous relationships with other churches (it would be interesting to know what percentage of our parishioners have no history with a prior congregation). And many of those relationships were not good. This was one of the experiences shared by all five types of spiritual but not religious (SBNR’s) interviewees.

That means they already have a bad taste in their mouth when they sit down at your table and eat your spiritual food. One person reported:

“my mother and father would get mad at the church and pull us all out and I was too young to have a voice in the matter…” (p. 44).

Mercadante summarizes a common refrain: “[they] would find a tenet with which they disagreed, or they became disappointed with the all-too-human qualities of the average congregation, spiritual group, leader, or participant. Either they found the beliefs ultimately unbelievable, or felt that members were not living up to them.” (p. 52)

Here’s what I’m trying to do to help them reconnect with our church while I preach:

  • before Sunday morning, pray for their healing
  • showcase the relationship I have with the connected congregants through friendly sermon dialogue (it has a way of showing the hesitant that this is a safe place for their souls; they tend to get caught up in the relationship)
  • let them know you know they might disagree with a statement and address their concern as you prove your point (quasi-apologetics)
  • talk frankly about what one of my colleagues calls being a “messy church” (admit that we don’t always live up to what we believe; be honest about who we are)
  • mix in genuine smiles with all the serious sermon stuff (I’m still amazed at how strangers react to smiles in and out of church)

Preach well for the sake of God’s reputation in the Church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Expository Lecturer or Expository Preacher? Which one are you?

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You may have seen this picture. There’s two ways of looking at it. You can see the left side of a young woman’s face looking away from the camera or you can see an old hag looking sideways at you. If you can’t see both, don’t panic. The post may still be helpful.

Years ago I learned from Haddon Robinson that there were two ways to look at preaching. I paraphrase it this way:

Preachers don’t talk to parishioners about the Bible. They talk to parishioners about them from the Bible.

Last Thursday afternoon I enjoyed the privilege of meeting with other preachers and teachers of Scripture to talk about a strategy of keeping our sermons aimed at the listeners. In other words, how can we function as preachers, not lecturers when we’re trying so hard to be biblical.

  • Review your style and see how many sermon minutes are spent talking to our listeners about the Bible. You’ll be surprised how many.
  • In the introduction, tell your listeners how your preaching portion is intended to facilitate worship (what will this Scripture do to them). Don’t wait for the “application” section.
  • Throughout the sermon, repeat and restate that intention. Usually we think about repeating and restating major points or major themes. Don’t let them forget that God is speaking to them.
  • Include background material sparingly. David Buttrick wrote, “The gospel is not biblical background” (Homiletic, p. 347). Some of us need to be reminded of that. My rule is: only give background information that is absolutely necessary for understanding the meaning of your preaching portion. If you use that rule, you will discover you can save precious preaching minutes.

Before Sunday, while you’re working on your sermon manuscript, check your stance. Is it mostly “about the Bible” or “about them from the Bible”? Expository preachers never let congregants forget that God’s Word is aimed at them for the sake of His reputation in the Church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Preach a good sermon, will ya?

Randal

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“I’m just going through the motions”: (part 2 of What Are Our Listeners Thinking?!)

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According to Linda Mercadante’s book, Belief Without Borders: Inside the Minds of the Spiritual but not Religious (Oxford, 2014), some of our congregants might be thinking: “I’m just going through the motions. My heart is not in this.” It made me wonder if I ever address them during the sermon.

Belief without Borders: Inside the Minds of the Spiritual but not Religious

The spiritual, but not religious (SBNR), population is growing and I wanted to know what they were thinking about church and Christianity (in that order). The reason is because our parishioners breathe this same air in every day and inevitably bring some SBNR thoughts to church.

This phenomenon of going through the motions is not new to SBNR folks. Churchgoers have always had to fight this at times. But, evidently, a number of people who classify themselves as SBNR attend church while their faith gets weaker, not stronger.

Mercandante writes: “Those whose beliefs are weakening often hang on for a time as ‘ritualists,’ that is, going through the motions rather than being deeply committed” (p. 9).

So, this made me wonder how many of my listeners are experiencing a weakening of their faith. How many are ritualistic with no heart in their worship? How many are just going through the motions without feeling a deep love for God and neighbor?

And then I wondered if I ever address this crowd at all during Sunday sermons. Do you address them? Do you ever say something like: “Some of you know your faith is not strong right now. You know you’re just going through the motions. Remember that our Heavenly Father loves you dearly. So much so that He gave His only Son for you…” (Here I’m resisting the urge to add more guilt on them by telling them how to fix their problem through their own actions.) They’re there. We need to let them know we know they’re there.

May God give us wisdom to preach to this kind of listener so He receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

 

 

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Preaching in Relatively Emotionless Bible Churches

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Our preaching portion for this past Sunday evening began, “Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him…” (2 Thessalonians 2:1). So, I began the exposition with that concept. Our Lord is returning and we are going to join Him.

Nothing happened.

Preaching without notes means that, when I’m not looking down at my Bible, I’m looking at congregants. It’s a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing when I see them responding; it’s a curse when I see that their emotions are turned off.

Over the years I’ve half-joked with our faith-family something like this: “Let’s be careful. We’re a Bible Church. We know things; we don’t feel things.”

But, tell me how it’s possible for a Christian to hear about the coming of Jesus and not feel something! That tells me that my job is not just to teach what the arrival of Jesus means. I have to also urge them to feel it. I argue that if they don’t feel something, that says something about their faith.

Some of it’s habit: we’re in the habit of learning without feeling. Some of it is apathy created from living in America where we have things so good most of the time. Watch the reaction of young people when they hear about the arrival of Jesus. Then watch the reaction on the faces of elder people who are battling terminal illness. Circumstances do tend to affect the way we feel our faith.

It’s like when someone says, “I sure hope Jesus doesn’t come back until after our wedding.” You understand their sentiment.

Before Sunday, see if there are places in your preaching portion where an emotional response is the natural result of saving faith. Along with explaining the doctrine, think through what you can say to help switch their emotions on. Some congregants will beat you to it. Feed off them as you urge the faith-family to feel what they know so that God receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

And preach a good sermon, will ya?!

Randal

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What I’m Learning About Preaching From American Idol Judges

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I admit it. I enjoy watching competitions like American Idol and The Voice. Partly because I love to hear good singing. Partly because the judges teach me about effective communication to contemporary listeners. Even though I focus almost entirely on the hermeneutical side of homiletics, I still try to think about effective communication.
There are many similarities between good singing performances and good preaching (notice I did not add, “performances,” because I do not like to think of preaching in terms of a performance).
So over the years, over and over again, I hear the judges tell a contestant:
“You need to make a connection with the audience and the way that happens is by losing yourself in the lyrics and telling the story so it’s believable. When you feel what you’re singing about, your audience will feel it too and believe your story.” Or something like that.
Do you see how this applies to preaching? A preacher losing himself in his sermon and telling the Story so it’s believable? A preacher feeling what he’s preaching about and conveying such feeling that his listeners find themselves believing it too?
Now, let’s ask ourselves what happens when we preach without doing this. How do you think we connect when we preach without losing ourselves in the message or without conveying the fact that we believe the Story? Not very well.
One of the authors in, Preaching the New Testament, included Jana Childers’ observation found in her book, Performing the Word: “In her view too much contemporary preaching lacks passion and does not sound like the preacher believes what he is preaching” (p. 236 of Preaching the NT).

I can tell you that many young preachers in my classrooms over the years have heard me say something very similar about their sermons. I wonder what the judges would say about my preaching.

Before Sunday, be sure your faith in the message allows your to lose yourself in the sermon and tell the Story in a way that’s believable. Feel what you’re preaching about and convey that emotion to your congregants.

For the sake of God’s reputation in the Church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21), preach a good sermon will ya?!

Randal

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How to Sweeten Your Sermons with a Little C.R.E.A.M. (Part 5 Metaphor)

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For the past few weeks I’ve been encouraging us to think carefully about the words we use when we preach. C.R.E.A.M. is a good way to think about crafting phrases that are enjoyable to hear and that communicate effectively. The concept comes from Humes (The Sir Winston Method) and stands for: contrast, rhyme, echo, alliteration, and, finally…

Metaphor. You could also use similes in this category. The Bible is full of metaphor: Isaiah 40:6 says, “All flesh is grass…” or Psalm 110:3 “we are…the sheep of His pasture.”

We are also very familiar with the use of similes. We say things like: “He as slow as cold molasses” or “She ran like a greyhound.”

Before Sunday, look for places in your manuscript where you can use metaphors or similes to communicate vital pieces of information in your sermon. Of course, that presupposes that you are working on your manuscript as you study each day. Can you use metaphor in your sermon title (“Torn by God’s Thorn in the Flesh” from 2 Cor. 12:1-10; notice this also uses rhyming)? Check also for the key statements in your sermon. Maybe your main idea.

The pictures will help your congregants understand God’s Word better. Your listeners will appreciate the style of communication and the content.

Because of this series of blogs, I was reminded again of how much C.R.E.A.M. can be applied to preaching. Looking back over the last few sermons, I found that each manuscript included at least one of the elements of style. It’s my opinion that you can put too much CREAM in the sermon (unlike in real life on dessert!). Too much of it and you end up inadvertently drawing attention to the style and not the substance of the sermon. A little bit of CREAM, however, does sweeten the sermon for the listeners without sacrificing content.

Preach well for the sake of God’s reputation in the Church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal