Now What

Several years ago I was sitting in church and at the end of the message I sat there wondering...."Now What?"

Don't get me wrong...it was a good message...loaded with information....BUT...I went home that day asking "What do I do now?" And then week after week that same thought kept hitting me. Even after taking a new ministry position...the same thing. Very informative...but no application.

I think often times many pastors/teachers have worked hard on their message and even on their delivery but they end up falling a little short. You can greatly enhance your message by always making sure people know how to apply what they just heard.

Why is this important? Because people aren't just challenged to be hearers but doers. And it is important that we show them how to apply what they are hearing so they can be doers.

As you are writing your next message, simply ask "Now What?" Take it from the perspective of someone who will be sitting there listening. Make sure you are teaching what they can do next now that they have heard.

Bring Clarity With Your Delivery

Don't worry...I didn't forget about our little series on The Delivery.

If your not sure what I'm talking about....I told everyone in my post "It Was In The Delivery" that I don't like listening to a lot of speakers because of a certain reason.

We then began to go about helping with a couple of posts: "Why Delivery Is So Important" and "Connect In Your Delivery".

It was about a few three years into speaking that I realized that when you were speaking to teenagers you needed to make sure you said what you needed to say and were clear about it. That's one of the reason's I started this little series. Back then there was no body helping me to show me who to speak better.

Sure I was told things like, "you've got to be prayed up" and "make sure you have the anointing". But I was never told the importance of clarity when I spoke.

One way to bring clarity is lessen your content. Often times you will see Pastor's trying to cram so much into one message that they end up all over the place. I once sat in on a message on a Sunday morning where the person speaking said the had 19 points. Another time I was able to put together a whole 5 week message series just from one single Sunday morning.

Point is it was too much. It was too much for a person to process, to follow and to be able to act on. Where could they start.

Honestly, there is no harden rule that says you have to have 3 points in a message. Yes that is better than 19 and it does boil it down a little simpler. Some of the best speakers now actually speak on one point.

The point is....be simple and clear when you speak. Less can actually be more and help people get more out of what you are trying to say.

Connect In Your Delivery

Last week I began talking about why delivery in a church message is so important. You can catch up with "It Was In The Delivery" and "Why Delivery Is So Important" if you missed those two.

So let's go about fixing it a little.

Remember we are not trying to take away from the fact that the Holy Spirit and the Word of God our crucial. What we are attempting to do is make sure we don't get in the way of them doing what they need to do.

One of the first important factors that you can do with your message is CONNECT your audience to it. This can be done by story telling, asking questions, relating it to what they may be going through.

Answer Why
Connecting helps fill in the question of "WHY". From an audience perspective, why do I need to hear this.

The answer is more than "cause it's church and you need to hear the Word of God."

When you sit down to prepare your message, you must realize you have a variety of people, age groups and situations they are going through. Why specifically do each of them need to hear this particular message? If you will start with that in mind you will already begin to connect.

Tell Stories
Telling Stories not only relates but helps them connect with you the speaker. One thing I usually do is try to tell a story from my life that relates to the topic. That way they will see that I have gone through it or they will get to know me a little better. I will usually start out with a life story to try to relate the message with my life.

Ask Questions
It is ok to ask questions of your audience. Now these are rhetorical questions. They are meant to get them to think about situations they have gone through that leads them into the why this is so important for them to hear. You can do this with the variety of age groups and demographic differences. Remember the more you connect them into the why the more they will actually listen.

It is more than just being a great personality. You don't have to think you need to be a great personality to begin being a great speaker. I have heard many speakers that don't necessarily have a great charismatic personality yet what they spoke it was powerful.

Begin connecting your audience in your message so they will know the "Why" to why they are listening.

Why Is Delivery So Important

If I didn't run everyone off with my last post thinking, "who does this guy think he is", we are going to get into it with this post and some others, with some practical ways to deliver your message.

But I have to ask the question, "Why is it so important to have a good delivery when speaking?" "If it's the Word of God isn't it enough?"

Those are great questions and in reality the truth is, God's Word was written simply enough that everyone can understand it. At least the Gospel is...

So if it is simple enough why do we need to have a great delivery?

A Great Delivery Brings Clarity
I've been in many churches where I've actually walked out and said what in the world was he talking about. Now if after being a Christian and a pastor for 14 years that happens to me, what about someone walking in for the first time? Or what about someone who is young in the faith?

A Great Delivery Connects The Message
Stories and questions are great ways to give people a reason to listen and connect them to what you are talking about.

A Great Delivery Applies It
Even some of the best speakers miss this. When a person walks away do they know how to apply all the information.

Because Eternity Is On The Line
You may not get a second chance at an unchurched person in your church. It is proven that on Sunday's is when the people visit churches....people who are unchurched and who don't have a relationship with Christ. Yes, God's Word is enough in itself but even in His Word it says they can't hear unless someone preaches to them.

It Was In The Delivery

This is going to come out very harsh...BUT...I'm going to say it anyway.

I don't like how many pastors/preachers "preach/teach" because frankly...they are boring not very good.

OUCH...I told you...now let me tell you why I say that. A lot of pastors/preachers think that all they have to do is pull out a Scripture and talk about it. The thought is, "It's the Word of God and that is enough."

Technically, I have no problem with the Word of God...it is alive and rich. Every time I pick it up I can read something I have read before and get something new.

The problem comes not in the Word but in the delivery system. A bad speaker can get in the way of the great Word of God. You may not want to hear that. You may not like that. You may not agree with it....BUT...it is a reality.

I can already hear your complaints...in fact I already know most of the ones you will probably say but I'm gonna open the floor to you anyway...PLUS...I really want to dig into this one a little bit.

Let's talk through the message and work on some of the mechanics.

So....THOUGHTS????

[photo credit flickr.com]