Tag: sermon

Posted in Ministry

A little dialogue

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Last night at our Advent Midweek service, I tried to interact with the congregation during the sermon. I asked questions to get responses, to get at what they were thinking or their impressions of a person or situation. I’ve done this a little bit in the past, but tried to do even more. It’s an interesting process. In our church, they aren’t used to talking to me during a sermon, although we’ve had plenty of personal conversations in the past.

I believe they liked it. I believe it kept their attention on a warm, rainy evening. (Yes, in Florida, Advent is usually warm.) And it gives me a chance to respond to their thoughts, rather than simply guessing what they might be thinking.

The idea of some dialogue in a sermon requires a lot of flexibility, and the ability to keep moving towards the goal and conclusion. It requires a lot of faith, that people will respond and that you’ll be able to think on your feet, responding to what they say. You may need to abandon something you were going to say along the way, to make room for other thoughts. It works best, of course, in a smaller group. In front of 500 people, it just won’t happen. But with 50 or so, it has possibilities.

Posted in Ministry

Storyboarding

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I’m not writing out my sermons.  At least, not lately.  I’ve gotten into “storyboarding,” just like they put together movies or commercials.  I’m not sure where I picked up this idea, but it forced me to be more visual in the way I put together my sermons.  I have to come up with an image or a description for each point rather than just an outline.

This is totally different than how I was taught to put a sermon together.  My sermon preparation professor, Dr. Gerhard Aho at Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN, made us thoroughly outline everything.  And that is how I approached every sermon for years, as if he were watching over my shoulder.  It was a good foundation that made me think through my text, points, transitions, and illustrations.

Lately, though, I’ve used a storyboard approach.  I try to put a picture with each part of the sermon that supports that one point I’m trying to get across to people.

How’s it going?  Well, my personal reviews are mixed.

It consumes less time than outlining and writing out a whole sermon.  I used to spend hours writing and rewriting.  Then I realized no one was actually reading these sermons so a manuscript wasn’t really important.  I didn’t even read them; I always preach without notes.

It’s easier to memorize.  Rather than trying to remember all the paragraphs I’ve written, I’ve got 8 to 12 images to recall, which bring to mind that part of the sermon.

But it’s a little nerve wracking, knowing that everytime I preach, I am composing as I go.  Kind of like jazz improvisation.  I’ve worked hard to learn the chords, and then work from there.

No one knows I’ve changed my approach except me.  Until  now.  Now all of you do.