Category Archives: delivery

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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

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How to Sweeten Your Sermons with a Little C.R.E.A.M. (Part 4 alliteration)

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C.R.E.A.M. stands for contrast, rhyme, echo, alliteration, and metaphor. From a human perspective, they represent five ways preachers create words and phrases that are pleasing to the ears of those that have ears to hear. You’re working hard with the Spirit to understand your preaching portion. You’re also working hard with the Spirit to best communicate that meaning. Lord willing, your words will work and worship will occur.

When done subtly, alliteration can help you communicate God’s Word effectively. Alliteration is using the same letter repeatedly. Most preachers are familiar with alliteration as an outlining tool. It can also be used in a sermon manuscript to help listeners hear God’s Word and respond.

So, before Sunday, look at the sermon manuscript you’re building. See if there are strategic places where alliteration could help communication take place. Check your sermon title. How about your main idea? What about in the application?

Classmates have used alliteration effectively. David Deters preached Mark 4:35-41 and talked about Jesus, “the nobody from Nazareth.” Or, in his sermon, Ken Carozza described someone having been “numbed with novocain.”

If you’re so inclined to work with C.R.E.A.M., a thesaurus will help you immensely. It’s especially helpful when creating phrases that use alliteration.

If you read part 1 of this series, then you heard me talk about how paying attention to style (word-choice) was not a strong suit of mine. I have to work at it, but I’m still average at best.

It is my desire to effectively communicate in the power of the Spirit. I am vexed at times not knowing for sure whether working with words crosses the line into human-wisdom territory. That might be a great assignment for my next class (Does working with words violate Paul’s model not preaching with human wisdom? Defend your answer.). Not you, though, because you’ve got a sermon to prepare (*smile*).

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

Randal

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How to Sweeten Your Sermon with a Little C.R.E.A.M. (Part 3 Echo)

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A couple of posts ago I mentioned my plan to spend an hour or so in class talking about the importance of using an effective preaching style. We were emphasizing word-choice, the way preachers use words to move listeners in the power of the Spirit toward acts of worship.

It assumes we’ll spend some time thinking about the words we use while we preach. That might mean working on specific words and phrases or working on a full-blown, word-for-word orascript (a manuscript written for the ear).

You realize, of course, that your congregants who listen or watch any media are bombarded by carefully crafted messages. Watch, for instance, how advertisers frame their sales pitches. Watch what journalist do with words to report the news.

C.R.E.A.M. is an easy way to remember five ways to create phrases that parishioners will remember and resonate with. So far we’ve briefly discussed contrast and rhyme. This week we explore the use of echoes, echoes, echoes, echoes… (sorry).

In Galatians 4:4-5 you could say that Jesus Christ was delivered into this world of sin so we could be delivered from this world of sin. Working through the Gospel of Luke recently, I kept reminding our faith-family that Luke wrote to help us be sure our faith is well-placed and well-executed.

Or, in Luke 22:3 we read, “Then Satan entered into Judas…” You could say, “Satan possessed Judas because Judas didn’t possess Jesus.

Notice that, in these examples, content isn’t sacrificed on the altar of cuteness. The goal is to enhance the hear-ability of the content by carefully selected words.

So, before Sunday, look over your manuscript–I know you’re using one!–and see if there are places where echoes could help move your listeners to worship.

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

Randal

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How to Sweeten Your Sermon with a Little C.R.E.A.M. (Part 2 Rhyme)

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One of the ways I work with words during sermon development is by implementing C.R.E.A.M. The letters stand for contrast, rhyme, echo, alliteration, and metaphor.

These five approaches can be applied to the sermon in two ways.

First, you can sprinkle phrases built from these approaches in strategic places throughout a sermon. Work with the key words in your sermon.

Second, you can create a quotable quote surrounding your major theme. If you have that one point that you want to state and restate, that’s a good place to apply C.R.E.A.M.

In both cases and places, listeners’ ears will pick up on these well-crafted phrases and statements.

Last week we began with “C” for contrast. This week it’s the “R” for rhyme.

Before Sunday, see if there are any strategic words with which you can rhyme.

Just this week I responded to an email with: “Christians often experience bouts of doubts.” I could have said it differently, but I felt bouts of doubts sounded better than periods of doubts.

In Romans 8 Paul lists the entities that are groaning as they wait for final redemption. So, in a sermon I went with a synonym to create “a choir of sighers.”

I just watched a creative YouTube ad for Bertolini Sanctuary Seating entitled: Pastor Piper in Great Preaching…Gone Bad. The ad ended with: “The mind can only absorb what the seat can endure.”

While I don’t spend a lot of time on this kind of packaging, I do try to be aware of how the Spirit of God might use my words to help those who have ears to hear hear even better.

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

Randal

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How to Sweeten Your Sermon With A Little C.R.E.A.M. (Part 1 Contrast)

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Lord willing, this Wednesday and Thursday (April 15 and 16, 2015) I will enjoy the privilege of teaching PAS 513 Advanced Homiletics for Lancaster Bible College’s graduate school. Besides spending time making sure we preach with accuracy, I am planning to spend some time making sure we preach with an effective style. I’m especially interested in the aspects of a preacher’s style that deal with word-choice.

My plan is to introduce the students to Humes’ C.R.E.A.M. concept. Years ago I learned of this approach while reading Humes’ book, The Sir Winston Method. In that book Humes records the results of his research into the communication method of Sir Winston Churchill.

The Sir Winston Method: The Five Secrets of Speaking the Language of Leadership

C.R.E.A.M. is one way for preachers to work on their words. It’s a way for us to create quotable quotes or packaged persuasion. It’s about finding just the right way to say what God is saying in our preaching portions. It’s about using language in the power of the Spirit to drive home God’s message.

C.R.E.A.M. stands for:

Contrast

Rhyme

Echo

Alliteration

Metaphor

Let’s start with “C” and using contrast. The old preacher, Vance Havner once said, “Too many of our services start at 11 sharp and then end at 12 dull.”

An ad for the Radisson Plaza Hotel said, “Modern convenience. Historic charm.”

A county-western song contained the phrase, “the city put the country back in me.”

Yesterday during our current in-between-book-studies series, Well-Versed, I preached on Romans 8:28-30 which says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good.” My first thought block in the sermon was defining the kind of person who could claim that promise. It’s the person who loves God. It was easy to work the contrast between being a God-lover and a God-hater: “All things work together for bad for those that hate God.”

Before Sunday, see if you can create contrasts to communicate key concepts in your sermon.

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

Randal

P.S. If you enjoy reading some history about an important figure in world history and gaining some insights into effective communication, you’ll enjoy Humes’ book. It’s certainly one of my top five non-Christian books on communication.

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Believing Your Sermons, Especially When They Don’t!

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Can you tell when your listeners don’t believe you? If you’re an expositor you could ask it this way: Can you tell when your listeners don’t believe God (because you’re telling them what God is saying)?

One of the values of preaching without notes or with few notes is that you have lots of time to look at your listeners. The only problem is that you get to see them not reacting to the message. Do you ever see this look on Sunday?

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It would be easier on us if we didn’t!

I see this most often when God’s Word asks for praise and thanksgiving. Probably I’m part of the problem. I’m from Maine and Mainers (not, “maniacs”) aren’t known for celebrating. Probably part of the problem is being in Lancaster County. Folks in the County aren’t famous for showing much emotion (okay, maybe for the Eagles, Steelers, Flyers, and Phillies). And then, we’re a fundamental kind of Bible Church. I often joke about what that does to our emotions.

But, as you know, much of the problem lies with our carnality. We simply are not gripped by God’s grace like we should be. We seldom relish our riches in Christ. But I need to.

It is important for me to believe my own sermons, especially when some congregants don’t. And I need to fight the urge to allow their look to pull me into the same lack of feelings. It’s a good thing I really believe this Word of God. Sometimes preachers have to believe for the congregants. And in doing so, sometimes God’s Spirit will prompt me to ask them, “Do you believe that?” Sometimes my question will actually help them realize they really do believe it, even though they haven’t been showing it.

Before Sunday, make sure you’re ready to react emotionally to God’s Word and be prepared to help your listeners do the same.

Preach well for His glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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What Kind of Questions Are You Asking This Sunday?

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I just completed three weeks of learning with some excellent Doctor of Ministry students. One of the things I was watching for during their in-class sermons was the kind of connection they were making with their listeners, one of which was me.

More than once, a question was asked in such a way that did not get any reaction from any listener. In other words, the preacher asked a question, but was not wanting or expecting an answer. They asked the question while looking down and did not wait for any response. They quickly moved on to the next statement in their sermon.

I strongly believe that asking the right questions in the right way is one of a preacher’s most important rhetorical devices. So many good things can happen pastorally when we take time to bring our listeners along with the right question asked in the right way (the right way meaning, asking the question in such a way that your listeners know you want them to think and answer quickly).

Last weekend I preached James 5:13-18. One scholar reminded me that James asks over 20 questions in 5 chapters, a lot of questions for that little letter. When you’re studying James, take a look at the kinds of questions he asks. One thing I learned is that James was aiming for an immediate response. For instance, in James 2:4, after telling us not to show partiality, he asks, “have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” Yikes! We want the Holy Spirit to do just as much convicting during our preaching as was happening when James was first heard. Asking the right question in the right way may be one way to achieve that goal.

So, how many and what kind of questions are you asking this Sunday?

Preach well for the sake of His reputation in the Church and in the world.

Randal