I found two things floating around the internet that to my mind had convergence. The first is Dr. Lenny Luchetti’s recent book Preaching Essentials: A Practical Guide
and the second is Pixar’s 22 Rules of Story Telling.
Among many other things, I learned two key preaching tips from Lenny: 1) a sermon should have a single, one-sentence, focus statement, and 2) preachers should use narrative preaching (story-telling), and not simply rely on linear/parallel structure preaching, as story-telling engages the imagination and memory.
I will not cover all 22 of Pixar’s rules, but a few stuck out to me. Continue reading Story Telling →
I have begun working on my preaching calendar for 2013, and find myself thankful for the instruction I received at Wesley Seminary regarding the Church Calendar/Seasons. While I am not binding myself to the Lectionary, I hope to avoid ever feeling like I am running out of material.
Continue reading All I Want for “Christmas” is Sermon Material →
Part of my daughter’s bedtime routine is for at least one of us parents to sit down on the floor with her and read a story. She already has quite a library, from Bible stories to Dr. Seuss. Mom recently finished Aesop’s fables, and I am working my way through The Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde.
Continue reading A Happy Ending →
I conducted a very unscientific poll to help guide some of my research for my preaching class next semester, and sent the following questions to some pastors I know:
- Excluding sermons contained in the Bible, what would you rate as the best, or among the best, Christian sermon ever preached? You can define “best” however you wish (led to many conversions, most often quoted, etc). If you can’t limit yourself to one, please give me a few from different eras.
- Excluding teachers contained in the Bible, who would you rate as the best, or among the best, Christian preachers? This person may be different from the preacher of question 1, as you consider the preacher’s total body of work, and again, if you can’t limit yourself to one, please give me a few from different eras. Continue reading Best Sermon & Best Preacher Poll →
This Spring, the seminary praxis course I will be taking is Christian Proclamation. This is essentially our preaching course. At Wesley Seminary, in each praxis course we write an Integration Paper (IP). This is a research paper in which we create a real life scenario that addresses a topic related to the course. The goal is to construct an answer based on biblical exegetical research, theology, church history, and social science. I have come up with two ideas for an IP on preaching. Continue reading Integration Paper Thoughts: Christian Proclamation →
One of the most highly rated episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation is titled “Darmok.” Captian Picard must learn to communicate with the Tamarian Captain Dathon who’s language is based upon references to Tamarian epic stories, of which Picard knows nothing. Through a struggle, Picard learns the symbolic language, and in the final scene, is found in his “ready room” reading Homer, sharpening his own narrative skills for his next encounter with the Tamarians.
Continue reading Sokath, his eyes opened →
Thoughts on Personal and Corporate Spiritual Formation
