Preaching

"Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness — in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, and which now at his appointed season he has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior" -- Titus 1:1-3 We read these verses at our elders Bible study a few days ago.  Maybe it was the time of day (6 AM) or the fact that I hadn't had much coffee, but reading these words -- especially those in bold print -- really grabbed me.  In fact, I teared up a bit. I was reminded once again why I love to preach: it has been entrusted to me. That's not language I would have used when I…

Since the time I felt called to preaching, I have tried to be a student of how to communicate.  One of the things I have enjoyed most about having Dr. Mark Scott on our teaching team has been the opportunity to observe how he crafts and delivers sermons.  For nearly 30 years Mark was a professor of preaching at Ozark Christian College in Joplin, MO.  I think he's even read a book or two on preaching.  At any rate, since we share the preaching duties it gives me a front row seat to see how he does it. If you want to be a better preacher or communicator, study others who are good preachers or communicators.  Below are a few tips on how to learn from others. Use Your Eyes.  Take everything in -- content, movements, gestures, vocal inflexions.  How do their movements complement their points?  Does their posture change…

5 Things Every Presenter Needs To Know About People from Weinschenk on Vimeo. People learn best in 20-minute chunks. There must be a reason for the successful TED-sized talk format. Multiple sensory channels compete. During a talk, you engage both the auditory and visual channels – because we'revisual creatures and the visual channel trumps the auditory, make sure your slides don't require people to read much or otherwise distract from the talk. What you say is only one part of your presentation.Paralinguistics explores how information is communicated beyond words – be aware the audience is responding to your body language and tone. Record yourself presenting to get a feel for those and adjust accordingly. If you want people to act, you have to call them to action.At the end of your presentation, be very specific about exactly what you would like your audience to do. People imitate your emotions and feel your feelings. If…

At Mountainview, we have worship services on Saturday night and again on Sunday morning.  For those of us who teach or preside in some way, that gives us the opportunity to go home and totally rewrite our sermon or communion meditation (not that I've ever totally rewritten a sermon; after folding it up and throwing it away, I usually feel better). Mark Scott and I compared notes last night after the service was over.  Mark was preaching and I was giving the communion talk.  For my part, I had told what I thought was a humorous story for communion -- and didn't get more than the "I'd better laugh because no one else will" laughs.  Mark felt his opening movie clip hadn't connected in the way he had hoped for. So, we decided to revise. I scrapped my story and just shared a few words about my personal "expertise" in…

Here is a short video (from The Atlantic) featuring Ken Burns and why he tells stories.  I watched and listened to it from a preaching perspective.  It's interesting.