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Preaching

Tips, ideas, articles, and ruminations about the art and craft of preaching.

keeping things in perspective

By Leadership, Preaching
For anyone in a leadership position, it is easy to believe the lies of your critics.  It is just as easy to believe every good word ever said about you.  Neither of which might actually be true. Norman McGowan in his book, My Years With Winston Churchill, tells the following story. Winston Churchill was once asked, "Doesn’t it thrill you to know that every time you make a speech, the hall is packed to overflowing?" "It’s quite flattering," replied Sir Winston. "But whenever I feel that way, I always remember that if instead of making a political speech I was being hanged, the crowd would be twice as big." Don't believe every critic.  Don't believe all the applause.
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windows to the soul

By Preaching
When a person first begins preaching, or public speaking in general, the most intimidating thing about the crowd is ... the crowd.  For whatever reason, they are all staring at you!  There's no place to hide and some of them don't even blink. One of the mistakes a new speaker or preacher most often makes has to do with the eyes.   They don't make eye contact.  Instead, they look down, over the top of the crowd, at the clock, their notes, their feet, trying to find the exit sign -- anywhere but at the crowd. Ironically, refusing to make eye contact is counter-productive.  When we make eye contact with a fellow sympathetic human being (who wants us to succeed so that they can stay awake), we find reassurance rather than anxiety.  The false wall between crowd and speaker begins to break down.  We're reminded of what we share in…
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public speaking and private thinking

By Preaching
I recently started reading Scott Berkun's book, "Confessions of a Public Speaker" and I want to share this great line with you: "All good public speaking is based on good private thinking." The more I thought about that line, the more I became convinced it's true.  For those of us who preach, I would modify it this way: "All good preaching is based on good private thinking, and praying, and studying." Natural talent alone is not enough.  Natural talent may make you a decent player in pick-up basketball but it's unlikely to carry you all the way to the NBA.  Effective lawyers don't stand up and "wing" their closing arguments because they are relying on their gift of gab. If you think about it, you can tell the difference between a speech or a sermon that is well thought out and one that isn't.  I'm not even talking about the…
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preaching from the kindle fire

By Preaching
I went nerdy last weekend. But first a little background.  When Tonya and I moved into our new house, we received a postcard from DirectBuy about receiving a free Kindle Fire and $100 gift card if we sat through a 90 minute open house.  I thought ... I can tolerate most anything to get a new gadget.  The real question was: Could I convince Tonya to do the same?  The open house required both of us to attend together. She went.  Two weeks later we received our free Kindle Fire. Fast-forward to last weekend.  I had been reading online about guys who were preaching from their Kindles or iPads.  Typically, I have a small sheet of notes tucked into my Bible that I use for back-up ... for those times when my mind goes blank or I chase a rabbit.  In order to fit the sheet into my Bible, I…
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