I’ve stretched out the lessons I noted from watching a low budget film to three posts. We’ve considered the importance of speech, the challenge of natural speech in unnatural circumstances (like preaching), the need for less important lines, and the importance of historical/cultural details in the telling of an historic story. Two more lessons for us, one potentially overwhelming and one hopefully very encouraging! 5. The je ne sais quoi of engaging the audience. What makes the listener or viewer sit forward?
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Final Preaching Lessons from a Low Budget Film
The top eleven religious states were all in the Confederacy.
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Most religious states
The State of Christianity from Urbana 09 on Vimeo .
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The State of Christianity
Yesterday I posted a couple of observations made while watching a low budget film this Christmas. Observations that demonstrate I was thinking about this blog while watching a film (which probably gives you opportunity to make an observation about me…) While recognizing the difference between preaching and acting, I noted how actual speech is critical and how it is hard to be natural in an unnatural environment. I’d like to add another speech related lesson, then point out a couple of other lessons that stood out to me. 3
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More Preaching Lessons from a Low Budget Film
Christmas season is good for eating too much chocolate, enjoying family time and watching the odd movie. We watched an odd movie this year – it was a very low budget film produced by folks with little experience of making movies. Actually it was impressive for who produced it, but it struck me that there are lessons to be learned from a low budget film. In the next couple of days I’d like to share some lessons that stood out to me as I was watching the film, obviously recognizing that a film is a different thing to a sermon
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Preaching Lessons From Low Budget Film
There are anagrams for Santa that make Father Christmas more of a bastard child at a family reunion in the minds of fundamental Christians. There are thoughts of the manger that make non-God-fearing folk want to put the holidays out to pasture. And then there are those who love Jesus and celebrate his birth while propagating subterfuge
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Happy Santa-Baby-Jesus Day
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Culhane’s Christmas
After 12 days in India I know much less than when I started. Still, this time of conversation and experiences with friends and with the friends of friends has confirmed for me why it is that I am a Christian. At the same time I am convinced anew that, regarding people of other faiths, we Christians need to listen more and be more open to God’s gracious intent in what has been revealed to other
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Reflections on the Incarnation of God: Christmas with Hindu friends.
The first step in preparing a message is to prayerfully determine the preaching text. It’s important to make sure you are studying a complete unit of thought – a full paragraph, a full narrative, a full poem, a full wisdom saying, etc. But then be sure you have peripheral vision. Make sure you continue to look around and be aware of the context of the passage. Too easily we get blinkered by section headings and forget to see what has preceded and what flows out from the text that we are studying. Everything needs to be seen in context. If you happen to be in a place biblically where context isn’t helpful, you’re in one of only a few places
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Peripheral Vision
Before you know it, 2010 will be here. What do you hope for in terms of your preaching ministry during next year? Do you pray for more opportunities or more help with the preaching in your church? Do you pray for more fruit in the lives of your listeners, or more fruit in your private spiritual walk? Do you pray for one area of your preaching to be strengthened, or for greater consistency in your preparation? Do you pray for fruitful times in the Word, or fruitful pastoral interactions with people in the church? Do you pray for diligence in following through on that training opportunity you are wanting to pursue, or for the courage to follow through on mentoring others? There is a lot that we can pray about in advance of 2010. Of course, praying is vital. But it is worth asking, if you have a specific and tangible goal, what are you going to do to meet it? Prayerfully, of course, but it probably requires something of you too. When January comes everyone goes on about New Year’s resolutions. As a leader you need to be ahead of the game. Perhaps the next few days might give opportunities, moments of respite from seasonal festivities, to prayerfully ponder your preaching ministry in 2010
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Preparing for 2010