Archives For Delivery

7 Characteristics of Effective Preaching

May 7, 2013 — 2 Comments

For many years I have obsessed over studying great preaching and preachers. They are all different. All have their own unique style and approach to delivering a message.

However, there are 7 characteristics that they all have in common.

Photo Credit: Christopher Meredith cc

1. Preach with Borrowed Authority

The best preachers do not preach from their own authority, but from God’s.

You are an ambassador of Christ. You are representing Him. Stay true to His word. Anything you say is just an opinion. Anything God says is law. Don’t apologize for what He says.

2. Preach with Flexibility

The best preachers keep an open ear to the Holy Spirit.

Plan and prepare thoroughly, but don’t be so tied to your script that you have no room for the Spirit to move. Often the best moments of a message are the ones that were unscripted. Some of the most powerful things we say are the words that come to us in the middle of a message.

3. Preach with the Body

The best preachers don’t just preach with their lips, but with their whole body.

Body language says a lot. If you stand still and don’t move, chances are your people will not be moved by the message either. Loosen up.

In Delivery, Preaching authority, flexibility, gestures, improve your preaching, love, passion, preaching, urgency

What Infomercials Can Teach Us About Preaching

February 11, 2013 — 3 Comments

Believe it or not, preachers can learn a ton from infomercials.

Why? Because as cheesy as some of these infomercials can be, they are highly effective at what they are created to do – sell.

Marketing experts are paid millions of dollars a year to research and test marketing strategies that improve product sales.

The next time you see an infomercial for a Snuggie or P90X, take notes. They all follow the same 5-step process:

Problem > Solution > Testimony > Action > Urgency

So what does this have to do with preaching you ask? Everything!

Every public speaker is trying to sell something – either a product, service, or idea. Every speaker is trying to get the audience to buy what they are saying.

Preachers are the same. We sell Biblical ideas. We are trying to persuade people to buy into the truth that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation.

Allow me to break the 5-step process down and show you how it applies to preaching. Continue Reading…

In Delivery, Preaching, Sermon Prep, Writing How to Preach, Infomercials, Marketing, Persuasive preaching, preaching, Preaching Structure, sermon in a sentence, Sermon Structure

41 Ways to Risky Preaching

January 25, 2013 — 1 Comment

When was the last time you took a risk in your preaching?

Many pastors fall into a comfortable rut. They preach the same style of message every week. They use the same kinds of illustrations. They wear the same kinds of clothes. They never take risks. They never ruffle any feathers.Nobody is ever shocked or even slightly offended.

The thing is, sometimes, Jesus shocked people. Sometimes, Jesus offended people.

Jesus was a risky preacher.

Thinking about this, I came up with a list of 41 ways to take a risk preaching. Some might be more risky than others. Some might only feel risky to you, because you have never done it. Some may not be a risk at all because you do it every week.

The idea is to push yourself. Take a risk. Experiment a little so you don’t get stuck doing what you always do. You just might find something you like that you add to your preaching arsenal.

41 Ways to Take a Preaching Risk

In Delivery, Preaching anger, controversy, delivery, emotion, humor, improve your preaching, preaching, preaching experiment, public speaking, risk

How to Eliminate Bad Speaking Habits. Umm… Like… You Know?

January 10, 2013 — Leave a comment

When I took my first public speaking class in college, I was excited. I wanted to be a preacher. Public speaking was going to be my thing. I thought, “This class will be cake! I get to work on my skills and get an easy A.”

When it came time for me to give my first talk, I stood up confidently and killed it! The best presentation ever. The class was speechless.

When I sat down, the professor said the worst thing anyone can say after a presentation, “Any feedback class?”

For the next 10 minutes listened in horror as each of my classmates ripped me for all of my bad habits. Apparently I said “um” every sentence. I looked at my notes almost the entire speech. And I gripped the podium on both sides like a man on a life raft aboard the Titanic.

The worst part was I had no idea that I was doing any of this. I thought they were all liars who were just jealous of my awesomeness. But then I watched myself back on video. They were right!

I had bad preaching habits and didn’t know it.

In Delivery bad habits, delivery, eye contact, filler words, gestures, improve your preaching, preaching, public speaking

VIDEO: It Takes More Than Passion to Preach

December 7, 2012 — 2 Comments

Passion is a key ingredient to good preaching. Nobody wants to listen to a passionless preacher. However, passion alone doesn’t make a speaker good.

It takes more than passion to preach. You still need the fundamental principles of effective public speaking.

Watch this infamous video to see what I’m talking about:

Can’t see the video? Click here.

Phil is exploding with passion. Nobody can argue that. But he breaks some of the major principles of effective public speaking.

7 Thing We Can Learn From Phil

1. Vocal tone should match context. Continue Reading…