Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Leading Ideas: "The One-Point Sermon - Podcast - 3 Ways to Extend the Impact of a Sermon from the Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., United States for Wednesday, 21 March 2018

Leading Ideas: "The One-Point Sermon - Podcast - 3 Ways to Extend the Impact of a Sermon from the Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., United States for Wednesday, 21 March 2018
Wednesday, 21 March 2018




Charley Reeb, a Florida pastor known as a gifted preacher, says that it's often easiest for listeners to stay focused when a sermon is organized around one point. But that point must be both clear and compelling. Read more.

Charley Reeb, a Florida pastor known as a gifted preacher, says that it’s often easiest for listeners to stay focused when a sermon is organized around one point. But that point must be both clear and compelling.
Once, I had just preached what I thought was a pretty good sermon. It was chock full of points, quotes, and anecdotes. As I was shaking hands with people leaving worship, a wise lady approached me with a slight grin on her face. She shook my hand and quipped, “Nice sermon series.” Those three words turned out to be one of the greatest lessons I ever learned about preaching: less is more.
When I began my ministry, my problem was that my sermons had too many ideas and illustrations. They lacked focus and development. I mistakenly thought that to keep people interested in my sermons I had to fill them with as many clever points, insights, and stories as possible. Those poor people!
Unless you have a compelling and clear point the method will not work for you. If you cannot express why your text is important to you, your sermon will never get off the ground.
The truth is that listening is hard work, which is why so few people do it. The average listener is not going to work very hard listening to a sermon, especially one that is confusing and lacks focus. The burden is on you to keep them engaged. If they have difficulty tracking your sermon they will stop listening to you and may never come back to your church.
For razor sharp focus, prepare your sermon around one compelling and clear point. I am not suggesting that having a sermon with one point is the only way to maintain focus. There are many wonderful preachers who preach very effective sermons with more than one point. I am suggesting that it is much easier for listeners to stay focused on a sermon with one point.
Benefits of a one-point sermon 
  1. You have time and room to develop your point. Since listeners only need to keep track of one thing, they can really absorb your message. There is nothing more frustrating than when a preacher touches on many key ideas or points but can’t develop any of them because there are too many points and not enough time. Real opportunities for transformation are missed. 
  2. Your sermon will have drive and direction. To be compelled to pay attention, listeners need to feel like a sermon is going somewhere. Remember that sermons must “begin, travel, and arrive.” Preparing a sermon around one point assures drive and direction because you have a singular target. Listening to a sermon with many points can feel like hitting every red light on the way to Disney World or, worse, getting lost on the way. Now that’s frustrating! 
  3. You only have one point to remember. Having only one point makes your sermon much easier for you and your listeners to remember. You save time by putting aside other points for future sermons! Were you planning on preaching a sermon with three points this Sunday? Wait a second! Why not use each of those points for a three-week series? Bam! You now have three weeks of sermons planned. You’re welcome. 
One clear compelling point
Before you can effectively apply this exciting method, there is a crucial thing you must do: Come up with your point! Unless you have a compelling and clear point the method will not work for you. If you cannot express why your text is important to you, your sermon will never get off the ground. However, when you are able to share why your text is important your point will be compelling. When your point is compelling you will be inspired to preach with passion and conviction. Then your sermon will soar!
Sometimes your point will be so compelling that it will be crystal clear. Other times you will have a general idea for a point that needs more focus. This is when you must do a little work on your idea to make it plain and accessible for your listeners. When you express your point, your listeners should recognize its meaning immediately. What has God laid on your heart to say? Express it in one clear and complete sentence.
There is an added benefit to having one compelling and clear point for all of your sermons. At the end of each quarter and or year you can publish a list of all your sermon points with their related scripture texts. Put them in the church newsletter and on the website. Post them on Facebook and Twitter. People will love it, and your sermon points will find a second life!
Adapted from That’ll Preach! 5 Simple Steps to Your Best Sermon Ever(Abingdon Press, 2017) by Charley Reeb. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The book is available at Cokesbury and Amazon.
Related Resources 
About Author
Charley Reeb Charley Reeb is senior pastor of Pasadena Community Church in St. Petersburg, Florida. Known as a gifted preacher, he blogs about preaching at charleyreeb.com. He is the author of That'll Preach!: 5 Simple Steps to Your Best Sermon Ever (Abingdon Press, 2017), available at Cokesbury and Amazon.

How can you connect with more people and engage current parishioners better through preaching? Lewis Center Director Douglas Powe speaks with Pastor Charley Reeb, author of That'll Preach!: 5 Simple Steps to Your Best Sermon Ever, in this episode. Listen now.

Mike Schreiner and Ken Willard describe ways to get more traction from each week's sermon by layering its message into other materials that reinforce the teaching -- such as weekly devotionals or study guides -- and by posting it online. Read more.
Mike Schreiner and Ken Willard describe ways to get more traction from each week’s sermon by layering its message into other materials that reinforce the teaching — such as weekly devotionals or study guides — and by posting it online.
For most pastors and church staff persons, the weekend service of message and worship demands a disproportionate amount of weekly resources. Yet, sadly, once the final blessing is given, all the time, talent, and treasure that was invested in preparing and executing the service gets hauled out to the proverbial dumpster, and the entire process begins anew. Wouldn’t it be great to get more traction with the message, given all the resources which were allocated and invested?
Layering the same main topic several times in several groupings throughout the week not only increases the chances of intellectual retention but, more importantly, fast-tracks transformational living.
At Morning Star Church, we strategically utilize our weekend messages as the primary driver of discipleship. We do this in several ways:
  1. We post the weekend message online so folks can watch it and share it with friends and family.
  2. We invite people to subscribe to a series of three brief weekly devotionals, which are all designed to continue the conversation from the weekend message into everyday life. (We email these on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Monday and Wednesday reinforce the previous weekend’s message; and Friday primes the pump for the upcoming weekend’s message.)
  3. We also design a study guide with five to seven questions for our life groups to discuss (these groups gather during the week). Not only does this reinforce the weekend teaching, but it also helps drive attendance in weekend worship, since persons will be discussing the message in their midweek gathering.
The result of this alignment is akin to a diffused light becoming focused onto smaller and more defined areas. Instead of a person hearing one message during weekend worship, studying another topic for midweek life group or Bible Study, and diving into something completely different during personal devotion time, our approach utilizes layers of reinforcement.
By layering the same main topic several times in several groupings throughout the week, the light becomes focused like a laser that can cut through steel. It not only increases the chances of intellectual retention but, more importantly, fast-tracks transformational living.
This article is adapted from Stride: Creating a Discipleship Pathway for Your Church (Abingdon Press, 2017) by Mike Schreiner and Ken Willard. Used by permission. The book is available at Cokesbury or Amazon.
Related Resources
About Author
Mike Schreiner is lead pastor of Morning Star Church in Dardenne Prairie, Missouri, and coauthor with Ken Willard of Stride: Creating a Discipleship Pathway for Your Church (Abingdon Press, 2017), available at Cokesbury and Amazon.
Ken runs a company called Leadership4Transformation where he is a Christian Leadership coach, certified church consultant, author, speaker, and trainer. He is coauthor with Mike Schreiner of Stride: Creating a Discipleship Pathway for Your Church (Abingdon Press, 2017), available at Cokesbury and Amazon
The Right Question
Leaders do not need answers. Leaders must have the right questions.
Michael Slaughter in his book UnLearning Church encourages churches to identify the most pressing questions to address using these questions:
  • What honest questions do you imagine people want to ask? Are your worship, classroom, and fellowship settings safe spaces to explore these questions?
Want more Right Questions? Read Right Questions for Church Leaders.
Worship attendance is vital to the mission of the church. The Reaching Others through Worship Video Tool Kit provides resources and strategies to help you improve hospitality and worship attendance. Topics include: The Sermon Series as Outreach Tool;How Do People See Your Church?; Putting out the Welcome Mat; The Ministry of Greeting; and Ways to Improve Summer Attendance.
Learn more and watch introductory videos now.
Free Video: "The New Realities of Engaging Newcomers"
This five-minute video by Lewis Center Senior Consultant Lovett H. Weems, Jr., provides an overview of how new people are coming into church communities in different ways than previously, what it means for your congregation, and what you can do to engage these newcomers today.
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Quotable Leadership
I need to hear a gospel that isn't like ordinary life. The good news in your sermon needs to address with strong medicine some startling realizations about my life. (Larry Buxton)
Adult Small Group Study: "Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense"
This ten-session video-based congregational study featuring biblical scholar and Anglican bishop N. T. Wright addresses questions of the reasonableness of the Christian faith in the modern world. Simply Christian is an excellent course for both established believers and seekers and is ideal for your congregation's small groups, adult Bible studies, and Sunday School classes.
Learn more now.
Pastors Moving to New Churches Need the Right Start
Are you a pastor preparing to begin ministry in a new setting? With The Right Start Video Tool Kit, you'll learn how to end your current ministry well, develop a personal transition plan, and make the most of your first days, weeks, and months in your new congregation. The Right Start is available in both Pastor's and Group Training Versions.
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Connect with the Lewis Center:
Lewis Center for Church Leadership, Wesley Theological Seminary
4500 Massachusetts Avenue North West, Washington, D.C. 20016, United States
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