I'm passing along this post from Christopher Witt entited "Words to Avoid." It's a good thought-starter for those of us who speak for a living. ********* Words to Avoid I always love lists of overused, trite, important-sounding words. The list from Lake Superior State University (found here) holds these words (rightly) up to ridicule: Shovel-Ready Transparent/Transparency Czar Tweet App Friend as a verb Teachable moment In these economic times…. Stimulus Toxic assets Too big to fail Bromance Chillaxin’ Obama-prefix or roots My least favorite phrase — it’s been around a long time — is “to make a long story short.” I appreciate the concept, but in my experience people who use the phrase are merely pausing in the middle of a boring recitation to catch their breaths. They then continue making a long story longer. What phrase or word irks, irritates, or rankles you?
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It hit me about midway through our three Easter services that this morning was only the second time in 19 years I haven't preached on Easter. The only other time was in the months leading up to the grand opening of our church plant in San Diego -- when we didn't have any Sunday morning services. Truth be told, it felt a bit weird to not be preaching. I've always enjoyed the Easter crowd because it is so diverse in nature ... a challenge I find energizing and engaging. Plus, Easter lends itself to great themes which are fun to speak about: hope, redemption, transformation, and more. I'm learning to appreciate the different "angles" of worship. This morning, my view was from the side.
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When I was a senior in college, I was fortunate to land the opportunity to be the regular preacher for a small church in Linden, TN. Having less than 25 people, the Cedar Creek Church of Christ was a SMALL church. But it was a great place to get experience and the people were wonderful. Here's a picture from my last Sunday.
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While at LifeWay yesterday, I thumbed through a copy of "The Big Idea" by Dave Ferguson. I first became aware of Dave (and his brother Jon) when I interviewed with their dad for a staff position near Chicago. Dave and Jon are co-founders of Community Christian Church in Naperville, an innovative multi-site church. "The Big Idea" describes their approach to communication and teaching, from kids to adults. Each week features one big idea that will be the theme of the weekend teaching as well as in small groups throughout the week. By focusing on the same big idea from children's worship through the sermon, the majority of the church is on the same page at the same time. At first, their routine may seem a bit intimidating to some. It may feel restrictive. But as Ferguson points out rather well, it is not. By working ahead two to three months…
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As I mentioned in an earlier post, I adopted Andy Stanley's approach to outlining your message a few years ago. One reason I really like his approach is the attention and focus it puts on the listener while not minimizing God's voice. To refresh your memory, the basic outline is: me, we, God, you, and us. Each part ties into the one main point of the message. When a message moves from me to we, I am beginning to develop how the main point relates to the listener. In my preparation, I'm asking questions such as: Why should they care? What need does this address? What problem does this resolve? What question does this answer? What hurt or hang-up will this message help with? Many preachers work really hard at understanding their text. We may dig into word studies, commentaries, and other helpful books. If our goal was simply to…
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