Push Through The Preaching Curve

Preachers –have you ever noticed that some of your most well received messages are the ones for which you have studied the least? Don’t worry –I’m not advocating a lack of study. However, I think it is important to understand why this phenomenon occurs.

When an idea first enters your mind, it is simple to comprehend. Just consider the experience of reading Scripture and having a new insight, which revolutionizes your thinking. All of a sudden, you see everything through the lens of your new insight. At this stage, you don’t have a lot of information, which allows you to have amazing clarity. Let’s call this stage one.

Stage one preaching tends to flow brilliantly from your mouth because the insight is clear –there is no “extra information” to trip over in your presentation.

Of course, the beauty of stage one preaching is also the fault: lack of information. This leaves stage one preaching open to misleading statements, unbalanced presentation of Scripture, and misapplication of the text.

Perhaps you have preached a stage one sermon and received wonderful complements. Then, the next time you have an opportunity to preach to a different audience, you decide to share the same message. Excited for the opportunity to share a message that has been previously well received, you decide to study more and make it even better.

In the midst of your study you chase a few rabbits, delve into original languages, and become interested in the context of the text. Those are all strong marks of good sermon preparation.

The only problem is that your sermon notes are not as clear as before. They have become cluttered with insights that are great by themselves, yet seem unconnected on paper. Even worse, they are cluttering your mind. This is stage two.

You stand up to preach believing this version of the message will be more powerful than before because you have more ammunition. The only problem is that your shooting spree has no focus. In the end, everyone in the audience is a casualty.

You walk away wondering what happened. Why, if the first version of the sermon was so well received, wouldn’t a more researched version be even more effective? The answer is simple: the more information you have the more challenging clarity becomes. That’s why I call stage two the “Chaos stage.” Unfortunately, I have plenty of experience with stage two preaching.

But don’t be discouraged. The answer is not to quit studying. No, the answer is to move to stage three –editing.

I’ve heard that the most difficult part of filmmaking is editing. The editor takes all of the raw film and puts together the story line –leaving behind the parts that take away from communicating the message clearly. Most directors have to stay away from the editing room because it is too painful for them to see their favorite shots left on the cutting room floor. Yet, that is the price of clarity.

The same holds true in sermon preparation. Only, most of us preachers don’t have an editor to do the work for us. We must be courageous enough to cut the brilliant details of Greek word studies or the masterful illustrations if they don’t aid in the clarity of the main point. The most interesting description of a Shepherd’s staff or the High Priest’s garb –if distracting from the point of the text- is just that: a distraction. Many creative analogies, humorous stories, and cultural denunciations have distracted men and women from the clear message of the text. As preachers, we hate to leave them on the cutting room floor because we have become emotionally attached. That’s why we have to keep the importance of clarity in mind at all times. The audience will never know what gets left on the cutting room floor. Alternatively, if you don’t put it on the floor, they might never know the main point of the sermon.

Does that mean the study from stage two isn’t worth the effort? No, but the value of stage two is not seen until the excess information is trimmed away. Like panning for gold, you must sift through large amounts of material in order to find the treasure.

Next, you must take the treasure and place it in the most effective order. Don’t disseminate it indiscriminately. Spend time contemplating how each piece of the puzzle is connected and how it should be presented. Will the information be presented chronologically (By timeline), progressively (Growing in detail), or logically (building a case)? Different sermons call for different orders.

Once you have placed your material in order, make sure you know how to transition from point to point. I like to think of this as “greasing the joints.” Like a machine, each part benefits from smooth, friction-free movement where it connects to other parts.

Finally, once you have edited, ordered, and polished your message, you are ready for stage three preaching. Stage three combines stage one’s clarity and stage two’s information for maximum effectiveness.

In graphical terms, the three stages make a curve that resembles the Nike swoosh in which clarity is measured top to bottom and information is measured left to right. Stage one is high on clarity but low on information. At stage two, the curve moves downward for lack of clarity while moving to the right for increased information. Notice this is the lowest stage –for both you and your audience. Finally, however, stage three moves sharply to the upper-right indicate the greatest display of clarity and information.

So, don’t settle for stage one –and certainly don’t stop at stage two. Push on through the preaching curve to stage three. You’ll be glad you did –and so will your hearer’s!

He, Me, and We

Remember the blind man that Jesus healed by spitting on the ground and rubbing mud on his eyes? The story begins with the apostles asking who had sinned, his mother or father, that he would be born blind. It’s a peculiar story found in John chapter 9. As I was reading it today, I noticed something else peculiar.

When Jesus answers his disciples, he begins by telling them that the man was born blind –not because of his parent’s sin- but so “that the works of God might be displayed in him” (v. 3). Then comes the peculiar part.

Jesus says, “We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day…” (v. 4). Did you notice the three different pronouns? First “we,” then, “him,” and finally, “me.” “Him” refers to the works that will glorify the Father mentioned in verse 3. “Me” refers to Jesus, the one who was sent with the authority and power to do the work.

That leaves one more pronoun. This is the one that struck me the most. Certainly “He” and “Me” would have been enough to get the job done. God does not need any help in glorifying himself. He has performed plenty of marvelous works without the aid of mankind. However, God chooses to involve us in His work! Do you see the power of “we?”

God’s work is prepared in advance for us (his children) to participate in through the power of Christ. As Paul stated in Ephesians 2:11, “We are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works which He has prepared in advance for us to do.”

But, it doesn’t just end with the “He,” “Me,” and We.” In verse 5, Jesus explains, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” That begs the question, what happened when Christ returned to heaven? Answer: Jesus shared the responsibility with us. Now “we” are the light of the world shining with the light of “his” glory. Don’t just leave it to “He” and “Me.” Be a part of the “We.”

Missing on Mothers Day

I speak about Jill in many of my sermons. Partly because she was an incredible disciple-maker, partly because she was the love of my life, partly because her story has been able to help others struggling with loss, and partly because I want to honor her.

Recently, I was sitting among worshippers, waiting for my time to preach one of my messages in which I would share about Jill. It happened to be Mothers’ Day. As the church began recognizing mothers in the congregation, I started to wonder what it would be like if Jill was there. It has been six years since she passed away. What would she look like now? How would our relationship have matured? What experiences would we have shared together as a family? How would my son’s life be different if she was still alive?

I was missing Jill because she was missing on Mother’s day. Of course, I miss her everyday. It just so happened that on this particular Sunday, my imagination and curiosity were more engaged than normal.

The songs ended and it was my turn to speak. And, although she wasn’t there physically, Jill’s memory was certainly present in my sermon.

I praise God that she lived such a Christ-honoring life that whenever I share about her, it always serves to glorify God. That’s the life she lived, and I miss her greatly –especially on Mother’s day.

Road Trip: Mayaguez, Puerto Rico

In my recent trip to Myaguez, Puerto Rico, I was blessed to see Ephesians 4:11-12 in action. Ephesians 4:11-2 states, “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.”

On one day in one room, I saw a team of men gathered together who plant, lead, and serve the churches of Puerto Rico. It was a privilege to sit beside David Dickson, who in 1994, planted a church in Guayama. That church, “The Church Without Walls,” became the mother church for six more churches. All six were represented in the meeting I attended. Most of the pastors of each church were men who had served under David’s leadership and then left to plant a new church.

On this particular day, we were celebrating the organization of a new church in Mayaguez. The church was planted by Angel de Jesus (cool name, right?). Angel’s gift is planting churches. Much like the apostle Paul would plant a church and then raise up leaders to take over, Angel loves to start new missions and then turn them over to leaders he has disciple.

As we all celebrated the new church’s organization, I marveled at the way God had brought all of these pastors together with different gifts and skills. David had the vision for planting a church with a reproducing DNA. Angel joined in the effort through his gift for evangelism. Others used their gifts of leadership and shepherding to oversee the new churches and help them grow.

The bottom line is that God has made us all with unique skillsets and gifting. And, none of us can do everything. Therefore, we need each other in order to obey Christ’s great commission. When men dwell together in unity –and work together by sharing their gifts and abilities with one another, beautiful things happen while God gets the glory.

On this particular day, although we were celebrating a church that Angel had planted, it was obvious that everyone had a hand in the work. Further, because of the close-knit partnership these men enjoy, there is no doubt that this new church will have a team of support from day one.

The next day, I had the privilege of preaching at the Cabo Rojo mission being planted by the new church in Mayaguez. (That’s right, they already have a mission!) In Cabo Rojo, Angel has appointed two men to lead: Carlos and Alex. Both men work together as a team to grow the mission and reach more people.

The music in the mission church was wonderful. It turns out that two of the musicians took lessons from Angel as an outreach of the church in Mayaguez. He gives free lessons every Saturday to anyone interested and uses the service as a means to share Christ and invite families to the church.

On the Sunday I was visiting the mission, a man walked into the rented building after the service. He explained that he lives across the street and has seen the people of the church gather for worship each Sunday. He requested that the leader come to his house and pray for his mother who is struggling from Alzheimer’s. I had the privilege of joining Carlos and Alex in visiting the man’s home and praying for his mother. I was struck by the powerful testimony of their worship services to the man and his family.

Carlos and Alex’s leadership was the next generation of what David Dickson started years ago with the Church Without Walls. Even more, it’s a continuation of what Jesus prophesied in Acts 1:8 declaring, “You will be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth.” That includes Puerto Rico too.

5 Character Traits of Growing Churches (Excerpt)

Here is an excerpt from my new free e-booklet, Five Character Traits of Growing Churches:

“He sure is growing up.”

That’s a common phrase around my household. I swell up with a sense of pride as neighbors, friends and family notice my son’s growth.

Bryce is six now and it is hard to keep up with all of the changes he is experiencing. For instance, his pants always seem too short because he is getting taller every day. And I’m constantly amazed by his increased reading level as he needs less and less help sounding out words in the Bible. Even his personality is changing. There is less whining (thank goodness) and more social interaction with others-including adults. When we check out from the grocery store, he’s learning to calculate how much change we will receive. And, spiritually speaking, he is beginning to ponder the work of Christ and the gravity of his sin.

When someone comments, “He sure is growing up,” it could refer to a number of things. Growth can be mental, physical, emotional or behavioral.

It is the same way when we talk about a “growing church.” That could refer to the church’s growth in knowledge, attendance, membership, maturity or activity.

So which one is the right standard by which to measure a church’s growth?

I believe they are all important. Just like my son’s growth includes every facet of his being, the church’s growth must also include every facet of its being. In other words, “church growth” is holistic.

The term holistic stems from the same root as the word whole. It refers to viewing parts of a system as connected rather than isolated.

For example, a holistic view considers every finger on one hand in light of all the other fingers. They must work together and cannot be separated (without great pain).

According to the Great Commission in Matthew 28, a growing church will include a scriptural foundation, mission focus, congregational participation, high view of church membership, and intentional discipleship.

For the purpose of this short book, we will use the hand as a symbol for the holistic nature of church growth with each finger representing a different character trait:

  • Thumb: God’s Word is the Standard
  • Pointer: Mission is Major
  • Middle: Every Member is a Minister
  • Ring: Membership is Meaningful
  • Pinky: Disciples Make Disciples

Get a free copy of this e-booklet by subscribing to scottattebery.com.

More Rules?

My son is going to daycare this week for the first time in his life. He absolutely loves it. In fact, he’s been telling me about the rules he has learned (no hitting, screaming, yelling, etc).

Most of the rules at daycare are similar to our family rules. But a few are different. For instance (since my son is an only child) walking in a single file line and raising your hand to speak are not a part of our family rules.

But can you imagine if one of Bryce’s teachers knocked on our door this evening, barged in, and announced that we had to obey all of the daycare’s rules -even at our house? That would be nonsense.

If the teacher was insistent upon our adding to and obeying the daycare’s rules within the confines of our own house, it would imply:

1) The teacher does not believe I am not competent to parent my own household.

2) My parenting skills are not sufficient.

3) The daycare knows more about parenting than I do.

Ultimately, to walk into my house and enforce the daycare’s rules upon my family would be pure arrogance.

That is exactly what legalism is like. Legalism adds man’s rules to God’s Word and treats them equally.

  • Legalism implies that God needs help in shepherd His people.
  • Legalism suggests that God’s Word alone is not sufficient to transform lives.
  • Legalism projects the idea that man has something God needs.

Legalism is the ultimate form of spiritual arrogance -and it happens more often than you might think.

Legalism is a battle we all must fight. Its not just a temptation to the Pharisees of Scripture or the Bible-thumping fundamentalists of our day.

Legalism usually involves treating good ideas & traditions (our rules) as necessary demands (God’s Word). For instance:

1) It is a good idea to pray before a meal, but it is not a Scriptural command.

2) Wearing a hat in a corporate worship service may be culturally taboo, but it is not (in an of itself) a sin.

3) We should be careful not to dishonor Christ with our speech, but a list of “banned” words does not exist in Scripture.

Do you see how easy it can be to impose our rules on God’s Word? You might be asking, “what’s the problem with taking God’s Word a little further?”

First of all, we are warned not to add to God’s Word (Revelation 22:18). Acting as if Scripture needs help implies that we don’t believe it is sufficiently “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).

Next, treating your own rules, traditions, and preferences with the same weight as Scripture is often a way of masking sin. For instance, if you spend all your energy emphasizing prayer before meals but fail to evangelize, you are letting your own rules hide your neglect of God’s Word and, at the same time, give you a sense of false-spirituality. Its a form of self-deceit.

But more importantly, adding to God’s Word is anti-gospel. God’s Word was made flesh and dwelt among us as the “Word made flesh” (John 1:14) -Jesus. If we believe that God’s Word is insufficient and needs additional help, then it follows that we believe Jesus is insufficient and needs additional help to provide salvation. That’s why legalism always leads to a works-based salvation.

The apex of spiritual arrogance is to believe that God needs our help. It is an offense to God and a stumbling block to men.

So, its fine to have traditions, rules, and preferences. Just keep your rules where they belong -and don’t barge in on God’s Word.

Your Christianese May Be Dangerous

One of the most popular phrases in Christianity is “God is telling me to…” It is also one of the most dangerous.

In Jeremiah 28, a man named Hananiah proclaimed that God would free the people of Judah from Babylonian captivity within two years.  When the prophet Jeremiah heard this, he told Hananiah (paraphrasing) “I hope you are right. But the true test of your prophecy will be whether or not it comes true.” (Jeremiah 28:6-9) If Jeremiah, a man who was ordained by God to speak prophesy and record it into Scripture is slow to claim what is and isn’t God’s will, maybe we should be too.

Later, Jeremiah prophesied,

Listen, Hananiah, the LORD has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. Therefore thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have uttered rebellion against the LORD.” (Jeremiah 28:15-16)

God takes His Word and His reputation seriously (Psalm 138:2). Even when we quote the Bible, we should never take it lightly. Jeremiah says because Hananiah put words in God’s mouth, he “made this people trust in a lie.”  Claiming to hear from God through special revelation doesn’t just put you at a risk for personal embarrassment later, but it can also cause your brother to stumble by putting him at risk of believing lies about God. Misrepresenting God is so serious that God called it “rebellion against the Lord,” and executed Hananiah with capital punishment.

Maybe the false prophet Hananiah had good intentions. Perhaps he really thought he had something special to say.  But the problem was that He wasn’t content with the existing Word of God and so He started guessing at what He thought God might have said.  He acted as though He knew everything going on behind the curtains of God’s mystery.

You may have good intentions as well.  Maybe a thought or an idea has entered your mind that sounds so good; you know it must be from God.  Or perhaps an opportunity has developed that is so big, you can’t imagine how to explain it except that it came from God.  If that’s you, here’s a word of wisdom from Hananiah:  Don’t attach God’s name to it unless you can be 100% sure it is 100% from Him.

How “This Little Light of Mine” Can Grow

“This little light of mine, I’m gonna’ let it shine…”

I remember singing those words as a child in Sunday School. The song is based upon Jesus’s words. I particularly like Mark’s account:

And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away” (Mark 4:21-25).

After relating the analogy of the lamp, basket, bed, and stand, Jesus says, “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” That’s a phrase He used more than once to call upon those with spiritual ears to listen.

Interestingly, in the next verse, Jesus makes a similar statement, saying, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you.”

Question: In this verse was Jesus 1) repeating His plea for the spiritually quickened to listen, or 2) explaining the meaning of the analogy?

I believe he was explaining the meaning of the analogy. If that’s the case, Jesus was saying something deeper than “just hold up your light.”

Look at His next statement, “For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

Here, Jesus gives us insight into the implications of what you do with the light given unto you. It’s not just a matter of whether you will let your light shine, it’s a matter of whether God will give you more light to shine!

So, Jesus’ words might breakdown like this:

  • Pay attention to what you hear (the light you receive)
  • With the measure you use (the light put on the stand for others)
  • It will be measured to you (God will continue to supply to you)
  • And still more will be added to you (God will multiply the light you receive)

In summary, Jesus was saying that if you want more light (Spiritual revelation), you must be willing to share what you have been given. If you don’t, you’ll eventually lose what you received in the first place.

  • Pastors, want more insight into Scripture? Don’t hold back from declaring the whole truth of God’s Word to your congregation. Otherwise, you will have less to share.
  • Parents, want more biblical wisdom to impart to your children? Be faithful in exercising the wisdom you have been given. Otherwise, your parenting will suffer.
  • Believer, want more discernment for life? Put to use the insight God has already given you. Otherwise, you will find discernment more and more difficult.

The matter of spiritual light is a matter of stewardship. Use it, or lose it. Share it, and receive more of it. Then, “this little light of mine” won’t be so little anymore!

Be Encouraged in Your Role

Ministers, are you ever discouraged by the feeling that you’ll never see your goals achieved? Welcome to the club.

19th century Irish missionary, Robert Bruce spent ten years among Muslims in India before beginning his life’s work in Iran. The labor was difficult and filled with frustration. Yet, Bruce’s attitude was filled with a long-view of God’s mission rather than a short-view of his own. Listen to Bruce describe his endeavors in his own words:

“I am not reaping the harvest; I scarcely claim to be sowing the seed; I am hardly ploughing the soil; but I am gathering out the stones. That, too, is missionary work; let it be supported by loving sympathy and fervent prayer.”

Bruce was determined to look at his ministry as part of God’s work in Iran rather than the entirety of the work. That’s a great reminder for all of us. And it is encouraging because it helps us remember that the weight of God’s mission does not rest fully upon us. Christ carries that weight. We are simply called to be faithful in the role he has given us.

Bruce’s words remind me of Paul’s in I Corinthians 3:6: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”