Here's an interesting article on right brain preaching. Written by Mark Batterson | 27 October 2009 Let me come right out and say it: The future belongs to right-brain leaders and right-brain communicators. I’m neither a brain surgeon nor the son of a brain surgeon, but my bookshelves are filled with books on neurology. Nothing in the universe is more fascinating to me than the three pounds of gray matter housed within the human cranium. I think the human mind is the magnum opus of God’s creative genius. Neurologists subdivide the brain into regions that are responsible for a variety of neurological functions. The visual cortex handles all input from the optic nerve. The posterior hippocampus stores spatial memory. The medial ventral prefrontal cortex is the seat of humor. Whether you’re humming a hit from the ’80s, solving a Sudoku or interpreting facial expressions, a unique part of the brain…

As a result of reading "Communicating For A Change" by Andy Stanley, I gutted over 20 years of sermon structuring and began a new way of outlining my messages.  I haven't regretted it for a moment. It's a simple outline: Main Point, Me, We, God, You, Us. Here's what that means ... Main Point = what is your one central point?  Stanley echoes Fred Craddock who suggests that the best sermons can be summed up in one sentence.  I often state my main point right up front, saying something like "the one thing I want to talk about" or "the main thing I want you to take home is" ... and them I'm off and running. Me = how does the main point apply to my life?  Or, how have I struggled with the main point?  In the "Me" section, the speaker is trying to connect on a personal level…

I decided to add a new category to my blog -- it's called "Preaching."  It's really about how to communicate your message in the most effective way possible. Since my teenage years, I have been in pursuit of how to preach well.  I joined the speech team in high school and specifically chose Extemporaneous Speaking because it would force me to think on my feet.  You would draw three topics, have one minute to choose a single topic, and then fifteen minutes to research and prepare a five minute talk. While in high school, I began taking notes of every sermon.  Every Sunday at church I would have my Bible and a notebook.  That was a habit I continued through high school and college.  Not only did it force me to stay awake, but it helped me to see how different preachers developed their messages. Later I went to college…