Notes from Todays Webinar on Preaching

http://therocketcompany.com/preaching/
Steven Furtick
Every Sunday before I go out to preach, I take 30 seconds to a minute to anoint myself
with oil and pray that God would give me words to say and be a blessing. I pray Isaiah
55:10-11 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it
without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the
sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not
return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I
sent it.
Louie Giglios Six Rules of Preaching
1 Have Something To Say (If you dont have anything to say, please stop preaching. And
if you only have one thing to say, repeat it)
2 Be Faithful To The Text (This takes studying)
3 Lead People to Jesus (Dont lead them to preachers)
4 Dont Be Boring (They should put people in jail for this nothing worse than sharing
the Gospel and being boring)
5 Prepare (This takes work - Dont go to a preaching website Invest time)
6 Be Led By The Holy Spirit (Prepare AND be led by the Spirit I am led best by the
Holy Spirit when I have prepared to be my best BUT, if I feel like the Holy Spirit is
leading me a different way, I dont care how many graphics I have prepared, I will go a
different way)
Donald Miller
Discipline of sitting down and writing is mandatory. I have a surge of creativity for 2 or 3
weeks, then back to the normal routine. I use buffer to space out my tweets, and I will
watch Ted talks and space out 30 or 40 tweets. Had to stop tweeting Ted talks. We cant
force material.
The inspiration of the Holy Spirit is also key getting away from manipulating through
charm covers shame and keeps us from being sharing our real self being transparent
Ive had moments crying as I type into the computer knowing that this is what I was born
to do communicate the Gospel.

Have a life plan. Who is God and how do I fit into His story?
http://storylineblog.com
Brad Lomenick
1 In great communicators, we want inspiration. Great communicators move people from
here to there. The difference is when people get transformation.
2 Understand your audience. Connect with the people in front of you. Jim Collins is
meticulous about asking questions about our audience before he speaks at Catalyst.
3 Learn how to lead the younger generation The rules are changing Give them
opportunities more than ever to achieve earlier in their career.
The Catalyst Leader is a book that talks about leading twenty-somethings
Dave Ramsay
Humor is powerful when communicating, especially when dealing with serious topics.
Zig Ziglar If people dont laugh every 17 minutes, you have lost them. Now, I think it
might be every 7 minutes.
My communication prep is coffee and my iPad, and being vulnerable with my team,
talking things through. We always present a problem, solving a problem and telling them
again how to solve a problem.
For every hour you present, prep 3 Zig Ziglar Manage your week so your sermon
prep is the main thing Study and hone your message We get busy and dont do
excellent work.
If youre not getting hate mail, youre not doing anything. The more people that are
complaining, the more you are doing. We are called to disturbers of the status quo. You
never get used to it, but its coming, and it means you are doing good.
We have edited Financial Peace because we found that the attention span of the culture
has shortened, and huge number of people dropped out after the 9th lesson. So we pulled
key things out and moved some things into another course, and it is shorter and the small
group operates differently. We are also including other team members.
Mark Batterson
I am a manuscript guy. I cant put a few words on a note card and preach. But this
manuscript curse cultivated a writing gift, because each sermon was a chapter of a book.
Preaching and writing are very similar in some ways.

In communication, its metaphor, metaphor, metaphor. Jesus painted pictures. I look for
an organizing metaphor.
When it comes to sermon prep, Im a last minute guy. I cant do sermons 6 months out.
Up until the last minute, I am fine-tuning it. I do make sure my manuscript is done in
time for me to pray through it.
I have also begun fasting on Saturdays so I could go into the pulpit in a weakened state.
Hunger gives me an awareness on my dependence on God.
We have to circle all our efforts in prayer. Before I preach, I pray through the content.
Darrin Patrick
Rotation of preaching OT, NT and current hot topics. We dont want to get hung up on
any particular thing. Generally OT in the fall, NT in the Spring and topics in the summer.
We want people to have a holistic view of the Bible.
You win or lose in the summer. Get guest speakers in, let new emerging leaders preach,
so I can get more time to read and study. Last summer I was reading about our current
series, The 10 Commandments
Get the topic, get the text, and then get specific a couple weeks out with a coherent
outline. By Wednesday, a week and a half out, I need an outline. So Im finishing the
sermon coming up, and also thinking about the sermon coming up in a week. I always
have 2 sermons I am working on Helps with consistency.
Colossians 2:6 says that we should walk in Jesus as we received Him. We repented of our
sin and saw Gods holiness. We can be forgiven and trust in Jesus work. That is the need
of every human being. We must address this reality that we have sinned and we must say
that and drive them to the reality of what they are before God, then to bask in their
acceptance before God through Jesus finished work. This is the core of what we preach.
Make Jesus the main thing, the hero of the story. Would your sermon work if Jesus didnt
rise from the dead? Dont get weird with it, but make mini-applications throughout the
message. I like the book, Christ-Centered Preaching, that explains this better. This must
be a priority. 1 Corinthians 2 Nothing among you but Christ crucified but Paul still
dealt with other topics, but all in the context of the gospel.
Jon Acuff
You speak to be remembered and to be repeated. Give people handles. Your brain hates
new ideas, so you have to give them something that doesnt get compartmentalized right
away.

I try to understand the audience first. I use sign posts and look for exits. We have an
island of an idea and bridges to another idea. How do we link our ideas and get the
audience to go with us? The best parts of speeches is when something new happens.
Dave Ramsay advised me, Dont go too fast on your joke layers. People werent
getting all the jokes. Slow down. Dont go so fast.
Its time to punch fear in the face. Its time to do work that matters. Its time start.
Fear Its hard to be honest from the stage. Dont share only your successes or failures
from 20 years ago. Share your failures. Egotism shuts down hearts and minds. If you hide
your weakness they wont listen to your strength.
Work - Hard work beats 90 percent of the shortcuts. Do the hard work.
Share messages that matter. Is this a fun story for me, or does it matter?
We get feedback now on twitter. You have people in your life who love you enough to tell
you what you dont want to hear. You need a mirror friend who tells you the truth. As a
speaker, you need to repeat things frequently. Say them more than you think you do.
I dont get wrapped up too much in twitter, but it is valuable.
Audiences now turn on a speaker in the middle of a speech through twitter.
Crawford Loritts
Separate yourself from the craft and dont separate yourself from the craft. You will never
preach better than you are. A well-honed speech is not a message. Preaching is deeply
rooted in your walk with God. Pursue a life of intimacy with God.
I dont manuscript anymore because I have my own a cadence now. To me, its not a
speech I need to hear from the Lord. Preaching is not a transactional gig. Preaching is a
word from God for the people in a moment in history.
I get away with the Lord and ask Him for a message. For me, it is more mystical.
Para-church ministries are more like a business measurable and with defined goals. In a
church, nothing is ever over and the people are the vision You must love them
profoundly And many things cant be measured that are very significant.
I am terribly concerned about the transactional model of leadership development. We
need to plan and measure and lead, but what is scaring me to death is the disconnect
Because I am good at pulling things off, I am pleasing to God, when God is more
concerned with the Leader than his leadership

Leadership is assignment not a static place You focus on faithfully implementing what
God wants done.
A leader is the desired destination at which others want to arrive.
Articulate sharp, hip leaders who have bad marriages and hell at home are not good
leaders.
Dont shoot to be the best preacher. Shoot to be a great preacher. The greatest preachers
of all time that God used were not necessarily great preachers but men of God who were
used by God. I am not up there to impress people with a turn of a phrase. I am there to
introduce them to the Man who left the tomb empty. They have got to be transformed by
Him.
Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Jesusunconditional love that
whispers in my ear. I am crucified with Christ I have nothing to prove Apart from me
you can do nothing Any value I bring to the table is because of the power of Jesus who
took a kid from the central ward of New Jersey and saved him and gave me the enormous
privilege to say a word for Him.
Pete Wilson
I keep a routine pace. Monday is a prep day All I do is message prep. I write the week
I preach I am not wired to prepare sermons weeks ahead. Doing it on Monday gives me
the week for it to simmer and to take care of other responsibilities. This helps me be more
present in meetings and with the family. Wednesday, I make my outline and work a
day on the sermon. I have never missed Wednesday sermon outline. On Thursday I put
my finishing touches on it. By Monday, I have 7,000 words. I am a manuscript speaker.
By the end of Thursday, I have it down to 1,800 words. Through the week, I am whittling
it down.
I just emotionally vomit on the page until I have no more thoughts, then whittle it down.
Im always asking and looking my staff and others for book ideas and other ideas, then
putting our own spin on it. Books have become an increasingly reliable source for me
lately. Jumping point for series
I do not allow success or failure of my messages to be attached to my identity, because it
sets us up for an emotional roller-coaster ride. I had a lady tell me that when I preach, she
hears Satan. Right after that, two people told me it was my best sermon ever.
Where else in our culture can you stand up and preach the truth of the life-transforming
grace of Jesus every week? There is nothing like it. As you are talking, you can see God
working and you can see it in peoples faces. There is nothing like that. That is why we
have to work so hard at what we do. We are used by God to transform lives. This is a
huge responsibility, honor and privilege.

Use all social media Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, to communicate that message and
make the sermon live longer throughout the week. People forget more and more as the
week goes on.
Preaching can wear you out. It can be exhausting and discouraging. God is using you. Be
encouraged.
Nancy Duarte
Resonate is a phenomenal book and Nancy Duarte has a famous Ted talk.
Works in the silicone valley and helps professionals create presentations.
You have to be gutsy and take some risks. Put your ideas into a contrasting environment
Lift your ideas out of obscurity with contrast What is and what could be Analytical
and emotional Build in contrast
Be a better storyteller. Tension builds then releases, builds then releases in all great
stories. Patterns of tensions and release when building presentations and sermons.
We need to like our audience Spend time with our audience Take time to take a walk
in their shoes Your life is so different than a typical churchgoer.
Where do they hang out? How do they spend their time? Where do they spend their
disposable income?
Murder your darlings Cut, craft, edit it, arrange it, take it away, move it around. Dont
be a first-draft culture. Ted Talks in 18 minutes force you not to ramble but to be concise.
The audience is the hero They are the ones with the power If your idea lives or dies
If they decide to change or not Youre one hour of their life For you its huge, but to
them its just an hour.
Give them a magical tool, make them unstuck or come alongside them. (like Yoda in Star
Wars)
Andy Stanley
Double-Barrel Preaching: Every Sunday, we address 2 crowds Regulars and 1st time
visitors.
A myth is that we must dumb-down sermons for unchurched people. The things that
make preaching succeed to both audiences is our approach, not the content. Approach
makes the content interesting.

Our approach is the differences. Everybody is good at this in some context.

Visitors feel like strangers space aliens They think we dont think they are there. We
must recognize that they are there early on in the service and that we are happy about it.
If you dont consider yourself a Christian, you could not have chosen a better weekend
to be here with us.
Welcoming and disarming first-time visitors
Acknowledging the odd in the Bible - Preachers kids are used to weird stuff in the
Bible, but not visitors. When you preach an odd text, stop and address the audience and
say that this is a crazy story that is hard to believe.
Give people permission not to believe or obey. Give them time to consider the cost and
take time to begin believing.
Avoid saying, The Bible says, because a person who hasnt read the Bible places no
authority in the Bible. Cite authors instead. The Apostle Paul hated Christians. Do you
hate Christians too? Give 2 or 3 sentences about the author when you cite them Its a
win. Jesus asked John to take care of his mother Thats a big deal.
We were in our community more when my children played baseball Got me more into
the culture My struggles now that my kids are older is that I dont have that community
with unchurched people, so we have look for ways to plug into culture.
Bring your energy to the text, not your great stories. We want people to hear us talk
about the Bible in such a way that they would want to re-read it. So if I preach an entire
message and they loved our story but cant remember the Scripture, I have failed. Find a
way to bring all your best energy to the text Spend time to uncover the energy in the
text.
Ed Stetzer
Decide what it is you want to communicate and what shapes the message That must
start by reading the Biblical text and being faithful to communicate that into our cultural
context.
I prepare messages, lead the staff and lead a small group at my home I only have 5 to 7
hours to prepare my sermons, so I meet with a team every other Friday and prepare
messages together with them. I maximize my study by minimizing my searching. This is
why my staff is important.
I use word search, Logos, a team to help me search, I have a sub-directory on my Mac of
stories and videos, I read a lot of magazines for ideas while Im working out tear pages
and scan pages for later. Be the best steward of your time without wallowing in your

study. Communicate with seriousness that you have encountered God in prayer and want
to communicate his Word.
I also listen to audio messages from others 4 or 5 sermons from other communicators.
I know what series are coming up and Im looking for introductory material for the
Biblical texts to be bridges to our cultural context. We do a better job communicating if
we explain why the text is important.
80.4% of statistics used by pastors are wrong. Do your research and dont exaggerate as a
motivational tool. Curing Christian Stats Abuse in Christianity Today Google will
mislead you. Dont use bad statistics to motivate people.
Be as faithful with your stats as you are with the facts that you seek to present.
Find your own voice as a preacher and be who you are. I can shout or lecture depending
on the setting, but it is still my voice. Be consistent about who you are.
I have preached too many good advice sermons than Bible preaching. At the end of the
day, the Bible should have undergirded my message and not used the Bible as footnotes.
Can I preach a message that wouldnt matter if Jesus hadnt died on the cross? We should
make a beeline for the cross.
Mark Driscoll
I know what its like to be lost and get saved, so I have a heart for people who are not yet
Christians. The whole concept of the Bible is mission series of sendings to reach the
lost How could we have a theology that is not a missiology? The whole arc of the Bible
is evangelistic Gods mission is that more people become Gods people.
We live for Gods mission, so every text is part of His mission.
I am preaching Philemon evangelistically in a series called Slaves and Masters and we
tackle criticism of the church head-on about authority.
If I go to a steakhouse, Im looking for steak, if I go to a pool, Im looking for water, and
if I go to church, Im looking for Bible.
The Bible was not written in classical Greek, but common, street Greek.
I come from a long line of guys who carried a lunch pail to work, and if I use theological
language, I lose every guy who drove to church in a truck.
Use the Bibles words but explain it so they dont feel stupid but invited in.
God wants to reach men, who then will get married and have healthy families. God called
me to train men early on.

Men want to aspire to something The coach that a guy loved the most was the hardest
coach I would rather try and fail than not even aspire.
Culturally, where else are these guys with no dad going to go? They dont know how to
get married, balance a checkbook or pay a mortgage? They dont learn this in high school
or college.
Any pastor who thinks hes arrived, definitely hasnt arrived.
Be careful that you dont listen to one preacher so much that you become a parrot of him.
If you listen to him too much, you wont be who God called you to be. Dont lose your
voice.
Give yourself some grace. It takes hundreds of hours to even find out who you are. Am I
funny, serious, professorial, stern. We fail many times before we succeed. The more I
preach one sermon, the better I get. When I preach multiple services, I get better.
Be humble.
Part of evangelistic preaching is answering objections of hearers which is why listening
to those who disagree so important.
If you really love your people, you want to do the best you can every time. They are
giving us their time; it is an enormous honor.