Teaching Nimbleness

In order to build proper spiritual formation into the fabric of the lives of your congregation, as a pastor you have to address a number of critical issues that will enable your people to face the challenges of life with the mindset of our Savior. Helping them know how to face disasters that might come into their lives is one of those many issues.

No one likes to talk about potential disasters, let alone think or plan for them. Yet, throughout the Book of Revelation, the Bible speaks clearly of disasters that may come at the end of the age. We don’t think about “disaster preparedness” very much in the church. But, one of the reasons God prompted the Apostle John to write this somewhat mysterious text is to “reveal” to us what lies down the road.

Of course, you could argue that we do not yet stand at the precipice looking out across what very well may happen in either our lifetimes or the lifetimes of our children and grandchildren. And, you could be right. Bible scholars certainly have a wide variety of opinions on that matter.

But, just in case dire things do lie ahead for those who have aligned themselves with the Great King Jesus, wouldn’t it be wise to take some time to study what might happen and develop some godly strategies for responding to those predicted events?

Part of spiritual formation is to develop the disciplines that will build Christian character into the hearts and minds of believers. It’s not enough to be able to come to worship once a week. Believers who are growing in their spiritual maturity need to learn key steps that will help them move ever closer to God and find themselves adopting a Christ-like mindset in their approach to the world.

So, let me urge you, as you shepherd your flock, to begin to teach them the kinds of spiritual disciplines that will find them in good stead should the dark days revealed by the Apostle John come to pass in their lifetimes.

And, if you want to hear me talk more about this vital subject, I invite you to listen to this week’s Sermon-Coach.com Podcast No. 181, where I explore this topic in somewhat greater depth. Simply follow the link on this page to connect with the Sermon-Coach website.

 

 

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Please click here to visit David Mains’ Sermon-Coach.com website.

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Please click here.

 

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Better Judges

When you stand before your congregation each week and begin to preach, do you ever think about the fact that those listening to what you have to say make value judgments? Yes, I realize you intend to share an important truth from God’s Word and that fact alone gives a credibility to what you plan to say.

Nevertheless, the fact remains that your congregation does listen to what you say. And, as they listen, their minds begin to process and place a value on the words you use, the manner in which you speak, the level of enthusiasm or passion that you convey, the eye contact you make, and a host of other aspects of your presentation.

As you move through your sermon, the thought process of your listeners follows along the pathway you have laid out for them. Each step of the way, the minds of your listeners continue to process and place a value on what you say and how you say it.

Now—and here’s the difficult part—have you ever telephoned a trusted member of your congregation on Tuesday or Wednesday and asked them to tell you what they remember from what they heard during your sermon on Sunday. Of course, you have to ask this question in a very open, humble, and non-threatening way.

“Hi, Sarah. This is Pastor Bob. I’ve been thinking about my sermon on Sunday and what I plan to preach this coming Sunday. I was wondering if you could help me a little bit. Would that be okay? Good. I’m wondering if there’s something I may have said on Sunday that you’ve been thinking about during the week? Of course, I understand if you haven’t. But, it would help me to know if you have and what particular thought or idea grabbed your attention.”

Then you wait for a response. No matter what Sarah may tell you—and especially if she can’t remember anything—you thank her for her help. It may well be that Sarah has, indeed, remembered a key truth from your sermon. But, if she hasn’t, maybe it’s time you give some additional thought as to how the listeners may be judging your sermons.

Our website, Sermon-Coach.com, exists to help pastors create life-transforming sermons. If I may, I would like to suggest that you take 13 minutes or so to listen to this week’s Sermon-Coach.com Podcast by clicking the link on this page. We talk about this very subject: “Better Judges.” You may find that those listeners in your congregation represent a resource that you can plug into and find ways to improve how much of what you share from the pulpit “sticks” during each following week.

Sometimes when we talk to the people listening to our sermons, we find out they are better judges of the effectiveness of what we’ve proclaimed. After all, helping these dear folks along the way of their spiritual formation is why we preach to begin with—isn’t it?

 

 

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Please click here to visit David Mains’ Sermon-Coach.com website.

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Please click here.

 

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A Proper Introduction

I graduated from high school way back in 1954. That’s over 60 years ago! My senior year, I was the student body president. One of the perks of that position was the opportunity to introduce whatever guests came to our high school to speak.

My Civics teacher, Mr. Douty, kept me after class one day and said that someone was going to be speaking at an all-school assembly in two weeks and he wanted to make certain that this guest speaker received a proper introduction. Why? Because as a war hero, and also as a United States Senator, he was a person of great stature.

While not saying I had to do what he was telling me, he strongly suggested that I check out a book from the public library, read it, and then use that information to write a great two-paragraph introduction. Knowing how strongly my teacher felt about this, I got the bus to downtown, checked out the book about Senator Paul Douglas, read it, and later received high praise, not only from several teachers, but also from the high school principal. And, best of all, especially kind words from the Senator himself.

Because of this experience I have always felt that introductions were important. In my mind, that’s true, not only for schools, but also for churches.

Guest speakers should not have to tell congregations who they are. That’s the job of the host pastor. And if the pastor will be away, he or she still needs to make certain someone takes on that task and does a good job with it. Just because a given speaker has been in the church before doesn’t mean that a newcomer has ever heard of him or her.

Are you good at letting people know about who the person filling in for you is? If you are planning to be away, you need to assign someone that task and give them that “Mr.-Douty-pep-talk.” At the very least, make sure there is information about the speaker printed in the church bulletin.

 

 

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Please click here to visit David Mains’ Sermon-Coach.com website.

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Please click here.

 

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Running Out of Time

Recently I heard a very good sermon that could have been excellent were it not for one factor. The preacher talked so long on his first and second points that he didn’t have time to adequately develop point three. Unfortunately, that was the one that would have been the most interesting and crucial as far as his listeners were concerned. It was also the knotty problem he said he would be dealing with during his sermon introduction.

My guess is that in his preparation, this speaker never clearly established what his sermon subject and desired response were. If he had, he would have known that points one and two—though related to his subject—would need to be limited time-wise or he wouldn’t be able to adequately cover the bigger and more crucial final point.

Running out of sermon time is a common flaw that preachers experience. Who in the clergy hasn’t erred in this regard? My belief is that the problem can’t be corrected during the process of preaching the sermon. Rather, it needs to be resolved early on during the sermon-preparation process.

There are five key steps to effective sermon preparation:

  • Subject
  • Response
  • How-To
  • How Long
  • Key Sentence

In other words, a preacher needs to ask five critical questions:

  • What’s my text about, or what’s my sermon subject? Do I have this subject/text clearly in mind?
  • What am I calling for, or how do I want people to respond?
  • Do the people know how to do this? If not, what how-tos do I need to include in what I have to say?
  • How long do I expect it to take before the people will begin to see results from responding to this sermon?
  • And, can I clearly express my subject and response in a key sentence?

Once a preacher has developed answers to these critical five items, he or she can ask one more question. About how much time is it going to take for me to cover these, the most important aspects of what the Lord is asking me to say?

 

 

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Please click here to visit David Mains’ Sermon-Coach.com website.

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Please click here.

 

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