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When The Right Response is "You’re Pretty Lame!"

July 19, 2009 in preaching with 5 Comments

I was fascinated by a recent Time article that seems to contradict everything we’ve ever heard about positive thinking and self-help. We’ve always heard that the best thing we could do for people is to build them up, encourage them, and make them feel better about themselves. If we don’t do this, the theory goes, our children’s fragile egos will be hurt and they will not be able to fully realize their potential. Because of that, a generation of kids that can’t hit a home run, throw a free throw, catch a pass, or hit a back hand in tennis have been told, in spite of their obvious ineptitude, that they can achieve greatness.

Turns out they were wrong.
Here’s a telling quote from the article:

“…when people get feedback that they believe is overly positive, they actually feel worse, not better. If you try to tell your dim friend that he has the potential of an Einstein, he won’t think he’s any smarter; he will probably just disbelieve your contradictory theory, hew more closely to his own self-assessment and, in the end, feel even dumber.”

What does this mean for us? I think this brings us to the crux of the gospel story. The truth is that we are people that are and have messed up. We are not perfect. People are sinful. And God allowed His Son to be sacrificed and take the penalty for our sins. There’s no way to really sugar-coat that. It’s a messy subject. And yet so many preachers and leaders out there simply try to present this really warm-fuzzy version of the gospel. God wants you to have lots of money. He wants you to be blessed beyond your wildest imagination and to have a Bentley (or two) in the garage.

As I survey preaching in the last few years it seems that a shift is taking place. The past decade or so has been owned by baby boomer preachers who preached on five ways to do this better, or ten ways to get out of debt. Yes, we’ll always have the Olsteen-type preachers out there. But it seems that the pendulum is now swinging in the other direction. We’re coming to a place where people are searching and seeking for deeply authentic biblical preaching that cuts to the core.

I feel like a shift has taken place in my own preaching to this end as well. My job is not to help people retire in a better financial position, but to be ready for the soon coming of Jesus. And that means that sometimes we have to tell people the truth that, yes, they are pretty lame, but there is hope in Jesus.

What about you? What has your experience been with these concepts of positive thinking? Or about some of these different preaching styles?

*Thanks to Pastor Chris Bullock of Fusion Church Atlanta for pointing out this article to me.

[image by APHOrism]

The Importance of Effective Communication: Q & A With Matthew Gamble

May 28, 2009 in preaching with 0 Comments



I think we’d all agree that preaching and communicating well is very important. I’ve done a few posts about the subject here and here, but thought it would be a good idea to do a Q&A with someone that spends a lot of time speaking on the road: Matthew Gamble.


1. So what’s your day job?


“Talk about Jesus. Work as a consultant with the Center for Creative Ministry. Hang out with my wife.”


2. What preacher/communicator do you look up to? Why?


“Mark Driscoll: Mars Hill Church Seattle, WA – While I don’t entirely agree with his theology, I appreciate his exegetical care of the Word of God. Further I am encouraged to see the fruit of their labor in Seattle (one of the most unchurched areas of the nation).


Rob Bell: Mars Hill Bible Church Grand Rapids, MI – Again, while I don’t agree with all of his theology, I appreciate his willingness to tackle difficult books of the Bible (ie Mars Hill launched the church by doing a sermon series on the book of Leviticus). I also value the creativity he brings to the table.


Matt Chandler: The Village Church (somewhere in Texas) – Again, I appreciate his focus on the Bible and his relevant approach to scripture.”



3. What are some of the biggest mistakes you see speakers making nowadays? What advice would you give them?


“Not preaching the Bible! I am a huge fan of expository preaching… meaning verse by verse, word for word. I believe that we make a huge mistake when we don’t preach this way because it tends to lead people to be Bible light. Conversely, when we preach word for word, verse by verse, people will automatically learn to study their Bibles on a deeper level, as opposed to simply doing topical studies.


Along with this, it is frustrating to listen to “preachers” that seem to stand up and give pop psychology messages. Please stop and preach Jesus!”


4. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from speaking to many different groups of people?


“Know your audience. Paul said that he became all things to all people and I believe that this is of great value for any communicator.


Be passionate about what you are talking about. I am not suggesting that you have to yell and scream, I am simply saying that make sure that the message is really burning in your soul before you stand up in hopes to, by God’s grace, get someone else excited about it. Furthermore, be creative in your communication so that people remember the message.


Be authentic. When appropriate, be vulnerable with the audience about your struggles and shortcomings.

Know what you are going to say and make sure that it is clear what you want other people to hear/know when they leave. Don’t hesitate to reiterate the main point over and over again.


Be available to people after you preach a message. I believe that some people never cross over the line into faith, because the preacher wasn’t there for them. Make yourself available to people.


Be surrendered to the Holy Spirit as He may point something out to you while you are preaching that He wants you to say.


Be aware of the audiences response to your message. While you are preaching if people’s body language is suggesting that they have no clue what you are talking about, don’t hesitate to stop and re-word something.”


5. Final thoughts?


“Remember that preaching is foolishness to those who don’t believe. Remember that you as the preacher are a broken/sinful man/woman who is not called to condemn people, but to point them to Jesus.”



To find out more about Matthew Gamble, D.Min, and to keep up with his travels, writing, speaking, check out the following sites:

What about you? What are some principles of effective communication that you’ve learned over time?

Communicating For a Change: Book Review

March 17, 2009 in book review,preaching with 10 Comments

Here’s the question: Out of all the messages, speeches, and sermons you’ve heard in your lifetime, how many do you still remember many years later?

Perhaps you remember a phrase or a visual, but for the most part, we forget the content of these messages. Andy Stanley, in his book Communicating for a Change, let’s us know why.

If you’ve ever taken a speech class, you know the drill. There are three parts to a message. The intro, body, and conclusion. Often in the body of the message there are about three points. In the preaching world, we refer to this classical model as “three points and a poem.” This is a style that’s best exemplified by preachers such as Rick Warren. But is this really the best way to effectively communicate a message? Andy Stanley says no.

Andy Stanley presents what has been called the “one point message.” So the entire message is built around that one point. He says, “With this approach, every message should have one central idea, application, insight, or principle that serves as the glue to hold the other parts together” (p. 103). If this sounds somewhat familiar, it’s because Haddon Robinson, in his classic preaching book, Biblical Preaching, first introduced this basic method.

What’s an example of one of those main points? Here are a few from the book:

  • Your friends determine the direction and quality of your life
  • Purity paves the way to intimacy
  • When you see as God sees, you will do as God says
  • Maximum freedom is found under God’s authority
  • God takes full responsibility for the life fully devoted to him
When I first started reading about this method, I was worried that my messages would end up being much too short. If you’ve ever heard one of Andy’s messages, though, you know that this is not an issue. What is unique about his approach, though, is how he structured each of his messages.

Here’s a breakdown of the five sections (p. 121) with an example from the book:

ME: “Sometimes I find myself wondering how to respond to situations in my marriage.” In this section, you begin with a question or problem about yourself through which tension is created that begs for resolution.

WE: “I imagine you have found yourself in situations where you weren’t sure what to do either.”
“Having made it clear to our audience that we are wrestling with a particular tension, the next step is to broaden our tension so as to include every body listening” (p. 124).
For example, “Sometimes I wonder why I even bother praying (ME). I bet you’ve wondered about that as well” (p. 124).

GOD: “The Bible teaches that we are to submit to one another; put the desires and needs of our spouse ahead of our own needs and desires.”
“The goal here is to resolve the tension, or at least some of it, by pointing people to God’s thoughts on the subject at hand” (p. 126).

YOU: Next time you aren’t sure what to say or do, ask yourself this question-”How can I put the needs and desires of my spouse ahead of my own in this moment?”
Conclusion: In a marriage, submission is generally the best decision.
“…this section is typically referred to as the application of the message. This is where we tell people what to do with what they have heard. This is where we answer the questions ‘So what?’ and ‘Now what?’” (p. 127).

WE: Imagine what would happen in our community if all of us began to model that kind of mutual submission before our friends and neighbors.

“WE is really about vision casting. It is a moment you call upon your audience to imagine what the church, the community, families, maybe even the world would be like if Christians everywhere embraced your one idea.”

I’ve really resonated with this book. I’ve thought back on a lot of the sermons that I’ve done, and I have to admit that many of them are this “three points and a poem” type message that I, myself, have forgotten after I’ve preached them. I’m looking forward to re-routing and re-tooling to a method that is easier to preach without notes and is much more memorable in the outcome.

What about you? How have you tailored your messages for maximum impact? Are you using this method? If so, what effect has it had on your preaching?

What Level of Communicator Are You?

February 19, 2009 in preaching with 5 Comments

I attended a live coaching event recently with Nelson Searcy and Roy Mansfield (small group pastor at NorthStar Church), and I’d like to share over the next few posts a few of the key nuggets.
Nelson Searcy said something that really bothered me in one of the talks: “The number of people that you’re currently speaking to may be proportional to the level of communicator that you are.” In other words, what level of communicator are you? Are you a 50 person speaker? Or are you a 20,000 person speaker. In my mind, I’m a 1,000 person speaker, but according to this metric, right now I’m just about a 90 person speaker. This hurts me because I’ve always thought of myself as a better speaker. But I think there’s truth to that statement. After all do we get invited to speak before very large crowds? There’s probably a reason for that. 
I was reminded that any athlete after a game will always watch the game tape. Why? They want to review their performance. They want to analyze how they did and how they can improve. And yet how often do we as speaker and leaders go back and watch the “game tape.” I admit that I rarely do.
Later that afternoon I was dialoguing with several other participants, and we began sharing ideas and different resources concerning how we can become better communicators. A popular resource that was shared was Preaching for Life Change by Rick Warren. The other is the book Communicating for a Change by Andy Stanley. 
I downloaded the Rick Warren resource and began listening to it, and immediately recognized the reason why he speaks to about 20,000 people a week. He said that it’s always been one of his goals to be a master communicator/preacher. Just on the subject of preaching he has over 350 books, which is more books than most seminaries have on the topic of preaching. It’s something that he’s always seeking to improve and become better at.
So I think I will be spending some more time watching the “game tape” from now on. After all, this game is sort of important.
How about you? How would you rate yourself as a speaker? What are some resources that you recommend? How have you become a better speaker?
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