Next level communicators pay attention to the big five.
Next level communicators pay attention to the big five.
Communication expert, Dr. Bryan Chapell, outlines the five things in a talk listeners are most likely to remember. In order, they are:
Unusual delivery
Illustrations (the last, the first, then others)
Applications strongly disagreed with/Applications strongly agreed with.
Striking or strange ideas within the talk
The general theme or thrust of the message (Taken from his book, Christ-centered Preaching, pages 125-126).
This is really helpful information, a sort of cheat code, we should use whenever we put a talk together. So let’s spend a few moments unpacking each of these concepts, along with practical ways we can use them to take our presentations to the next level.
Unusual Delivery:
This can cover a wide variety of things, like a really bad talk that just bombed, to a very good one, or one which possessed an unusual feature like an accent. Jon Tyson is one of the best communicators in the world, and while his content and delivery are rich, the fact he speaks with an Australian accent is helpful as well. Where does that leave the rest of us, who communicate with culturally normal accents? Is there anything we can do to be unusual? Yes. Using a visual aid to imprint a point you wish to make in the minds of your audience fits this category. Speaking with appropriate passion to an audience who is not used to passion qualifies as unusual. I have friends of mine who speak sometimes in a first person narrative, even dressing the part of the character they are portraying. Think Joseph, the husband of Mary, in the nativity scene. Feel free to be creative, but as you know, this can go really well or really bad, which, well, the more I think about it will make it unusual, but not always for the right reasons. Seriously, consult respected peers and mentors before you dive in.
Illustrations:
We have talked extensively about the neuroscience connecting stories with retention in previous posts; so you know how passionate I am about a great illustration. But did you notice how Dr. Chapell ranks the order of illustrations when it comes to retention. People are most likely to first remember your last illustration, then your opening one and then the rest. What this tells me is it’s important to finish with a strong illustration which will inspire your audience to action.
Applications strongly disagreed/agreed with:
I do want to caution us. Let’s not be contentious for the sake of retention. However, the Greeks said people left the presence of a great speaker always feeling as if they learned something new (logos). Your presentation should challenge people’s biases and preferences. When you make applications which cut against the grain of their presuppositions, they will leave turning your ideas over and over and over again, in their minds. Remember, your applications must be true, but maybe we need to put the work in to phrase them a bit differently. Also, some of the best applications move from strongly disagree, to agree. What seems wrong at first, only to become, “Ah, that’s right,” is real gold for the communicator. Here’s a few examples:
I am not saved by my performance: Hell will be filled with many virgins, and heaven will be filled with many former prostitutes.
“God does not love you to the degree that you are like Christ. Rather, he loves you to the degree that you are in Christ, and that’s one hundred percent”- Rankin Wilbourne.
The church does not need old people. The church needs patriarchs and matriarchs; there’s a difference.
Striking or strange ideas within the talk:
When people come to hear you, they are making a serious investment of time, which means they do not need to be told what they already know. Your presentation should offer something new to many in your audience. Jesus did this. All of his messages centered around a new thing called the kingdom of heaven. Steve Jobs was a revolutionary communicator not because of his gifts of oratory, but because of his new, counter-cultural ideas and products. Yes, Martin Luther King, Jr., was a world class communicator, but let’s not forget the substance behind his style was this novel American ideology of nonviolence. If you are a preacher, the message we carry is an ancient one, so no need to come up with something new. However, remember the good news will be new to at least a few in our audience. Also keep in mind, that even though the message may be old, there are innovative ways we can frame the message which challenge the ideals of our context. For example, if you are preaching in the south, framing the gospel as opposed to religion will be both true and new to many who are in your audience.
The general theme or thrust of the message:
Sometimes it’s more than our ideas within a message which is new, but the whole premise of the message is new. If you are giving a talk on artificial intelligence, you’ve got a head start on the likelihood of your audience retaining the information because your message is shaped around a relatively new technology. If you are an educator giving a talk on the harm social media can present to students, your very subject is going to make the audience lean in. However, what are we to do as preachers whose subject is several millennia old? Set your sights on the felt need of your sermon, and let that be the new driving application and show how the gospel speaks to that. Scripture does speak to artificial intelligence and social media and technology. It’s in there, I promise. For example, Christians should wrestle with questions like, “Will AI harm the services industry, and what does the biblical worldview say to that?” See how you can take the bible and make the whole message an innovative one, just by addressing a new concept?
If you’re interested in one on one coaching to take your communication to the next level, you can find out more information here.
What I’m Reading:
The Mercy King, by Scott Sauls.
Next level communicators throw baseballs, not sand.
Next level communicators throw baseballs, not sand.
If I were to ask which are you more likely to catch, a fistful of sand or a baseball, we all know it’s the baseball. We know this because although a baseball is made up of several parts, it is held together as one unified whole, making it easier for a person to catch, than throwing random parts all at once to them. The key to the baseball’s receptivity is its unity.
Make the switch from throwing sand to throwing baseballs, and you will see immediate growth in your communication…like, immediate.
Too many gifted communicators throw sand to their audience, where they say a lot of good things, but because they have not done the work to stitch them together in one theme, “the grains of sand,” fall to the ground. Our presentations are for listeners, not readers. When a person reads, they have the luxury of going back a few pages or chapters, to get clarity, or receive, what they may have dropped. The people who come and hear us don’t have that option. Here’s a scary thought: When we fail to present a unifying theme for our messages, the listener will provide their own. I’ll say that again: When we fail to present a unifying theme for our message, the listener will provide their own. It’s the classic hour or so after your talk, and someone asks them what it was about? They are going to provide an answer, the real question is will they provide the one you intended. If you threw a baseball, they will. If you got up and tossed out a bunch of really good, but disconnected ideas, they won’t get what you intended, because you didn’t help them to get what you intended.
Yes, every presentation must have a unifying theme, somewhere in the neighborhood of seven to ten words, which canvasses all of your talk. I find this to be the most agonizing, but rewarding part of my preparation. Here’s some thoughts about a unifying theme, along with an example:
Should be crafted towards the end of the preparation. After you have spent sufficient time researching your topic, now you are ready to put together the unifying theme. Just the other day I was asked by a church to preach on John 4, and Jesus’ conversation with a Samaritan woman at the well. Here was my unifying statement: We do whatever it takes to bring the gospel to all people. Okay, it’s twelve words…sue me, lol.
It’s your filter. Your unifying statement allows you to determine what makes it into your presentation, and what does not. If it does not clearly link into the statement, then it has to go. This will help you throw a baseball and not sand. I don’t care how innovative that idea is, or cool your illustration, unless it clearly connects, save it for another talk.
Should be placed towards the beginning of your presentation. After I’ve made the introduction, and moved to the felt need, I then like to set up and give the unifying statement, even at times, having my audience say the statement with me.
All of your points must connect to your unifying statement. For example, my points for the John 4 talk were: 1. We do whatever it takes to bring the gospel to all people; 2. We do whatever it takes to bring the gospel to all people, even if it makes me uncomfortable; 3. We do whatever it takes to bring the gospel to all people, even if it makes them uncomfortable.
When we put the work into crafting a unifying statement for every talk, we will position the audience to receive the content we will “throw” their way. If you want to instantly sharpen your effectiveness as a next level communicator, learn to throw a baseball and not sand.
If you’d like to receive one-on-one coaching in your journey as a communicator, go here.
What I’m reading:
Next level preachers find their way to Christ.
Next level preachers find their way to Christ.
Note: If you’re looking to grow as a communicator, I’d like to personally help. Click here for more info.
The nineteenth century preacher, Charles Spurgeon, was adamant how every sermon should wind its way to Christ. In talking to a group of young ministers, Spurgeon said: “Don’t you know, young man, that from every town and every village and every hamlet in England, wherever it may be, there is a road to London? So from every text of Scripture there is a road to Christ. And my dear brother, your business is, when you get to a text, to say, now, what is the road to Christ? I have never found a text that had not got a road to Christ in it, and if ever I do find one, I will go over hedge and ditch but I would get at my Master, for the sermon cannot do any good unless there is a savor of Christ in it” (Lectures to My Students, page 49).
Jesus would agree with Spurgeon. In John 5, our Savior said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39). What a statement, especially when we consider the “Scriptures” Jesus refers to is what we today know as the Old Testament. Yep, everywhere we look in the bible, there’s Jesus. Let me give you a few examples:
I Samuel 16. The story of David and Goliath is not about how God wants to kill the giants in your life. We actually see Christ. Have you ever wondered why both sides agreed to whoever won between David and Goliath, their whole nation would win? This wasn’t just a gentleman’s agreement, or a nice thing to do, but something called, “representative warfare”. David represents the covenant people of God, so his victory becomes theirs. What is Jesus called? The “Son of David”. On the cross he goes to war with Satan and his forces, and whoever places their faith in Jesus receives his victory since Christ is our representative.
Psalm 55. In this psalm, we see David agonizing over the hurt he received when he was betrayed by his close friend Ahithophel. Towards the end of the psalm, David exhorts us to, “Cast our burden upon the Lord”. Jesus, too, was betrayed (interesting, both Judas and Ahithophel would commit suicide), and on the cross, Jesus cast himself on God.
Proverbs. While it may appear Proverbs doesn’t point to Jesus, look closer. In the book, wisdom is personified as a person. To the Corinthians, Paul refers to Christ as, “the wisdom of God”. What’s more, the whole book of Proverbs can be summed up in the word, “listen”. Wise people listen, fools do not. What is the ultimate act of foolishness? To spend your life not listening to God, and rejecting the gospel, while you live your life on your own terms. And what is the wisest thing we can ever do? Submit ourselves to God and receive by grace through faith, the gospel of Christ.
Okay, so how do we as preachers grow in our skills at getting to Christ in every sermon?
Ask yourself THE question. If you got a call that a non-Christ follower had a few days to live, and they were coming to your church for the last time this Sunday, I’m going to guess you would figure out a way to connect whatever you were preaching to Christ. I think we struggle to get to Christ because we lose awareness of lost people.
Personally engage non-believers. I have two men I have been sharing Christ with, and one has taken me up on my invitation to come to church, and the other says they are coming. This has been huge in pushing me to get to Christ in every sermon.
Remember the big four. Every text points to four things- 1. God; 2. God’s people (Israel in the OT, the church in the NT); 3. Me; 4. Christ. We don’t go straight from the text to Christ, because that is lazy and will lead to us allegorizing the text. In my explanation phase of the point, I want to answer the questions, “What does this show me about God? What does this show me about God’s’ people?” Then I will make the point and move into illustration. The “me” part is application, and I will usually hold off on Christ until my conclusion.
What I’m Reading:
God’s Generals, Roberts Liardon.
Next level preachers let their living get in the way of their preaching.
Next level preachers let their living get in the way of their preaching.
Note: I mentioned last week how we are going to spend the next several weeks looking at a specific form of communication, which is preaching. For many of you who are preachers, I hope you will find these insights helpful; and for those of you who are followers of Jesus Christ, but are educators, or in some other profession, you should still be able to apply these principles, as well as seeing them as things to look for and encourage in a pastor. If you are not a person of faith, my hope is these posts will at minimum, stir a curiosity in you about the person of Christ, and the essential role he has in preaching.
Last week, I used a line from the early American pastor, John Shaw. Here’s the fuller quote, as he talks about the connection between living and preaching: “It’s true as one observes, God can work by what means He will; by a scandalous, domineering, self-seeking preacher, but it is not His usual way. Foxes and wolves are not nature’s instrument to generate sheep. Whoever knew much good done to souls by any pastors but such as preached and lived in the power of love, working by a clear, convincing light, and both managed by a holy, lively seriousness. You must bring fire to kindle fire” (The Character of a Pastor according to God’s Heart, John Shaw). Shaw lays his finger on the pulse of the issue. Does God need me to live a holy life to work through my preaching? Of course not. In fact, what has shocked me are the many weeks I have stood before people to open up God’s Word, not praying the way I should, and so swept away by the pace of life, I neglected to abide in Christ. On the other hand, what cannot be denied, is the depth of power I experience, independent of my clear outline, entertaining illustrations and laser focused applications. Homiletics (the science and art of preaching) has its place, but it must be an extension of the preacher's daily walk with Christ. Our living must get in the way of our preaching.
If I were asked by a new Christ follower to simplify the Christian life by reducing everything in the Scriptures to just a handful of verses, I would immediately, without hesitation, point them to John 15:1-8, and say, “If you live out of these eight verses, you got it.” The same is true for preachers. Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abid in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” (John 15:1-8). There it is. That’s the Christian life. I try to husband out of an abiding relationship with Christ, parent, friend and yes, preach. The key word is, abide, which means to linger, to steep, to hang out. All of the Christian life begins and ends with our commitment to daily stay connected with Christ. Abiding in Christ is more important than preaching Christ. When the gift becomes greater than the relationship, sin will overtake us, and our ministries will come to an abrupt end.
I have found that cultivating a daily, abiding relationship with Christ, impacts preaching in the following ways:
Helps me display love in my preaching. One of my consistent prayers is that people would see two things when I preach: He loves God, and he loves people. When Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment, he gave a two part answer, “Love God…love your neighbor”. All of the law, Jesus said, can be reduced to those two things. Notice, in John 15, Jesus connects abiding in Christ with fruitfulness. In Galatians 5, Paul begins his list of the “fruit of the Spirit,” with love. Just to be clear, love doesn’t mean I don’t tell people what they don’t want to hear- that’s more tolerance which is such a low ethic. Love is a sacrificial commitment which seeks the best in others, and to love people means there are times I say things to them they don’t like, but even in these moments, I say them in a kind, gracious way. Too many preachers lack love for God and people in the pulpit. Passion is needed, along with raising your voice where appropriate, but never is there a place to belittle, chide or be mean to your audience.
Shifts the focus from me, to Christ. The emphasis in John 15:1-8, is not on gifts, but on an abiding relationship with Christ, where he is our focal point, not the people I’m speaking to. Yes, we must be mindful of our audience, and do everything we can to employ principles to connect the ancient text of Scripture to their modern reality. But what abiding in Christ does is it keeps things in their place, where people are small, and Christ is big.
Keeps me from becoming a professional. When preaching is separated from living, we’ve become professionals. What we need is ethos. Ethos is how we live, and Aristotle said that ethos is the most powerful component of persuasion (confirmed by many studies since). The old preachers used to say, “Preaching will find you out.” That is very true, and what they meant by this is the Word of God we proclaim will reveal gaps in our lives. This is unavoidable, because all preaching is hypocrisy. The bible is a perfect standard, delivered by we, “jars of clay,” imperfect people. The problem isn’t the flaws revealed, but in our failure to respond, allowing the Word to do its own sanctifying work in our lives. Preaching backs the preacher into a corner, asking, “Now what will you do with this truth you are proclaiming?” If people and their affirmation and your reputation are foremost, you will become cozy with pockets of sin, excusing them away. But if Christ is your aim, where you cultivate an abiding relationship with God, preaching will become a means of grace, growing you in ethos and maturity in Christ.
What I am reading:
Black Like Me, John Howard Griffin (re-read)
Next level preachers let the lion loose.
Next level preachers let the lion loose.
Note: For the next several weeks I am going to talk about a specific kind of communication called preaching. I’m well aware there are many of you who subscribe to this email who are not preachers, and may not even be followers of Jesus. While you’ll still be able to glean some communication principles, these lessons should also help you know what to expect from a church.
Legendary football coach, Vince Lombardi (whom the Superbowl trophy is named after), would always begin each season the same way. He would gather his team, take a football and while showing it to his team would say, “Gentlemen, this is a football.” He would go on to say no matter how great their schemes may be, or how dominant their players, or how brilliant the coaching staff, none of that meant anything if they did not take care of the football. The best players, coaches and plans come to nothing if they do not take care of the football.
The same is true for preachers and our bibles. Just like a running back or wide receiver must secure the football by holding it tightly, the first, second and last job of proclaimers of God’s Word is to grip the scriptures, because that’s where the power lies. It’s the bible, not our outline, stories or insights, that is, “living and active” (Hebrews 4:12). It’s the bible, and not books about the bible, that is God breathed (2 Timothy 3:16). Charles Spurgeon was an English pastor in the nineteenth century, who said, “The Word of God is like a lion. You don’t have to defend a lion. All you have to do is let the lion loose, and the lion will defend itself.”
I’m seeing a disturbing trend among so many preachers today- they have wandered away from centering God’s Word. A disproportionate amount of the “sermon,” is spent on application, which centers people, or on illustrations. To be frank, it feels as if preachers are following the winds of culture where many use the half hour or so sounding more like therapists, than preachers. The felt needs of people have replaced the real need of the gospel. Everyone is broken, and what is needed is not a pep talk, or a therapy session, but to be shown how the living, active, God-breathed scriptures speak to my brokenness and point me to the only one who can fix it, which is Jesus. When the preacher centers the audience or themselves, thus replacing God, they may grow in popularity, and even in numbers, but will lose power. The question every preacher must answer, every day, is do we want to be famous or faithful?
So how do we let the lion of the scriptures loose? That’s an easy answer- through the exposition of the text. All this means is we explain what the passage means. Bryan Chapell defines expository sermons as those where the meaning of the passage becomes the message of the sermon (See Nehemiah 8:5-8; Luke 24:27, 32). Expository preaching is:
NOT an information dump. Sadly, this has been the knock on this kind of preaching, where many preachers want to display their degrees, and not God’s glory. A part of what it means to explain the meaning of the text, is we do it in a way where the audience can grab a hold of it and apply it to their lives. Remember, Paul tells Timothy, “All Scripture is…profitable.” if your congregation doesn’t know what to do with what you just said, then you didn’t exposit the text.
NOT boring. A boring preacher should have their ordination revoked. Okay, I’ve overstated a touch. Was Jesus boring? Not at all. He used analogies and illustrations and stories to explain deep truths of the kingdom in ways which made sense to his audience. A text may appear lifeless, but it’s not. Remember, “All Scripture is God-breathed,” which means there’s life in it, and our job is to display the life of a text.
NOT easy. Preaching which centers the audience or the preacher is lazy preaching. I don’t need to take a deep dive into the text, and sweat in my study to pull this kind of “preaching” off. All I need to do is scroll through Instagram, or watch a few television shows, and I’ve got it. But here’s what we know- life’s most worthwhile things are never easy.
Why don’t we end by grabbing our bibles, like Coach Lombardi grabbed the football, and renew your promise as a preacher to hold the text tightly, and let the lion loose.
Next level communicators speak as if they actually believe it to be true.
Next level communicators speak as if they actually believe it to be true.
Nothing turns me off more than a speaker who kind of, sort of, maybe believes what they are saying is true. You know the type, right? The let me give you something to think about kind of communicators. These dear souls would make awesome parents of young adult children, where the name of the game is, “giving them something to think about,” instead of passionate appeals as to why the decision they are about to make is harmful. But when you have the microphone and an audience, you don’t want to give people suggestions, you want to talk with a sense of urgency, as if you believe with all of your soul that what you are saying is true.
Scholar, Bryan Chapell, argues what’s missing in too many of our communicators is this sense of authority, and I wholeheartedly agree (Christ Centered Preaching). We’ve traded authority for talks and conversations. More and more it feels as if the person on stage is seated in a comfortable chair helping a couple understand each other, instead of a passionate communicator drawing from a deep well of authority. This is a real problem.
When Jesus finished his sermon on the mount, Matthew observed how the crowds who just listened to him, “...were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes” (Matthew 7:28-29). Notice, what set Jesus apart from the scribes as a communicator was authority.
When I use the term, “authority,” I’m not thinking about a person’s position, or someone raising their voice, and I’m certainly not thinking of a speaker who is mean and talks to the people as if they are kids. The image that comes to mind when I think of authority is when a referee has to make some sort of a call. Ever heard a referee sort of, kind of, blow their whistle? Have you seen a referee remove their yellow flag, look at it for a few moments and let it gently fall to the ground? Ever watched a basketball game, and see confusion over whether or not the referee called a technical for some egregious act? In all my years watching sports, I’ve never seen any of this. When it’s time for the officials to assert themselves, there’s no, “let me give you something to think about,” in their approach. They act with authority. What’s more, they have several thousand reasons not to- the upset fans who will not receive their act of authority well. But their obligation is not to the fans, but to a book which governs the game.
The number one trait of speakers who inspire and persuade, of communicators who truly move people, is authority. There’s just this thing about them where they can make you feel what they feel. Want to begin to make serious strides as a communicator? Learn to speak with authority. So how do we grow in this area? I’ve found the following helpful:
If you don’t believe it, don’t speak about it. That’s simple, right? Remember, at the heart of authority is a person who fully embraces what they are talking about. So yes, sometimes this will mean turning down a speaking engagement. I’ve done that plenty of times because what I was asked to talk about just didn’t move me. But there are other times when you may not initially feel the subject matter, but immersing yourself in the topic can lead you to be convinced that it really is true. But whatever you do, don’t agree to something because it pays well, or will look good on your resume. Say, “yes,” because you feel it.
Internalize your message. I can’t make my audience feel what I want them to feel, if I haven’t done the work to internalize my message, moving the content from my head to my bones and heart. For many young communicators, the issue is not whether or not they feel what they are talking about, but they are too stuck in their head trying to remember what comes next, and this distorts their ability to make the audience feel what they are saying.
Pick and practice your moments. You don’t want to step on the gas and make the whole message feel authoritative, that can fatigue your audience. Pick your moments, and then practice what you want to say in those moments. You may want to use phrases like, “I really need you to hear what I am about to say,” or, “If you’re taking notes, you may want to catch this,” or, “I believe this with all of my heart.”
Express authority in ways which are consistent with who you are. This is really important. If you are naturally animated, then be that when it comes to conveying authority. If you are more subdued, then be that way (A little cheat code for those who fall in this subdued category, pauses work well, right before you have your authoritative moment). If you are genuinely emotional at times, then don’t turn that off. I think you get the idea. For help, listen to communicators with your similar presentation style for how they express authority.
If you are interested in learning how to help your organization or church become more multi-ethnic, meet me and some great leaders in Orlando, May 11-12, for our Kainos event. Go here to find out more.
What I’m Reading:
Next level communicators can’t get enough of good content.
Next level communicators can’t get enough of good content.
I picked up pretty quickly that my favorite communicators had an obsession with books; they just couldn’t stop reading. So I decided to follow suit, not really knowing how formative this habit would be. The renowned Irish poet and playwright, Oscar Wilde said, “It is what you read when you don't have to that determines what you will be when you can't help it.” Reading shapes us in ways we will never fully grasp. I’ve never encountered a communicator who enriched and inspired me, who did not commit to consuming vast amounts of content.
It’s in this spirit that I not only try to share with you every week what I am reading, but several times a year I give you my top ten favorite books I’ve read. Here’s my list of books which have stirred me so far in 2026:
10: Truly, An Inspirational Journey through the Life of a Musical Legend, by Lionel Richie.
9. No Greater Love: A Biblical Vision for Friendship, Rebecca McLaughlin.
8. Hope in Times of Fear: The Resurrection and the Meaning of Easter.
7. Pappyland, Wright Thompson.
4. Washington: A Life, Ron Chernow.
3. The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald, John U. Bacon.
2. Holier than Thou, Jackie Hill Perry.
If you are interested in learning more about how your church or organization can grow in Christ-exalting ethnic unity, join me and some of the best practitioners and leaders in Orlando, Florida, for our Kainos Multiethnic Conference, May 11-12. It’s a free event, and to find out more, go here.
Next level communicators do this one thing to gain clarity.
Next level communicators do this one thing to gain clarity.
Effective, transformational communication rises and falls on clarity. How can we persuade our audience if they are not sure about what we are saying? As simple as this may seem, I’m amazed at how many times I’ve listened to a speaker and left thinking, “I’m not sure what they were trying to get me to do?” And I’m also amazed at how many messages I’ve given over the years, where at the end of my talk someone comes up to me and in the nicest of ways says their version of, “I didn’t get it.” Ooof.
I love flying into southern California just after a good rain. As you know, this part of the country lives under a constant haze called smog, but when it rains, it’s like the haze is washed away, and we are left with a breathtaking view of the topography as the mountains, city and landscape come into high definition. What a good rain is to the greater Los Angeles area, a well crafted outline is to your talk. Constructed correctly, your message will gain the kind of clarity which will persuade your audience towards your desired aim.
When I sit down to put an outline for a talk together I have found the following to be helpful:
What’s your throughline? Some people might call this the big idea of the message, or the sermon in a sentence. Whatever you name it, this is the essence of the text you are teaching, the talk you are giving. It should be somewhere between 7-10 words, and flexible enough to build an outline around. We’ve chatted a lot about the felt need of the message, which is the section of your talk right after the introduction where you show how what you are about to say connects to the universal need of people. The felt need is where you will find your throughline, sermon in the sentence or big idea. For example, I’m building a talk on the subject of church hurt, and my throughline is, While we can’t choose the hurt that happens, we can choose what happens to the hurt. I need to trim this down, but that gives you a real time idea of what I’m getting at. Then what follows will be my three or so points which will connect to what needs to happen with the hurt.
Repeat the throughline. Once you’ve distilled the essence of your talk into a short, pithy statement, it needs to be repeated several times throughout the message. Don’t put all this effort into crafting your throughline, only to say it once. Say it again, and again and again. Repetition brings clarity. If it’s worth laboring over, it’s worth repeating.
Apply your outline. After you’ve figured out the central message of your talk, and you’ve framed it in a relatable way, now be sure to phrase your points so they are connected to the throughline and in a way which is understandable. When I first started preaching everything was about rhetoric and alliteration. Your points all had to begin with the same letter, because the emphasis was on being memorable. But the problem, as I soon found out, was people were not remembering the points a few days later. My outline was flashy and cute, but not really practical. In fact, there were too many times I squeezed a point into a particular word that didn’t quite fit, just because I had to have all “S’s” in my outline. Thank goodness those days are gone. If they’re still around for you, then please wave goodbye to them. The goal isn’t to be memorable, it’s to be understandable, and the way to get to that level of clarity is to word your points in ways which are highly applicational. I gave a recent talk explaining from a text who Jesus is. My first point was, Who is Jesus? He is drawn to the suffering. My second point was, Who is Jesus? He is not a religion. Had this been several years ago, I would have framed my second point, He is not drawn to the saints, because it’s an “S,” but see how that doesn’t quite connect. Give your points a ton of Vitamin A- application- so people can understand what you are saying, which will help greatly with clarity.
Simplify your outline. One of our mantras should be that we want to be simple and not shallow. Simplicity is the sibling of clarity. The simpler you are as a communicator, the more likely people will be clear on what you are saying. Too much information will be like smog over the Los Angeles skyline- it will cloud your talk. Unless you have a really good reason, I wouldn’t go beyond three points in your message, which will serve you well in keeping things simple.
Grab their eyes. Introductions are one of the last things I build into the outline because I don’t know what I’m introducing until I know my points. Don’t underestimate the importance of how you begin a message, because we only have like ninety seconds to answer the audience's question, “Am I going to listen?” So I want to do something which will grab their eyes. I’m looking to tell a story, a joke, a great analogy or a provocative statement which will either connect to my throughline, or the first point.
Make the ask. If you give a talk where you do not make an appeal to the audience to do something, then you’ve wasted your time and theirs. The best time for the appeal is at the end of the message, because you want to leave them thinking about or responding to something. When I conclude a talk, I’m looking to summarize my throughline, restate my points and then make the big ask. Outlines start with the eyes (introduction), move to the heart (felt need), then run between the eyes, mind and heart in my main points, and finally to the feet (action) in the conclusion, where I am looking to make the big ask.
I’m in the process of uploading my sermon manuscripts to my website. This will be quite the process, but I hope you find them to be a helpful resource in your journey as a communicator.
What I’m reading:
Easter Sermon
Easter Sermon
Hey folks, with this being a pretty big weekend I thought I’d send you my Easter sermon. Keep in mind this is very much a work in progress, with content edits to come, but I thought it would help for you to see how I am processing at this stage. Feel free to use as much of this material as you’d like without giving me any credit.
He has risen!
Who is Jesus? How the resurrected Christ sets us free
John 5
(Image of the Scarecrow from The Wiz) Surely we all have seen, The Wiz…not the Wizard of Oz, but its more soulful interpretation, starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. In one of the early scenes, we are introduced to the Scarecrow, who is bound to his pole and longs to come down, but he just can’t. To make matters worse he is surrounded by crows who mock him and tell him he will never get down. Then they twist the knife and force him to sing a song. Look at the lyrics with me, “You can’t win, you can’t break even and you can’t get out of the game. People keep sayin things are gonna change, but they look just like they’re stayin the same. You can’t win. You’re in over your head and you only got yourself to blame. You can’t win child (You can’t win child). You can’t break even and you can’t get out of the game”.
Who is Jesus? He’s drawn to those who can’t seem to win- John 5:1-7.
Ever felt like this? Ever had moments, seasons or an area in your life where it felt like you just can’t win? Sure you have. We’ve all been there, where it felt like I can’t win in my marriage, can’t win in my singleness, can’t win on my job, can’t win in my career, can’t win with that child, can’t win with this addiction…I just can’t seem to win. As our text opens up we are going to meet an ancient version of the Scarecrow- an invalid of 38 years, immersed in a sea of hopelessness, where if you listen closely to the background music of our text, you can hear the crows singing, “You can’t win.” Oh but he will.
As our passage opens up we are told that the events to come happen during the feast of the Jews. We don’t know what particular feast it is, but it’s a time of rejoicing, and everyone is headed to the temple, but Jesus doesn’t stop at the red carpet on his way into the temple, instead, he goes to an unlikely place, he goes to the pool of Bethesda. Archaeologists have actually discovered this exact site in recent years, and this was the place where you gathered when you had some sort of sickness or disease, because it was thought the waters, when they were stirred, would bring healing. So in walks Jesus, and he encounters a man in verse 5, who John, while he doesn’t give us his name, does give us what seems to be the most random of details- he’s an invalid of 38 years. Now this is telling, because the average life expectancy in Jesus’ day was between 25-30 years, so the fact he would be an invalid of 38 years makes him the epitome of hopelessness. In this sea of hopelessness, Jesus locks in on the most well known and hopeless of all, and initiates a conversation which would result in his transformation.
Jesus begins by asking him, “Do you want to be healed”- John 5:6. On the surface this question seems to be silly if not outright insensitive. It would be like Jesus walking into someone’s hospital room at Wake Medical, pulling up a chair and saying, “Do you want to get better?” But you have to know that when Jesus asks questions it’s not for information, but to expose. We know this because the man responds with the epitome of self-pity when he says, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me”- John 5:7. Hear the hopelessness and self pity? This is the life he’s known for 38 years, and it’s a life he’s grown comfortable with. As Trevin Wax says, his illness has become his identity.
Jesus’ question, “Do you want to be healed,” is more relevant today than ever before. Trevin Wax points to this when he says, “There’s a tendency today to place our identity in our illness; to find solace in our sickness.. Sometimes the hardest thing about sickness is that it can threaten the self we have come to know. Sometimes we would rather cling to the comfort of the familiar than face the freedom of the unknown. So we live this kind of life where we always want our wounds nursed, but never healed. We just keep picking at the scab”- Trevin Wax. This plays itself out in many directions. For some your identity is in your depression and anxiety- very real things that I do not make light of- but the problem is these diagnosis have come to define you. Others of us our identity is found in the hurt someone has inflicted on us. Again, I don’t make light of this at all, and we need to grieve it and get all the help we can to overcome and grow through it, but the problem is you’ve gotten comfortable with it, and it’s defined you. Others, your identity is in your sin. You speak more of your addiction, your sexual choices, and brokenness to the point where it’s become you. And Jesus is gently moving towards us today and asking us the same question he asked this invalid, “Do you want to be healed”. Do you want to be set free? Hear that again- no matter where you are, Jesus sees you, and is moving toward you right now, with the offer of healing and freedom.
Who is Jesus? The One who frees us- John 5:8-9, 14.
Jesus doesn’t wait for another word from this man. He simply commands him to, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk,” where, “And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked”- John 5:8-9. Now let’s put ourselves in this man’s shoes. You’ve been an invalid for all these years, and now you’re healed…you can walk. What’s the first thing you are going to do? Me, maybe go for a long walk through the local park, or a jog on the beach, or maybe kickboxing class. Not this guy. What’s the first thing he does? “Afterward Jesus found him in the temple”- John 5:14. Wait, what? The first place he goes is to the temple? Are you for real? Why? Because the law restricted any invalid from going to the temple to worship, so for all of these years he has been separated from God, and just like that, Jesus heals his legs, so now a second and more important thing is healed- his relationship with God. Jesus uses his felt need- healed legs- to get to his real need- a restored relationship with God.
A few months ago all of our boys, who are in their 20s, were home, and I asked them a really vulnerable question, What do you most remember about your relationship with me when you were kids? They said the weekly breakfasts we did when I took them to school. So simple right? All I did was take a felt need- their need for food- to address a greater need- their connection with me. You know what a tragedy is? It would be a breakfast table packed with food, but an empty chair with no dad. And you know what a tragedy is? For this man to have healed legs, but a heart far from God. You know what a tragedy is? For Jesus to rid your body of cancer, set you free from anxiety and depression, end your journey of infertility by blessing you with a child while you have a soul that spends an eternity separated from him. Jesus wants to satisfy way more than your felt needs, he wants to get to your real need, which is a relationship with him. Our real problem isn’t an addiction to alcohol, or some felt need, but a soul far from him.
Who is Jesus? He’s not a religion- John 5:9b-18.
Things take a turn in our text, and we get a sense of this with a “little” detail John throws in at the end of verse 9, “Now that day was the Sabbath”- John 5:9b. The Jews now see this man who was healed, and instead of rejoicing over his healing, they, like referees, throw a flag and call a penalty, when they say, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed”- John 5:10. The Sabbath prohibited work, but then this brought up the question of what exactly is work? So the Jewish leaders wrote something called the Mishnah, which was around then, which one of its purposes was to explain what was work. And in the Mishnah they came up with 39 things you couldn’t do, and this was one of them. Instead of rejoicing over his healing, they call a foul. By the way, I’ve never seen a referee rejoice over some miraculous play. It’s the NCAA tournament- March Madness as they call it- and we’ve seen last second shots (I won’t say against whom), and not once has a referee rejoiced. In the same way, religious people don’t rejoice, how could they, when they have a whistle in their mouths waiting to call a penalty? And into all of this Jesus enters, and he actually makes a reference to the Mishnah, when he’s confronted about violating the Sabbath, “But Jesus answered them, ‘My Father is working until now, and I am working”- John 5:17. See, the Mishnah said the only one allowed to work on the Sabbath was God. Jesus acknowledges this and then adds a wrinkle- His Father is working, and so is he. It’s his way of saying he’s innocent of the charge of breaking the Sabbath because he’s God. Jesus is not a religion, he’s a person, he’s God, who emphasizes relationship more than rules.
When Michael Jackson was a little boy, his dad picked up that he and his brothers had a lot of talent, and there was some real potential for them as a singing and dancing group. Everyday after work, Joseph Jackson, the dad, would come home, push the furniture in the living room to the side, and make his sons go over the dance routine, while he stood there with belt in hand, where if they missed a step they were met with severe consequences. Now, did it work? On one hand it did, as MJ became arguably the greatest performer ever. But on the other hand it didn’t. I don’t know if you picked up on this with MJ, but he never called his dad, “dad,” only by his first name, “Joseph”. In a 2001 Oxford University speech, MJ reflected on his dad, and in tears he said in essence, how he longed for a dad, but all he got was Joseph. He learned to perform and do the steps, but missed out on the relationship.
And that’s my fear for some of you Summit church, or others of you who attend church regularly, read your bible daily, and do all the things. Learn from the Jews- they memorized the first five books of the bible, prayed the Shema 18 times a day, and totally missed out on a relationship with Jesus. They performed well, but were far from him. Here’s the irony of this text: The invalid who was away from the temple, ends up closer to God than the religious leaders who spent a lot of time in the temple. Heed the message of this passage- religion doesn’t set you free and save you, only Jesus does.
Who is Jesus? He is God- John 5:19-47.
So here is Jesus, having just had the audacity of healing a man on the Sabbath which triggers the anger of the religious leaders, leading to a huge confrontation. When Jesus, in verse 17, equates himself with God, John tells us their response, “This is why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God”- John 5:17. The message of our passage, and the message of the whole gospel of John, and the message to all of the Christian life is that Jesus is God. How was he able to heal both the invalid’s legs and his relationship with God? Because Jesus is God. How could Jesus do this on the Sabbath? Because Jesus is God. And how in the world can Jesus free me from my sins and give me eternal life? Because Jesus is God. Jesus goes deeper into this when he says, “For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives him life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will”- John 5:20-21. When his friend Lazarus died, and his sisters were angry with him for not coming sooner to heal him, Jesus says in so many words he’s not limited by death, when he says, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”- John 11:25-26. Do you not see that when Jesus says he is the resurrection and the life he is making a claim to deity? Because of our sins, we had wracked up a debt with God we could not pay. On the cross, Jesus paid that debt when he died in our place and for our sins. So his death paid the bill. But had Jesus stayed dead in his grave, death would have won. But because he resurrected the third day according to the Scriptures, death was defeated. And because Jesus defeated death, for those of us in Christ, we too will rise from our graves to eternal life, defeating death. This is exactly what Paul said when he wrote, “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”- I Corinthians 15:50-55. All of this is made possible because Jesus is not just a good man, a prophet and an articulate, compelling teacher. Jesus is God.
You know, in American history we have had many cult leaders who claimed deity; people like Jim Jones and David Koresh. Have you noticed these cult leaders claiming to be God all wore glasses? I’m sorry, you can’t be my Savior and go to Lens Crafters! Jesus is not wearing glasses when he claims to be God. Now, many of you are here and you would not call yourself a Christian, and here’s what I ask of you: Don’t do the intellectually dishonest thing and put Jesus in the category of nice guy, who was a historical figure and lived an exemplary life in some ways. No, anyone claiming to be God is either a liar, or just what he says. There’s no middle ground.
The Five Witnesses
You need some evidence, and that’s completely reasonable. I know this, because Jesus doesn’t just make the claim to be God in our text, but he ends by calling some witnesses to corroborate his claim. The Law said no one’s testimony was credible unless there were 2-3 witnesses. Jesus doesn’t just give us 2-3, he actually gives us five witnesses that all testify Jesus is God. Jesus calls God to bear witness about him, “And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me”- John 5:37. Do you know God only speaks twice in the gospels, and both times he says of Jesus that he is his beloved Son in whom he is well pleased. One of the things God has to be well pleased with is Jesus’ repeated claims of being God. If God bears witness about Jesus, then to reject Jesus is to reject God. In verse 33, Jesus says John the Baptist testified about him. The Jews loved John the Baptist, flocking to him in droves to be baptized. But had they forgotten these words of John about Jesus, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world”- John 1:29. Jesus is like, I’m him. Then in verse 36, Jesus calls his third witness- his own works testify that he is God. Granted, many people have been healed throughout the years by God through other humans. But one of the works no human can ever do is the forgiveness of sins. Several times in the gospels we see Jesus forgiving sins, and it triggers the anger of the religious leaders, why? Because they knew only God could forgive sins, which is exactly the point. And today, some of you will say yes to Jesus, and immediately you will receive the cleansing and forgiveness of your sins from Jesus, because he is God. His fourth witness is the Scriptures, which in that time is what we would call the OT: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me”- John 5:39. The OT is filled with hundreds of prophecies about Jesus. Isaiah says that a virgin would conceive- yep that points to Jesus. Isaiah 53 talks about a suffering servant who would be wounded for our sins. Yep, that’s Jesus. The Bible loudly testifies of Jesus. And finally, Jesus says Moses, the most revered person in Jewish history, testifies to Jesus. How? Moses left the comforts of the palace, and rescued Israel who was enslaved to Egypt. And Jesus left the comforts of heaven, to rescue us who were in bondage to our sins. So there it is: 1. God; 2. John the Baptist; 3. The works of Jesus; 4. The Scriptures; 5. Moses- all testify that Jesus is not just a good person, prophet, compelling speaker or historical figure. Jesus is God.
Gospel Conclusion
And that’s how our text ends. It’s kind of awkward. No resolution; it just ends. In my imagination there’s awkward silence between Jesus and the Jews, and in the silence I can hear Jesus saying, “Now after all of that, what are you going to do with me? Will you believe or will you reject?” And he’s asking that question of us today.
Tom Holland, the British historian, wrestled with this question. It was the contemplation of history that as he was writing books on ancient cultures, he was struck by how his natural inclination to many of their practices was to be shocked, and even find them grotesque and laughable. So where did his values come from? He reached the conclusion that so many of his values could be traced back to a Judeo-Christian ethic, which he did not want to be true. This changed his life and he wrote a whole book on it called, Dominion, in which he says the values we hold dear in our culture come from this man, Jesus. When in earlier interviews he was asked if he was a believer he would respond by saying, “No, but I find the values and the life of Jesus to be captivating, because no one changed history like this man.” And then in a recent interview someone asked him, “Are you a Christian,” and he said, “Yes, I believe I am.” He got to the point where Jesus was not just a curiosity, but the king. There was too much evidence.
THEO OF GOLDEN/BIOGRAPHY/TEXT BOOK (I would like all three books on a table in this order from top to bottom, and this is the place for the vamp). Call to salvation.
Next level communicators are more excited about what they are talking about than talking.
Next level communicators are more excited about what they are talking about than talking.
I just got back from a preaching conference, where the presenter right before me is a legend in the church world. Almost fifty years ago he started a church, and experienced great success as thousands eventually joined. A major part of what God used to grow the church was his ability as a next level communicator. Given all this, you can imagine my surprise when he spent his whole session with us talking about how we make too big of a deal out of public speaking, and how he has never cared for his role as a communicator. Did I mention this was a preaching conference? If you’ve heard him speak you would definitely say he overstated his point about not being that great of a public speaker, but on the other hand I wouldn’t use words like, “dynamic,” to describe him. So why did thousands of people jam into his church on weekends to hear him? What makes him a next level, transformational communicator is you always got the sense that he cared far more about what he was talking about than the fact he was talking. Boy, did I need this reminder.
As communicators we are delivering a message in the hopes of persuading our audience. We want to move people in a certain direction, and the art of communication is how we do that. But when we become more obsessed with communicating, than what we are communicating about, we will dilute the power of our message. For example, if you are a Christian and you are looking to point people to Christ in your message, the best way to do that is for people to see you really love Jesus. If you are in tech, making a presentation about the usefulness of artificial intelligence, the best way to persuade people is for them to feel you are all in on AI. If you are in sales, and want your audience to invest in your product, then the crowd must sense from you how this product has transformed your life. Never forget, moved people move people.
Love the art of communicating, just love it less than what you are talking about.
So how do we keep what we are talking about above talking? I have found these things to be helpful:
Engage your message by way of life. If Jesus is the core of what you are talking about, then he must be the core of how we live. Lose that and you lose transformational effectiveness as a communicator. The same is true across the board. If your message is justice oriented, then you need to be all in on justice not just on the stage, but off the stage. If your message is about the power of forgiveness, then this must be a theme of your life. Sure, you can fake it for a while, but our audience is far more perceptive than we think. As the saying goes, “real recognizes real”.
Say, “no”. Sometimes the best thing we can do as communicators is to turn down speaking engagements because what we are being asked to speak on is just not in our hearts.
Write fresh messages. I do a bit of conference speaking, and sometimes a message resonates so much with an audience, I will repeat it over and over again. If I’m not careful I can drift into autopilot as I’m speaking and come across as very mechanical. So to keep my own soul from getting stale, I need to go through the exercise of writing fresh messages around the same theme. When I do this, it’s amazing how much more engaged my heart is with the talk, and I guarantee you the audience feels that.
Be honest. Authenticity is some of our best currency as communicators. Being honest about failures, real about where you missed it, will establish a connection with an audience and better position you to move them, than feigning expertise. When Korie and I speak together on marriage, we are always quick to point out where we missed it, and afterwards we hear more about how those moments resonated with our audience than when we got it right. When we are honest about our own misses it keeps the focus on the message, and not on how good we are.