Over the past couple of years, I've noticed an interesting trend in the whole "blogging" scene. Initially, it was a blog thing, but now it's happening more commonly on Twitter feeds.
Here's the trend...
A minister/pastor/musician/tech person attends a seminar. (Usually a big name conference or conclave or symposium or...you get the drift.) Then, each night - or even during the presentation - that person posts "points" or principles from a given speech/sermon he or she is hearing.
After seeing this happen a few different times, I'm coming to some conclusions and actually learning a lot of from this whole 'journaling' thing.
Looking at these lessons and sermons purely as text make it very obvious that most of the truths are pretty simple ones. I read through these recaps and I'm thinking, "What's the big deal? Everybody knows that." I look at the headline of that blog and I know the person teaching is renowned and skilled and great, but looking simply at those points doesn't reveal anything to me.
And that's teaching me something.
It's teaching me that delivery matters. I know that the words "Jesus came to set captives FREE!" printed on a blog are very different than spoken aloud by T.D. Jakes. Delivery, building a case, setting up points and proclamations make these otherwise simple truths into powerful revelations.
I know we live in a culture (Christian and otherwise) that has gone too far on delivery - for many, the package is everything and the subject matter doesn't rate that high. I get that - we need to get back to making sure that we're saying things that matter, that appeal both to heart and head.
But as a worship leader, I'm reminded that most of the things I'm trying to say in a worship service are actually pretty simple. There's no "heavy revy" usually in what I do. I'm not speaking a new thing. I'm speaking an old thing. A timeless thing. A thing that speaks to our whole selves and not just our emotions.
But I can make my time matter. I can invest in making sure I deliver things in a way that connects. That relates to folks where they are. I can deliver truth the best, most sincere way I know how and send it out in faith knowing that God's Word doesn't return void. God's Word does what He wants it to do.
Unfortunately, folks like me tend to thing a slamming song set is enough. We think that if the songs flow well and build dynamically and sound good (all good things, mind you,) then we're good. But that's not necessarily true. We've got to care about "how" we're saying this stuff.
I don't spend enough time thinking about the whole of what I'm presenting. And I want to be better at it. I want to be skilled in communication. I want to be skilled in being clear and aware and on target.
What about you? What do you do to connect? How's your presentation skill? What works? What doesn't?
9/20/08
THE TRUTH ABOUT TEXT
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4 comments:
It's not so much about the delivery as it is the hearing. This is why the Bible is given primarily to be heard, not read. And why it's such a shame that in most Churches it isn't read (not more than a verse or two, anyway).
There is an implicit authority in the spoken word. Unless you plug your ears, you have to hear it. You can not read the page or the TV screen. You are in control. You're not in control when someone is speaking to you. Add in the liturgical component of someone speaking to you from an elevated focal point, and you have an authority figure to whom you will be more inclined to pay attention.
In my experience the delivery is not as long-term significant as the content. However, also in my experience I have found that used to be solely drawn to delivery. Now I am also drawn to delivery but with some great content to boot.
Too much delivery and not enough content wastes my time. Too much content and not enough delivery puts me to sleep.
My thoughts on the delivery thing..I know when I have been to a conference or a training..there is usually some pretty good HS moments tied to what happens. Yes there is delivery, there is "head stuff" but the heart gets taken along and I think the information gets turned in to more than information but a tool for accomplishing something great for the Kingdom. We then want to do the same thing and we are energized by it.. or it may be that it's like reading that biblical text for the 14th time and a light goes on and our heart is stirred.
As for me.. prayer and scripture are the key...What God has done through Jesus and then what are we going to do about it.
With Robert on the delivery thing. ..need both or it passes quickly...too much content and no delivery.. and I pass quickly (out).
In any talk, sermon, worship set or service there are "impact moments." Skilled communicators are able to recognize these moments and know what these moments require (i.e a crescendo, a whisper, silence). Too often those tasked blow through these moments because of a lack of sensitivity or a they lack the skill to use the moment. In a ecclesiasticl context these moments are those in which the Holy Spirit reveals truth out of the communication of accurate knowledge.
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