How to Get Out of the Message Rut

Josh on November 2nd, 2009

Really liked this article over on pdymcommunity.com called The Message Rut. It gave some tips for message prep when your talks all start sounding familiar. Good stuff, here’s a clip of it:

Change up your Prep Routine
If you do the same thing week in and week out you get set on a routine for getting everything accomplished on time.  My typical routine is 100% on my computer.  Sometimes the place it happens changes, the exact day it happens changes, but my laptop is always involved, from beginning to end, no matter what.  Last week, instead of starting my message staring at a blank document on the screen, I sat down with a yellow pad, a pen, and my thoughts.  It definitely took a little longer to get the end result of a printed outline and finished PowerPoint, but the change in routine was refreshing.

Surprise the Audience
This is similar to mixing up the illustrations, but different.  Once people (students and adults) have been attending church for a while, it seems that when someone steps on stage to speak, they check out.  They go into the ‘I have heard it all before’ trance and don’t hear anything you say.  Your message, no matter how good or creative it is, will have no impact if they don’t hear it.  If you do things that they aren’t expecting, they will listen.  A few weeks ago, part way through the message I walked off the stage and walked around in the audience.  I just kept talking like normal but just walked around.  Then I finished the rest of the message from the back of the room.  It definitely got their attention.

JG

Comments (3)

Terrace Crawford at 10:05am November 3

Good stuff!

–Terrace Crawford
http://www.terracecrawford.com
http://www.twitter.com/terracecrawford

Chris at 12:32pm November 3

Thanks Josh, I’m preping a sermon for “big church” this weekend and this is what I needed to read!

Josh at 10:12pm November 3

Glad you found it helpful. GREAT! JG