It seems I still haven’t been able to shake my love/hate relationship with speaking and preaching. I’m definitely my worst critic, but I feel bad when it leaks into the critique of others sometimes.
Some people speak just to say something (the blabbers),
And as the saying goes, some people speak because they have something to say (which is nice)
Some people have something to say, but it’s irrelevant to who they’re speaking to (the guy with the megaphone on the street)
Some people speak just to be heard (folks with passion and great stuff to say, but rush through it thinking that getting it off their chest will make a difference)
And then there’s people who speak to transform (and they leave a mark on your soul you can’t seem to get rid of)
I try to be the last. It doesn’t always work out, but I’m committed to the art.
How do you go about speaking to change?
Photo by cromacom
A seminar for teachers, preachers, speakers, leaders and pastors serious about reclaiming the art of the sermon.
I’m really not big on conferences at all. But I’ll be at this one.
I’ve got someone looking to share half a ticket with (one registration gets two people in). Let me know ASAP if you’ve got one or know of someone with one.
My cheap cell phone plan doesn’t work in the States – but I’ll try to get some online access if possible. Contact or twitter me if you’re in the area. Would love to connect with some real people while I’m there.
Here’s a taste of what’s on the schedule:
The Original Guerilla Theatre (Rob Bell)
The Story We’re Telling (Rob Bell)
Returning to the New: An Introduction to Tranformance Art (Peter Rollins)
How Technology Shapes the Sermon (Shane Hipps)
The Fig and the Failure of Language (Rob Bell)
Fumbling Around with Your Radar (Rob Bell)
For Those With Ears to Hear: Parables and the Lost Art of Provocation (Peter Rollins)
You are the Medium (Shane Hipps)
The One Thing I’ve Never Heard Someone Talk About That Has Changed Everything For Me (Rob Bell)
Update: I think our ticket situation is taken care of thanks to the glory of twitter. You can also follow the twitter hashtag #ppp09 to follow along as well.
Yesterday was a preaching bomb.
Ever have everything prepared, really know your material, and still fail to deliver?
I wanted it over as soon as I got up… and I just pushed through it.
I love preaching, even though I question it’s role, I’m thrilled whenever I can engage hearts and minds with the Scriptures and the Spirit of God is working… but this was my most uncomfortable preaching moment by far.
I’m still processing through what happened. I know I’ve been going through some spiritual unsteadiness. There has been family-oriented strains and lots of mixed feelings lately. I had not slept much and I woke up just feeling weak.
I was tasked with sharing about my own personal visions in life. This is important stuff, for myself personally and our lives going forward of course. But, I felt like I was talking more about me, than Jesus. Something about that felt powerless.
I need to crawl somewhere and hide for awhile.
by Lon on November 23, 2007
In our seminary, expository narrative preaching is emphasized quite a bit.
Where traditional sermons have multiple points that are supported in a variety of ways, in narrative preaching the stories and metaphors are the points. The key is that with any good ’story’ tension is created and held for impact until nearly the end of the sermon.
I’ve been thinking about this ‘methodology’ and I think it can be taken a step further.
There is… umm… a sexual art-form known as tantric (I had to look it up to verify) that is known to be a spiritual encounter involving a prolonged engagement where tension is held to the end, but there may also be ‘releases’ throughout the experience as well.
I think this form of preaching might be more helpful in our culture of short attention spans while weaving a captivating story till the grand finale… Tantric Preaching. You heard it here first.
