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One-Point Preaching

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by Randy Willis, williswired.com

One of the most impacting books Ive ever read on preaching and

communication is Communicating for a Change by Andy Stanley and Lanes Jones (Andy Stanley is lead pastor of North Point Community Church)." ! Basically, the approach involves building the whole message around a

single point. This is very di#erent for most preachers, who were trained to prepare multiple point sermons; however, the authors argue, In a preaching environment, less is more (13)." ! I preached my rst one-point message in September 2006. Now, several

years later, I continue to preach one-point sermons. With some experience behind me now, here are some of my thoughts on the book and the process of one-point preaching." 1. Determine your goal ! Stanley and Jones argue that the goal of preaching should be to teach

people how to live a life that reects the values, principles, and truths of the Bible (95). In other words, the goal is life change, not just passing on information." 2. Pick a point ! Narrowing down the message to a single point is the heart of one-point

preaching. Instead of preparing multiple-point messages, pick one point and

build everything around that point. Its the glue to hold the other parts together (103). When you have too many points, people get lost in the information. If you give people too much to remember, they wont remember anything (39)." ! Narrowing the message to one point is probably the biggest challenge of

this approach for many. Stanley and Jones note,if you have been preaching for any length of time ... your challenge will not be nding the one, but eliminating the three (105). But its important that communicators do so. While lists go on paper single, powerful ideas have a way of penetrating the heart (109)." ! The authors suggest crafting a sticky statement, a statement that

presents your point in a memorable way. This is a step that many communicators skip, but one that makes all the di#erence (112)." ! I have enjoyed crafting sticky statements. The book includes some

examples on page 111, but here are some of my own sticky statements " $ Oneness is Gods dream for us!" $ Choose your treasure wisely because your heart will follow!" $ God blesses the world through generous people!" $ To prevent heart disease, change your lifestyle." $ When God calls, just say yes!" $ It takes a crew to complete a mission!" $ God entrusts his work to trustable people!" $ God-followers are mobile followers!" $ When you get knocked down, bounce back up!"

$ God is leading a search and rescue operation!" $ God can do a lot with a little!" 3. Create a map Stanley and Jones suggest a a basic map (or outline) summarized by the words, ME-WE-GOD-YOU-WE. This map is built around the communicators relationship with the audience rather than the content (119)." ! ME and WE focus on nding common ground with the audience (how the

days topic connects with the communicator and as many people in the audience as possible)." ! The GOD section is where you talk about the biblical text, Gods thoughts

on the topic." ! The YOU section is where the topic is applied to the audience. This is the

application of the message." ! The nal WE section is for casting vision you paint a verbal picture of

what could be and should be (129). This is what it will look like if you apply this message." 4. Internalize the Message ! The authors talk about internalizing the message. They argue, Until you

can stand up and tell a story, youre not ready to preach (53). For many communicators, that sounds hard. But, The secret, the authors state, is to reduce your entire message down to ve or six pieces (137)."

The advantage of this approach is that it forces the communicator to

reduce his or her material it to the bare essential minimum.If it doesnt support, illustrate, or clarify the point, I cut it (142)." 5. Engage the Audience ! Engaging the audience is critically important. Stanley and Jones write,

Attention and retention is determined by presentation, not information (146). To engage the audience, you have to create tension and interest in the topic." 6. Find Your Voice ! Chapter 6 is about nding ones own individual style. Every communicator

is unique and has di#erent gifts. Every communicator must nd his or her own style, that is, his or her voice. Stanley and Jones write, Be who you are. But be the very best communicator you can possibly be. To do that you must be willing to sacrice whats comfortablewhat has become part of your stylefor the sake of what is e#ective (170)." ! Changing your style is hard to do. And, the longer youve been using your

current approach, the harder it is to change. But, if youre considering changing to one-point preaching, heres what Ive learned through my own transition to one-point preaching " ! One-point preaching helps me to be more creative. Switching from

multiple-point preaching to one-point preaching has greatly improved my creativity. Rather than being distracted by multiple points, I am more focused. Because of this, Ive been a lot more creative."

One-point preaching helps me to preach with few, and sometimes, no

notes. Being prepared and knowing my map helps me to remember most of my content." ! If youre considering switching to one-point preaching and wondering

where to start, Id suggest reading the book. And, you may even even to listen to sermons by Andy Stanley at North Point Community Churchs website. Listen for Andys main point and try to pick out his sticky statement, and even his map/ outline." ! If youre having trouble narrowing your message down to one point, you

could start by turning one of your multiple-point sermons into a series by making each of your main points a sermon in itself. By the way, this wont necessarily make your sermons shorter, but they will be deeper, more focused, and therefore, more penetrating." ! I hope this overview is helpful to you and to your ministry!"

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About the Author Rev. Dr. Randy Willis is a pastor in the United Methodist Church, serving in the Susquehanna Conference (a Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church). Follow Randy at https://twitter.com/revdocrandy or read more at http:// www.williswired.com.

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