Communicating for a Change

1. Communicating for a Change Coaching Network Webinar: 2/23/12

2. Stanley’s 7 Main Points (Ironic?) • Determine Your Goal • Pick a Point • Create a Map • Internalize the Message • Engage Your Audience • Find Your Voice • Start All Over

3. 1: Determine Your Goal 3 Goals of Communication -Teach the Bible -Teach the Bible to people -Teach people to live the truths of the Bible “Preaching for life requires far less information and more application…Less 1st century and more 21st century.” p.94ff

4. 1: Determine Your Goal -“My goal is change. I want them to do something different instead of just think about it.” (p.95) -“Swindoll, Warren, and Wilkinson…all make the case that 70-80% of the Gospels and Epistles are application oriented. I agree.” (p.125) -Do you? Agree, that is…

5. 1: Determine Your Goal -“It is absolutely critical that the reader recognize the impact of the fact that the critical element of understanding the goal of preaching casts a long shadow on all the advice given.” -“When you state your purpose for preaching and Jesus is somewhat ancillary, you have a problem.” -A point to wrestle with: Sermon series tendencies…

6. 2: Pick a Point -42, 17, 11, 39, 76? Or 44, 44, 44, 44, 44!, and 44. -“Honey, I really enjoyed your sermons.” - “Can you eliminate all other possible places my mind can wander? Like 1221 11th Ave.” (p.39) -“Before you write me off as a heretic, consider this…we all pick and choose. None of us give equal time to every passage of Scripture.” (p.96)

7. 2: Pick a Point -“Your challenge will not be finding the one, but eliminating the three.” p.105 -“Dig until you find it. Build everything around it. Make it stick.” p.106 -“Ask yourself, ‘Does this really facilitate the journey [to the point] or is this just something that will get a laugh or fill time?’” p.110 -Story: Seth and Martha’s visit to Ocon…

8. 3: Create a Map -“Outlines are designed to organize thoughts and ideas. They’re usually a collection of points related to or loosely related to a topic—each one of those points making an entirely different statement about the topic…You had a lot to say about forgiveness in your outline, but your outline didn’t take you anywhere.” p.45 -The “map test”=Memorize it. If it’s difficult to remember, then you have points, not a path.

9. 3: Create a Map Me: How are you like “them”? We: Find as much common ground with “them” as you can. God: Introduce God’s truth into your common ground tension. You: Apply God’s truth to the varied demographics in your audience. We: A glimpse of what life would be like if we all applied God’s truth. Note: This is a paradigm of preaching just like Mirror/Gospel/Guide. It has pro’s and con’s. Stanley’s church has exploded under his “map” preaching; Mark Driscoll’s sermon has exploded under his multi-point 75-minute preaching. Note #2: “Being faced with God’s Word can leave a listener defeated, if all they think about is how far they have to go. But if I can give them a picture of what life will be like once they apply the truth, then they have a little hope.” p.49

10. 3: My Map Last Sunday Me: Not everyone believes Jesus is the Son of God. My friend, Tim, was the first atheist I knew. We: We’ve all been forced to defend the identity of Jesus. History channel. World religion’s class. Agnostic cousin. Time magazine article. Etc. God: Jesus proved he is the Son of God at his transfiguration. You: Since Jesus is divine, our sin killed the Son of God! But since he is divine, his death has the power to save us. We: (Didn’t use in this sermon)

11. 3: Your Thoughts? What do you see as the biggest benefits of relational “mapping” instead of traditional outlining? Are there any drawbacks?

12. 4: Internalize the Message -We don’t use notes when we tell stories. You only read stories that aren’t your own! -“I find something very, very disingenuous about the speaker who says, ‘This is very, very important,’ and then reads something from his notes.” p.135 -“Is there anything you are so excited about sharing that you can’t wait until you get to that part of the message? If not, you aren’t ready.” p.114 -This is the “burden”.

13. 4: The Burden -Have you ever been moved by the sight of someone who just happened to show up for the sermon he “needed” to hear? -How can we visualize those people during the writing process? -One idea: List a dozen names next to your computer as you write. Ask, “Why does Rachel, a college freshman, need this message? Why Will, the retiree? Why Susan with her son in rehab? (These questions will lay a “burden” on your heart to speak clearly and personally.)

14. 5: Engage Your Audience -“It’s not enough to say, ‘I have the truth of God’s Word up here and it’s your job to listen.’ That might have worked years ago, but not today. No way. Today you have to show people how the truth impacts their lives.” p.59 • “You have to manufacture interest. Your first responsibility is to pose a question your audience wants answered, create a tension they need resolved, or point to a mystery they’ve been unable to solve…Your introduction may be the most important part of your message.” p.153 -Do you agree with Stanley’s emphasis on inductive preaching in our modern culture?

15. 5: Engage Your Audience -“Part of keeping your audience engaged is taking it slow in the turns…As a communicator, you’re the only one in the room who knows in advance where you’re going on the journey.” p.65 -Note: There are many more “turns” in 3-point preaching. A one-line transitional statement works on paper, but not for the ear… -Hilary’s comments: Easy to read, tough to listen to

16. 6: Find Your Voice -“I want you to stand up in front of your people and be YOU.” p.72 -But that’s not an excuse: “My style can become a smoke screen for any number of bad habits…Boring is not a style. Boring is boring. Confusing may be a style. But it is still confusing.” p.170 -How have you evaluated your preaching style? Who has permission to tell you if you’re boring, confusing, too dramatic, etc.?

17. 7: Start All Over -Pray. Pray. Pray. -Ask: • What do they need to know? • Why? • What do they need to do (or believe!)? • Why? -Be prepared to cut, cut, cut for the sake of simplicity!

18. 7: My Text Studies Specific Law (Ask why questions to get to the heart of the matter; does the text accuse or state the law and let the conscience work?)— Specific Gospel How does this text proclaim Christ?  Where is active obedience?  Where is passive obedience?  What is the gospel metaphor (or shadows/allusions) in this text? Specific Sanctification (how can you motivate with the gospel?)— What is the goal of this sermon?—

19. 7: My Text Studies Simple (the one main idea; stop and pray, especially if you’re stuck)— Unexpected (what surprises you about the main idea)— Concrete (a visual/simple way to describe the main idea)— Credible (experiences/stories/proverbs to prove the main idea)— Emotional (connect the main idea to something we care about)— Story (people who model living the main idea)— Biblical: Modern/Pop Culture: Personal Experience: Liturgical: Connection to series—

20. 7: My Text Studies How does this text Cut me?  Heal me?  Challenge me? Me (Find common ground with them)— We (Assume no interest; try to reach as many demographics as possible; create tension they will want the text to resolve)— God (Introduce God’s truth; let him resolve the tension; don’t skimp; engage people with the text)— You (What are you going to do with this truth?  Go back to “WE” and apply it!)— Us (Cast a vision of what could be if we all did this)— How do the following groups feel about the one main truth? Me? My family? Teens? Collegiates? Newlyweds? Parents? Empty nesters?

21. 7: My Text Studies What do they need to know? Why do they need to know it (What’s at stake?  What will happen to teens, marriages, families, church, etc. if people don’t know this?)? What do they need to do? Why do they need to do it? Text Study Questions: Did you consider the meaning of every tense, voice, mood, def/indef article, etc.? Do you truly understand the text or do you still have unanswered questions? Did you check your illustration file, Libronix illustrations, and sermon illustrations.com? Did you read the lessons and hymns AFTER your text study for any clarification/connections? Did you check any parallel accounts of this text? Did you find other passages that prove your main point, especially in the other readings? Is there anything in the liturgy that connects to your main point? Can you summarize the entire sermon in one simple sentence? (Honestly, do you have 1 point or 3?) Analyze who will be hit with the law.  Then ask, “What’s it like to be…?”  Be compassionate even as you preach judgment. Did you try to find equally powerful stories/examples that have nothing to do with you? Read back over the text.  Is your main point the main point of the text?

22. 7: My Text Studies Sermon Questions Is your law specific or just about sin in general? Are you preaching about the law or are you preaching the law? Is the gospel specific to the text/flavor of the lesson? Do your illustrations illustrate the main point or do they focus on subpoints? Does every paragraph facilitate your journey or did you add just to get a laugh or share a new insight? Is your introduction the best way to gain interest in your one main point? Is your intro a natural discussion or a forced “Wow ‘em!” sentence/paragraph? Mark any major transitions in the sermon.  Make sure you go “slow in the turns”. Did you give a token Bible reference or did you preach like the Word is better than anything you could say? Did you rush the last few paragraphs or did you give them your best? Did you pass a natural, emotional ending for the sermon for the sake of an extra illustration?  Then rearrange the illustration. Did you check every paragraph and be like Bani (explain it simply)?

23. Closing Thoughts -“Every single person who sits politely and listens to you on Sunday is one decision away from moral, financial, and marital ruin. Every one of ‘em…There they sit. Silent. Waiting. Hoping. Doubting. Anticipating. What are we going to do? What are you going to say?” p.88 - “Are you willing to abandon a style, an approach, a system designed in another era for a culture that no longer exists?” p.89

24. Closing Thoughts Any questions or comments (besides concerns about all the shirtless dudes in this presentation)?