Sunday, July 17, 2005
::Randomshirts.com | Home of the $10 Tee::
::Randomshirts.com | Home of the $10 Tee::
I am So getting this T-Shirt... and a few others.
Link
posted by Kevin at 7/17/2005 09:16:33 PM
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Tuesday, July 05, 2005
"Like a Rock"
I'm attaching a copy of the sermon for your use, abuse, and enjoyment. This is the second service, of two, and it's classic Kevin (in both good and bad ways). :)
Click Here to Listen! [7.5Mb, MP3, 41 Minutes]
FYI, this is only the sermon, not the entire service. Also, here is link to the 5 minute video I showed about the Gettysburg Address. And finally, I also am attaching the D.C. pics I referenced during the sermon.
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posted by Kevin at 7/05/2005 05:17:00 PM
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Sunday, July 03, 2005
Sunday Morning - Sermon #2
I try not to post too much about myself on here... but so many of you have been in prayer and thought about the sermon I gave this morning. It went... well, it was amazing. I could be humble (and I am). I could give glory to God (which I do). But mostly, I just need to say that I think it was outta the ballpark. And I was SO afraid that it would flop. I'll post a stream on here in the next couple of days...
Probably no one takes their speaking as seriously as I do. OK, that's not true. But I do carry a lot of weight when I preach. Rob Bell's words find much resonance in me.
When you see me on the front row in a service in which I'm to preach, you'll see me mumbling: "Not my words but Thine" "Speak through me", over, and over, and over again. It is something of a mantra. Beyond that, it's my goal to keep everyone's attention. Through voice, inflection, movement, pacing, pausing, facial expression, and dramatic delivery, it's always my goal to keep the audience tied into my words. It's SO difficult to keep people's focus these days. We are used to TV, commercials breaks, and TiVO. But I am not about to rant and rave, scream, jump around, or use other tactics to keep attention. If I can't keep them on the edge of their seat with delivery then I don't deserve to be on stage.
This also begs the question of content. Content is King in my world. And if you don't have a message to say that is burning a soul in your heart and mind, then sit back down! It's a hard line to walk in a seeker church... but it's one that I enjoy. It affords me the opportunity to tell stories. I can work through much of the Biblical passages by way of prose and historical sidenotes. My goal, always, with content is to (as my college Prof once chastised me) "paint a picture for them." If they can see it in their minds, then they'll understand it. So I take nothing for granted and am always trying to help them create visual pictures in the 'theatre of the mind.'
Induction. This typically is my M.O. when speaking. I tend to enjoy presenting details, seemingly random bits of information and stories for much of the message. I am never happier than when the introduction takes up over half the Sermon. So I'll spend a wealth of time weaving together elements and content as well as I can muster, in hopes of getting to the "Big Idea" about half way through. This inductive approach takes courage. If I've not done my job leading them up to that point then they'll completely miss the import of the Big Idea. If I've done my job well, though, by that point they'll be asking me the question by the time I get there! They'll already be on the edge of the seats because they've realized that all the introductory content is begging a question.
Then I hit them with the question and spend a bit of intense time talking about its implications and ramifications. By this point, they're ready for the answer... but I need to be sure the ground is plowed enough for them to accept the application. It's ALL about the application. If the congregation doesn't leave with a way to tangibly apply what happened in the Service, I've failed them miserably. It's here why I begin to provide hope... a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. Everything up to this point may have been a bit melancholy, at best, it was intense and they are ready for a bit of a breather. So it's here where I become a coach. Leading them through why this information matters and should matter to them. I'm selling them on the fact that God has a solution and they are able, with His help, to receive and apply it.
Then the practical application comes. This happens in the last 5 minutes (or so) of the message. It's the take home value. It's the call to action and the personal answer to the question/problem that was raised. It's what they'll leave with and is in my estimation the most important part of the sermon long term. If I've painted a picture, raised a relevant question, based it in clear Biblical principle, and helped them to see they have the capacity to succeed at the solution... then this part is easy! It's my last chance to be sure the message sticks with them as long as possible.
And, like in gymnastics, you have to 'stick' the landing. Come down off from the sermon hard and fast and clearly end it like you have had those last 2 sentences memorized for years. If I end and walk off the platform, and they sit there blinking while thinking to themselves, "It's over?!?!", then I've done my job. I want to throw them off their game just a little bit. Not wrap everything up too tightly but be sure that there is a bit of 'something' hanging for them to wrestle with. Not something theological, but something personal. Honestly, I want them talking about it on the way home, I want them to lie in bed and think about it that night. I want them to awake the next and still resonate with what they heard. I want them to remember that message a week later.
THOSE and ALL of the above are my goals. They are, unashamedly, what my hopes are for every message. Sure, there are differences are every time. And sometimes things aren't that pretty. But 3 points and prayer just don't work for me. I've tried. Who can remember three points anyway??? Only the best among us. I figure if people walk away remembering ONE point, then I have succeeded because they remembered ANYTHING. So I try my best to chip away with one point... and support it to the hilt, but be sure that nothing gets in the way of that Big Idea.
And do it all in 30 minutes or less of actual talk time.
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So, that's a bit of insight to my goal in Biblical communication... in communicating divine truth. I can't say its perfect or foolproof or even works all the time. Those things are hard for me to judge. But at this pint in ministry, I think this is 'my stride'. We all have our own tone and tempo in speaking. We all have certain things that resonate from deep within us. It's finding those passions and techniques within us, and exploiting them without abandon, that will lead us to ring out a message that will not only be heard... but felt.
I just needed to get that off my chest. Thanks.
posted by Kevin at 7/03/2005 10:51:00 PM
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