Tag Archives: sermon

Tuesday Morning Book Review || To Sell is Human

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bookEvery Tuesday morning, I review a book that I read recently. If you missed any, you can read past reviews here. This week’s book is To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth about Moving Others (kindle version) by Daniel Pink.

Let me be honest, I love the work of Daniel Pink. This book is not exception.

Pink starts out by telling us how his book is for more than just salesman. The reality though, is that everyone is in sales. You may not make cold calls or get people to buy things, but you are seeking to motivate people everyday. Whether that is a boss, a child, a spouse or a friend.

For leaders, this concept is enormous, but it is even more important for pastors. Every week, when a pastor preaches, they are seeking to move people. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, they seek to help people move from where they are to their next step with God. This takes motivation. According to Pink, this takes sales. While pastors will bristle at this idea, it is also true. Call it motivation or sales, it is the same thing. According to Pink, “The average person spends 40% of their life trying to move others. We’re persuading, convincing, and influencing others to give up something they’ve got in exchange for what we’ve got.”

One of the problems Pink points out that we have when it comes to communicating is that we don’t help people identify the correct problem. This is huge for preaching, helping people see what they could fix. Pastors often answer questions people aren’t asking, and therefore don’t move the people they are preaching to.

Another takeaway for me as a preacher is helping people to see what a truth could look like in their life 5 years from now. I’ve started to say in sermons, “Imagine what your life would be like if you believed ____________.” People are often unmoved, not because they don’t understand something, but because they can’t see the benefit or goodness of something.

Here are a few things that jumped out:

  • One of the most effective ways of moving others is to uncover challenges they may not know they have.
  • To sell well is to convince someone else to part with resources—not to deprive that person, but to leave him better off in the end.
  • The correlation between extraversion and sales was essentially nonexistent.
  • You have to believe in the product you’re selling—and that has to show.
  • Once positive emotions outnumbered negative emotions by 3 to 1—that is, for every three instances of feeling gratitude, interest, or contentment, they experienced only one instance of anger, guilt, or embarrassment—people generally flourished.
  • Next time you’re getting ready to persuade others, reconsider how you prepare. Instead of pumping yourself up with declarations and affirmations, take a page from Bob the Builder and pose a question instead. Ask yourself: “Can I move these people?” As social scientists have discovered, interrogative self-talk is often more valuable than the declarative kind. But don’t simply leave the question hanging in the air like a lost balloon. Answer it—directly and in writing. List five specific reasons why the answer to your question is yes.
  • The problem we have saving for retirement, these studies showed, isn’t only our meager ability to weigh present rewards against future ones. It is also the connection—or rather, the disconnection—between our present and future selves.
  • The third quality necessary in moving others today: clarity—the capacity to help others see their situations in fresh and more revealing ways and to identify problems they didn’t realize they had.
  • We often understand something better when we see it in comparison with something else than when we see it in isolation.
  • So if you’re selling a car, go easy on emphasizing the rich Corinthian leather on the seats. Instead, point out what the car will allow the buyer to do—see new places, visit old friends, and add to a book of memories.
  • Clarity on how to think without clarity on how to act can leave people unmoved.
  • The purpose of a pitch isn’t necessarily to move others immediately to adopt your idea. The purpose is to offer something so compelling that it begins a conversation, brings the other person in as a participant, and eventually arrives at an outcome that appeals to both of you.
  • Questions can outperform statements in persuading others.

Overall, a worthwhile book for leaders or preachers.

Getting Through to Someone Who Isn’t Listening

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not-listening

At some point, a preacher will preach a sermon that does not go well. Or at work, a conversation will not go the way you’d hoped. The expectation you had going into the conversation of the desired outcome is not met. Maybe it is at home where you and your spouse, or you and your child seem to be ships passing in the night.

In Matthew 13 is a short parable of Jesus that I’ve pastors refer to when they preach a sermon that is not met with the same enthusiasm they expected or hoped or people have used when sharing the gospel and it went nowhere.

It says:

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, somea hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”

Notice where pastors get themselves off the hook or where we as Christians get off the hook in sharing the gospel or a conversation: Some people just aren’t open and won’t listen. What was the farmer supposed to do? The soil wasn’t ready. While that clearly happens and there is some truth there.

Notice what the farmer did. He spread the seed out, he did what he was supposed to do. It was soil, he planted seed in soil the way you are supposed to plant soil.

Many pastors and Christians who share the gospel are content to let themselves off the hook by not doing it in a way that resonates with people who don’t know Jesus.

Here are a few ideas to keep in mind when communicating to someone, whether it is at a job, about an issue that needs to be resolved or about the gospel:

  1. Put yourself in their shoes. How are they feeling? What are their roadblocks to hearing what you have to say? Many pastors don’t remember that most of the people they preach to don’t agree with them. Don’t assume you have agreement on the foundational pieces of your conversation or sermon. 
  2. Have a goal in mind. What is a win? If the conversation or sermon ends, how will you know if it is a success? Is that goal realistic? Everything should be moving in that direction. When I preach, I have a big idea. The big idea is the one idea I want everyone to leave knowing. If people can’t say it and remember it, it wasn’t a success.
  3. Remember you don’t control their response. This is true, but easy to forget. You don’t change anybody’s mind. You don’t force anybody into the kingdom of God. You don’t make someone kill an idol in their heart, the Holy Spirit does. You don’t make your child or spouse who God wants them to be, He does. Remember your role in the process.
  4. Be prepared. The farmer was prepared. If you preach, you should be obviously prepared for your sermon. Do your homework. You as a pastor pay the price for your sermon, not your church. The farmer did his job, he planted the seed and let them grow. He didn’t force them, he planted.

Monday Morning Mind Dump…

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mind dump

  • What a week
  • I got back Thursday from a few days at a preaching conference in Reno and hit the ground running on my sermon
  • It was an unbelievable conference
  • You can read my notes from it here
  • I preached yesterday on John 3:16
  • One of the most well known, beloved verses in the Bible that most people do not believe is true
  • If you missed it, you can listen to it here
  • I have been loving preaching through the book of John
  • I wasn’t sure how I would like as I’ve never preached through a gospel before and it’s a different genre of Scripture from what we’ve done in the past
  • But it has been awesome
  • After church yesterday we had 60 people in our house for a meeting about our final fundraiser for our adoption
  • We will be working on the home of a widow and through that we are hoping to raise 9-15K for travel expenses to Ethiopia and other expenses
  • I was blown away by the amount of people who are willing to help us and give up time and raise money with us
  • It is humbling to think about all the people who have helped Nehemiah join our family and this child as well
  • I’m excited about this week as the last few have been crazy in our house and this is a slower week
  • Definitely in need of that
  • I have lunch today with my accountability partner, which is always a helpful time
  • If you as a leader or man don’t have someone who can ask you hard questions and challenge you, you will never be who God created you to be
  • It is really helpful to have this
  • I’ll blog this week about how a pastor finds this person as it can be difficult
  • Over the weekend I almost finished Dan Brown’s new book Inferno
  • So good
  • Definitely more like Angels and Demons than The Lost Symbol, which I think is a good thing
  • I’m really excited about our church starting Financial Peace University this Tuesday
  • This made a huge impact on Katie and I and I can’t recommend it enough
  • You can sign up for the class here

Preach the Word 2013: Good Preaching || Justin Anderson

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bookI’m at the Preach the Word conference through Acts 29 today and as always, posting my notes to the sessions I attend.

Justin and his wife Emilie Anderson have been married for 7 years and have three children, Lily, Cole and Penny. Before moving to San Francisco, Justin planted Praxis Church in 2004. Since then the church has multiplied to two campuses and merged with two other churches to form Redemption Church. Justin has successfully transitioned Redemption to the next generation of leaders. Redemption SF is the next chapter in his life-long desire to help people meet Jesus and live the transformed life that only the Gospel can bring.

Here are some things from his session:

  • If an athlete will beat his body for a perishable wreath, preachers should beat themselves and work hard at their gift. 
  • Just be you. 
  • Nobody buys it when you sound like someone else.
  • If you believe God has called you to preach, then preach you.
  • It may take 250 sermons to decide on their voice, but you don’t get 250 sermons to decide if you are any good at it.
  • You don’t have to be funny to be a good preacher. If you aren’t funny in life, don’t be funny at preaching.
  • Only preach for as long as people want to listen to you. 
  • Sermon length is not measured in minutes, but in minutes beyond interest.
  • Every guy would be better if they cut out 5 minutes of their sermon.
  • Tim Keller preachers for 35 minutes and none of you are better than Keller.
  • Every point should make the same point. 
  • Your people can only understand one idea a week.
  • You are only able to communicate well one idea a week.
  • The combination means you should preach one idea every week.
  • Everything should make your main idea clearer.
  • If it isn’t clear, you lost them.
  • Listen to what your body is saying. 
  • Everything communicates, everything.
  • Hands, volumes, pace, eye line, posture. It all communicates.
  • Communicate every point to the dead center of the room.
  • Your body should communicate and match what your words are saying.
  • Your weight and body matter. Your presentation of yourself matters.
  • The people in your congregation have to see themselves in you.
  • At the very least, your church needs to respect you as someone worth following.
  • Your body communicates in a message what is most important.
  • Operate a manual transmission. 
  • First gear is our pastoral, priestly voice. It is quiet, communicates difficult truths. Speak with a slow, drawn out cadence.
  • Second gear is my teacher voice. This is the voice at the beginning of the sermon. This is how we quote historical background and leading direct quotes.
  • Third gear is the main voice, 50-60% of the voice in a sermon. It is the voice of exhortation, impassioned stories.
  • Fourth gear is the high point of the sermon. Everything from your volume, pace, posture and focus of your eyes should communicate this is the climax of the sermon. Should include your best dramatic pauses.
  • When you say something good, wait.
  • Fifth gear is the yelling, screaming and jumping up and down. It is the voice you use when you talk about something so egregious that when you talk about it, it makes you sick. Use this only when you have to, it has to match the subject matter. It is when you are losing your mind about something.
  • Screaming is not an effective communication tool.
  • Say less, prove more. 
  • Many pastors make assumptions.
  • Many pastors don’t preach like we live in a post-Christian culture.
  • The majority of the people don’t believe any of your points, you have to prove them.
  • The Bible is not self evident to our culture.
  • Teach me, move me, show me. 
  • Knowing how to do something doesn’t make me want to do something.
  • Preaching is a tool to help people understand the gospel, stir their affections for Jesus and move people on mission.
  • Examples of 4 archetypes to speak to. 
    • The mechanic who works hard, no bull crap. He wants it straight, no fluff, just say it. He wants handles and he wants it in the first 10 minutes.
    • The smart skeptic. This person wants a sermon that is intelligent. You need to address them every time you say something unbelievable. If it is supernatural, faith driven, you have to talk to him or else you are saying, “I don’t acknowledge your presence or I don’t acknowledge your skepticism as valid.”
    • The disciple, the bought in. They love you, they love the gospel. They want something to chew on. They love your sermon the moment they get out of the car.
    • The dude who is there for chicks. Get them at the end with your hammer. He only listens at the end. Remember, he is there to do bad things to the girls God has entrusted to your church.
  • There are more than these people in your church, but if you hit these 4, you will hit everyone.
  • Everything isn’t awesome. 
  • Choose your words carefully.
  • Grace is amazing, everything else has to be somewhere below that.
  • If everything is amazing, nothing is amazing.
  • The cross is remarkable, the burrito in your story was good.
  • You don’t have to convince someone that something is amazing if it is truly amazing.
  • If Jesus is awesome, you don’t have to beg me to believe Jesus is awesome. They will see it.
  • Every time you beg someone to believe something is great, the less sure they are that something is great.
  • Nurture your brain and your heart. 
  • We have to work hard. 
  • Fill your brain and heart with things that are worthwhile.

This is a session that is a great one to use as a preacher to evaluate how you are doing.

Preach the Word 2013: Textual Preaching || Tony Merida

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bookI’m at the Preach the Word conference through Acts 29 today and as always, posting my notes to the sessions I attend.

Tony Merida is the founding pastor of Imago Dei Church. He also serves as Associate Professor of Preaching at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has written two books — Orphanology and Faithful Preaching, as well as numerous articles. Tony has a Ph.D. in Preaching and a masters of theology from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and a bachelors degree in education from the University of the Cumberlands, where he played baseball. Tony and his wife, Kimberly, have five children.

Tony spent his talk looking at 2 Timothy chapter 3:14 – 4:4 and how to keep your finger on the text in preaching.

Here are some thoughts from his talk on “Textual Preaching”:

  • Too many people try to preach without a bible or counsel without a bible. It’s like playing football without a ball. 
  • Throughout 2 Timothy, Paul contrasts guys who are faithless and tells Timothy to be different.
  • Continue in the word personally. 
  • You can’t share something you don’t know and feel personally.
  • Paul tells Timothy, “Don’t ever stop studying the scripture, be consumed with the Scriptures.”
  • Paul is at the end of his life and he still is studying the Bible and he wants community.
  • Don’t just study the Scripture, we need to continue to believe the Scripture. Continue believing what you have always believed, don’t adjust the Scriptures.
  • Trust the Scriptures.
  • The bible doesn’t answer all the questions we’ve ever had, but answers all the questions we need to know.
  • People are in serious debt because they can’t interpret the old testament.
  • The Bible is a book about Jesus, that’s it.
  • Study the Scriptures to see Christ.
  • The Scriptures makes us wise for salvation.
  • Make the hero of the Bible the hero of every sermon.
  • To hear the voice of God, we open the word of God.
  • You show what you believe about the Bible by how you use the Bible.
  • The word should lead us to the pulpit, the pulpit should not lead us to the word.
  • Preach the word pastorally. 
  • We preach in the sight of God. No preacher ever goes unnoticed by God.
  • Every preacher gives an account to God for how he stewards his gift of preaching.
  • He is to preach on God, for God.
  • When the word of God is truly preached, the voice of God is truly heard.
  • Preaching is saying what God has said in his word and declaring what God has done in Christ. 
  • Ranting is not preaching.
  • More heresy is preached during application.
  • Preach the word consistently. 
  • Be willing to preach when you don’t feel like it or when it is hard.
  • Preach the word comprehensively. 
  • Some people need rebuke in preaching, some encouragement, some challenge.
  • Some need to be convinced in preaching or exhorted or edified.
  • Preach the word patiently. 
  • Sanctification is a slow process, not an instantaneous result.
  • There is a cumulative effect to your preaching, stick with it and be faithful over a series of years.
  • One of the ways we are patient is when we realize how patient God is with us.
  • Preach the word theologically. 
  • Preaching is different from teaching.
  • Preaching evangelizes, the gospel is tied to preaching but teaching does not always do that.
  • Preaching involves exhortation where teaching is not always doing that.
  • Preaching involves exultation, we are reveling in the Bible and the truth that we see here.
  • You need teaching when you preach because you have to explain things to people, teaching is explanation.
  • We have to do the teaching part so that our preaching is clear.
  • Pray for your people. 
  • Pray that your people would enjoy sound doctrine and good gospel preaching, that they would not come to evaluate a performance but be an active participant.
  • Pray that our listeners would hear hard truth humbly, they would not go looking for teachers who have softened the gospel or diluted it.
  • Pray that people would be eager to hear the gospel which alone can satisfy their passions.
  • Pray that people would repent when they hear truth.
  • The context of 2 Timothy is present suffering that will give way to future glory. That is very applicable to preachers. You must take a long view of your ministry of the word.
  • When Jesus appears, you will not regret expounding the word faithfully as a pastor.
  • Underneath the overwhelming challenge of preaching is God who is faithful.

Tony’s session was a great reminder that all we have and all we need as preachers is the Bible. It is beautiful and amazing and we need to know it in our head, let it penetrate our hearts so that we can preach it to our churches.

Preach the Word 2013: Panel Discussion

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At the end of each day at the Preach the Word conference they did a panel discussion with the speakers for the day. Here are some things that jumped out at me from the discussion with Justin Holcomb, Alex Early and Leonce Crump:

  • You can grow a church through preaching through books of the Bible. 
  • When you go to minister to people, take someone with you. Don’t hang out with non-Christians on your own. Use that as a chance to mentor and disciple new leaders.
  • An indicative in the Bible is not the gospel, it is often the fruit of the gospel. It is describing, “this is the reality.”
  • Everyone wants to be a good person. An effective communicator sets up the tension that you can’t be.
  • Sometimes guys plant churches because they want to have a crowd to preach to. That’s not a good reason to plant.
  • You narrow your approach to preaching if you don’t think about who is in the room.
  • You can’t go wrong preaching Jesus because he’s always confrontational but always welcoming.
  • To reach your neighbor, you must know your neighbor.
  • You are a lazy pastor if you don’t evaluate your preaching.

Preach the Word 2013: Preaching as Worship || Leonce Crump

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bookI’m at the Preach the Word conference through Acts 29 today and as always, posting my notes to the sessions I attend.

Leonce Crump II is the lead planter and pastor of Renovation Church. He has been in ordained ministry for 9 years, is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma and holds Masters degrees in Criminal Justice, with a focus on Case Law (University of Tennessee), Missional Leadership (Resurgence Theological Training Center), and has finished his Masters of Divinity at Reformed Theological Seminary. Leonce and his wife Breanna have lived in the Grant Park community of Atlanta for 3 years, and have two daughters.

Here are some thoughts from his talk:

  • He focused on these questions: 
    • Why do you preach? What are you trying to accomplish? What do you think about when you approach the text or consider your people?
    • Why do you listen to preaching? What are you there for? Are you there for instruction or relief, entertainment, to laugh or to cry?
    • Who is God?
  • For many pastors, they have corrupt reasons for preaching or for the content they give in a sermon.
  • Stop mimicking your favorite podcasts and use your voice for your people in your context.
  • If you attend a church, do you put unreasonable expectations on your pastor because of the famous guy you listen to from the other side of the country?
  • Somewhere between why you preach, why you listen and who is God is the act of preaching.
  • Preaching as worship starts with your preparation in the word.
  • What is the word doing in you before you try to communicate it to others?
  • What is the word doing in your heart as a listener?
  • It’s the same bible for everybody, it’s not special for anyone. It’s the same for everyone.
  • You fail as a Christian if your spiritual life grows only through sermons, vicariously through preachers.
  • Preaching becomes worship when we turn our eyes from our problems toward the king of glory.
  • Worship means “to shape your worth.” We worship what shapes us.
  • Preaching is worship when our worth is shaped around the resurrected Savior.
  • Preaching should show that Jesus is able to do everything (Romans 16:25).
  • Preaching cannot fix your life.
  • Preaching is to give people a big view of God.
  • Preaching should be helpful, create handles and hooks, and applicable, but preaching should never be manipulative.
  • We approach the bible with 3 problems: identity, idols and need and Jesus can fill them all.

This session was straight at pastors as to the motives of their preaching. A great word for preachers and the identity they find in preaching and the response of their people. He also looked at the motivations and expectations people have when they come to church and listen to a sermon.