Three ideas about preaching that will rock your world

When I first saw the title for this article I was expecting a lot more than what I actually read. In his article, Alan Nelson presents three ideas that he believes will contribute towards eliminating the “snore factor” in typical preaching that takes place and help increase the impact in communicating the message. I suspect that Alan probably has a few other things he’d want to talk about but was presenting three things that he considers having the biggest impact.

I truly do appreciate the reasons Alan writes this article and in one sense his ideas will “rock the world” of many of his readers because of the unconventionality of some of what he presents. However, I don’t agree with him 100%.

Alan first mentions the importance of determining whether you are a preacher or a communicator. The difference he says,

…preachers begin with the word and communicators begin with the audience.

Alan then goes on to suggest that we should begin message preparation with our audience first. Alan recognizes that this idea may sound sacrilegious but substantiates his suggestion by saying that Jesus, too, began with his listeners. I beg to differ. Jesus began with the truth and applied it to his audience. Sometimes the things Jesus had to say weren’t what his audience was expecting and even drove people away! Certainly, in sharing His message Jesus demonstrated His understanding of who He was talking to and delivered the message in a way that would connect with people but that doesn’t mean He started with them in mind! If, as speakers, we began with our audience (congregations, listeners) then we run the risk of delivering sermons that are shallow and vacuous that cater only to the perceived needs of the congregation rather than presenting the truth to them as the Holy Spirit directs. Our preparation must begin in the Word of God. From that field of in-depth study and personal devotion we can divine the heart of God in the message He wants us to share with people with the insight only He can provide. Then we can “exegete” our audience in the crafting of this message so that it is delivered framed in a context that connects with them. So, Alan’s emphasis on understanding the audience we are speaking to is valid but I simply disagree with his idea that starting with the audience instead of the Word of God is of primary importance in crafting a message.

Next, Alan stresses the importance of regularly evaluating your speaking ability. I agree with this. Every preacher (or communicator ) should have some system in place for providing feedback on the presentation of the message. Of course, hopefully, the feedback would be of the constructive variety and so it’s important that this evaluation process be entrusted to individuals you know who will be honest with you and contribute to your development as a speaker. I have a pastor-friend who sends a taped copy of his messages to a friend of his for feedback and it has helped him immensely.

Since the content of preacher’s messages vary from Sunday to Sunday there are a few things that I find more helpful in evaluations I receive other than simply critiquing the content. In my opinion here’s a few areas that I think are important in any feedback I receive:

1. Are there any annoying distractions that I do?

I’ll never forget the time I first viewed a video of myself preaching. In my homiletics class in Bible College we were video-taped preaching a message to the class and we were told to take the tape and evaluate what we saw of ourselves. By accident I hit the fast-forward button and I laughed when I saw myself – I was hopping from one foot to the other over and over and over and over. When I watched the tape at normal speed it was still obvious!

As preachers be on the lookout for paper rustling, nose picking (yes! I’ve seen that happen), foot fiddling, foot-hopping, pulpit tapping, and pocket fidgeting that could potentially be a distraction to getting the message across. It’s amazing how many things we can be absent minded about simply because it’s a habit we have. Be thankful when someone points out these annoying distractions to you (My wife often helps me on this one!)

2. How often do you keep eye-contact.

Yes, I know you’ve heard of this one before but it’s worth repeating. Something I look for in any evaluation of my preaching is not only whether I’m making eye-contact with the people I’m speaking to but also if it appears artificial or not. Eye contact is an important thing but it’s so easy to just look at the heads of people or furtively glance up from the notes – take a quick few sniper peeks and then retreat to looking at the notes again. Good eye-contact requires speaking to the people you are looking at as if you were carrying out a conversation with them.

3. Is the point clear?

Every evaluation should ask the question, “What was the point of the message?” If the person evaluating you can’t articulate the point of your message then you’ve got to ask yourself if it was really worth speaking! After all, the person evaluating you is naturally going to be paying more attention than the average listener (hopefully) so he/she will be more aware of you are saying. If they don’t get the point then it’s most likely nobody did. In those cases most likely you didn’t get the point either! I remember hearing one person preach that had a great introduction, a vague body, and a fair conclusion but the sad problem was that none of them were connected. At one point in the message I thought this person was trying to share 5 different messages all at once!
So yes, I agree with Alan – having some form of process for evaluation of your speaking is important in becoming a better communicator (and preacher!)

Finally, Alan wrote that the key to people retaining the message you share is that they not only hear it, but experience it. He wrote,

We grossly overestimate what people retain from lecturing, even with fill-in-the-blank outlines and PowerPoint visuals. Jesus often utilized experiential learning that engaged people physically and relationally, such as putting mud on a blind man?s eyes, washing feet, passing bread and wine to learners, and having a coin pulled from the mouth of a fish. By employing active learning ideas into staff and board meetings, Bible studies, and large group worship services, you significantly increase the amount of what people will remember.

I agree with this. I’ll never forget a message I shared for Good Friday three years ago called, “Carry the Wood“. In preparation for this message I got my scroll saw out, some thin plywood, a “Sharpie Pen” and varnish, then I made some small “pocket reminders” that had a cross on it and the saying “Carry the Wood” along with Luke 9:23 as the reference. During the message I had various people read the scriptures connected with the message throughout it’s delivery and then at the end I invited people who wanted to respond to Jesus’ call to “Take up their cross” to come and get one of these “tokens” I had made to keep in their pockets as a reminder of their decision. A few weeks ago I was at the house of one of the members of my congregation and they still had that little cheap pocket thingamajig sitting on the counter with the rest of their pocket stuff. And when I asked him about it – he said he still remembered the message (and he did!). So yes, when people not only hear a message but in some way experience it it makes a huge difference in how much they remember. By the way – Alan suggested a resource in his article that can be helpful in creating these experiences (see www.unforgettables.org).

One more thing when it comes to experiences. Nothing, and I mean nothing beats the experience of anointed preaching and Holy Spirit visitation. When people experience the presence of God it leaves an indelible imprint in their lives that will never be forgotten. That’s why it is of vital importance that message preparation be soaked in fervent prayer and everything you write and prepare is surrendered to the direction and leading of the Holy Spirit!

One time I had a finely crafted and prepared message that I was convinced was going to be a humdinger and then during the service all through the worship an entirely different scripture text kept coming up in my mind. Through the prayer time I started questioning God on the significance of this text and then some points began to formulate. Finally, just before I got up to speak and was about to utter the first carefully prepared words on my sermon manuscript the quiet voice of the Spirit whispered in my heart, “this isn’t the message for today” and I knew I had to abandon what was on paper and go with what I believe the Holy Spirit had been putting in my heart throughout that service. I ended up sharing one of the shortest messages I’ve ever preached and after I was done there were no people falling over in the aisles or any great revival – in fact I started to doubt that I had done the right thing. But then I got home that day and there was an email from a woman in my congregation who had been struggling the past week and she shared with me that what I shared that morning had hit right on with exactly what she was struggling with. She wrote it was if God really did know what she was needing that morning…well guess what? He did! But if I hadn’t been sensitive to the leading of the Spirit that moment would have been lost.

Preparation is important, understanding the audience you are speaking to is important, feedback on your message delivery is helpful, and utilizing ways of involving your hearers in experiencing the message helps with retention. But preacher, never forget, never underestimate, never leave out the most important aspect of message preparation – surrendering all your efforts to God’s divine direction and presence!