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GROW AND GO PREACHER TRAINING COURSE.

This course was first used in a local church for training members of its team of lay preachers. It is made available as a freely usable and copyable resource for any church or aspiring preacher.

Students are recommended to link this course with their general ongoing study of the Bible and with the following Grow & Go booklets:
THE GREAT COMMISSION - The Heart of the Faith.
GROWING UP - three studies in Christian maturity.
SPIRITUAL WARFARE.

Training sessions in the original course are here re-named chapters, as follows:

1 DEPTH
1.1 Deep calls to deep.
1.2 The life-cycle of Truth.

2 FITTED FOR SERVICE
2.1 Some qualifications for preachers.
2.2 The servant heart.
2.3 Manners.
2.4 Genuine.
2.5 Loyalty.
2.6 Soaked in Scripture.
2.7 The Sacred Anointing.
2.8 Experience of life.
2.9 A clear voice and expression.

3 THE BASIC SERMON
3.1 Ezra’s method - original and best.
3.2 Telling Bible stories.
3.3 Parables.
3.4 Preaching on a subject.
3.5 Logic on fire.
3.6 Sermon structure.

4 PREACHING AND SPIRITUAL WARFARE

5 WORDS
5.1 If we care for God’s Word we will care for His words.
5.2 Three kinds of word.
5.3 Theological jargon.

6 READING THE BIBLE ALOUD.

7 HOLDING ATTENTION.

CHAPTER ONE - DEPTH.

1-1. DEEP CALLS TO DEEP.

“Only a call from the depths can provoke a response from the depths.” Watchman Nee.

Preaching is a means by which The Holy Spirit calls from deep to deep. Unless the preacher has a deep inner and secret life with God, preaching will be “shallow calling to shallow.”

A healthy tree needs both roots and leaves. A healthy disciple of Christ needs both a deep life with God and an everyday life with people. A church needs both deep preaching and an everyday life of fellowship.

People Need Depth.
In a good church there will be a warm-hearted atmosphere of friendship, a sense of worship, a welcome to strangers and a chance for friends to meet. All these are important, but when the preacher begins to speak, people expect something more. They think; - “Now we are going to hear what this church really has to say.”

Whether the preacher is young or old, clergy or laity, visitor or local, he or she is expected to have something worthwhile to say, to say it and then to stop.

If deep does not call to deep, it has all been a waste of time. A shallow sermon is a cruel disappointment to people who have come with deep needs. You never know what those needs may be.

People need to hear the call from deep to deep. If it does not come, hurting people will go on hurting, empty people will remain empty, hope will be denied to the hopeless.

Even those who do not understand all the preacher says, may be given hope just by realising that he really does have a message of hope.

Shallow preaching is like refusing to give food to the hungry, and leaving them to think that there is no food, when all the time there is plenty.

Samples of Truth.
No one sermon can ever meet every need of a mixed congregation. Needs are many and varied. But all can go away knowing that God is worth seeking and Truth is there to be found.

A sermon, however short, however simple, however inexperienced the preacher, must contain a sample of Truth; a sample which proves there is more to be had. Many of Christ’s parables left people still seeking, but seeking as those who knew their quest was worthwhile.

People need to go away knowing that the depths of their spirit can indeed be reached and touched by a message which has come through the depths of the preacher’s spirit. They need to know that reality is real; that truth is true; that hope is not hopeless. They need to know that their deepest questions can be answered, even if they do not yet understand the answers.

1-2. THE LIFE-CYCLE OF TRUTH.
We take in Truth through the ears (listening) and eyes (reading). It goes first to our minds to be thought about, understood, weighed and grasped. But even when we thoroughly understood it we are not yet ready to preach it to others.

The truth we have understood has to become real to us in experience. It must pass from the head to the heart where it needs to mature.

It stands the test of time, of experience, of doubt and questioning. It takes its place alongside all the other truth God is teaching us day by day.

At last it is ready to be given to others. At The Holy Spirit’s prompting it is then transferred back from heart to mind, where we think through how to explain it and make it clear.

Then we are ready to preach it.

The hearers listen and the process begins again in them. So deep calls to deep.

Danger - Short-circuiting the Cycle.
There are several kinds of short-circuit, all dangerous.

The first is head-to-mouth preaching - cutting out the heart. A truth may be understood in theory but if it is passed on without having gone deep in the preacher, it will be shallow. Quick-and-easy preaching merely passes on the latest idea heard from some other preacher or read somewhere.

Heavy theology can also be shallow for the same reason. A preacher may take much time leaning from a text book, but if the truth has not gone deep into his own life it will be merely intellectual and dry-as-dust. God’s living vital truths are then restated in long-winded abstract terms which can fill page after page of a book but never a human heart.

There are other short-circuits. Sometimes truth can be received emotionally but not subjected to the test of thinking about it - that is cutting out the mind.

People may say “What a wonderful sermon, what a wonderful speaker, what wonderful truth,” - but never stop to test it. What we hear or read needs to be tested and God has given us brains which work in relationship with The Holy Spirit so that we can test what we hear. It ought not to go “straight to the heart.” It should go to the heart after it has been tested. Otherwise we shall be at the mercy of any clever orator or manipulator who is good at putting a point of view.

CHAPTER TWO - FITTED FOR SERVICE.

2-1. SOME QUALIFICATIONS FOR A PREACHER.
A Servant Heart.
Good Manners.
Genuineness
Loyalty to leaders.
Soaked in Scripture.
The Sacred Anointing.
Experience of Life.
Clear Voice and Expression.
to name a few. You may think of others.

2-2. A SERVANT HEART.
No one will ever be welcomed into Heaven with a “Well done good and faithful preacher.” Heaven’s only accolade is, “Well done good and faithful servant.”

As preachers we are here to serve - the Lord and His people with all their failings - the Church with all its failings. We serve in the context of the structure as it is, not as it ought to be.

We are the servants, especially, of those who have brought others to the church. Don’t let them down. It is their faithfulness which wins people for Christ. Your part in the process is a humble one, do it humbly. If they become discouraged they will stop bringing others.

It is a servant’s privilege to be taken for granted.
It has been said that the test of whether you have a servant heart is how you react when people treat you as if you are a servant. In no kind of service is this more true than in preaching.

If you have travelled a long and difficult journey to preach and only four people come to hear you, thank God for the privilege of serving four people and give them your very best.

2-3. GOOD MANNERS.
It was said of St Francis that he renounced all of his once-aristocratic lifestyle except its good manners.

The preacher’s manners are vital to the message, especially if someone interrupts or comes in late. Many years ago we were listening to a tape of some Bible teaching being given by an eminent speaker. (One who, I am happy to say, has mellowed since that time.) I well remember switching the tape off because in the middle of speaking he complained that someone was disturbing him by collecting cups for washing. Now the fact is that the people washing the cups were servants on equal terms with the speaker and doing a job of equal status. His demand to be “respected” actually destroyed respect for him.

Take any interruption calmly. You may have to take practical steps to deal with the practical problem created, but never take it as a personal affront. You are serving a Lord who was whipped and mocked and crucified.

Never, ever, criticise someone who comes in late, (babies have a habit of needing their nappy changed just when parents are about to leave for church - and changing the baby’s nappy is every bit as much a service to God as your sermon).

Never, ever, criticise the arrangements made by the church for you. We had a well known preacher come to our church once who was acclaimed by all as a magnificent bible teacher - except by the family with whom he stayed. To them his bad manners as a guest had wiped out any claim to being a true servant of Christ.

Never go over time (significantly over time - a few minutes may not hurt). People may have disabled relatives to go home and care for, or other duties. They came expecting you to take a certain amount of their time. To take more is bad manners.

The Holy Spirit has good manners. Never, ever, claim that you are being led by the Spirit to break the rules of courtesy. Someone may well ask, which spirit?

Criticism.
There must also be courtesy to people not present - to other churches, other religions, politicians, to other viewpoints - good manners does not mean compromise of what is being said, it does govern how it is said.

St Paul preached in Ephesus for two years. So effective was his message that fifty thousand silver coins’ worth of occult books were burned by their owners in the world’s most expensive bonfire. The worship of Artemis was so undermined that the silversmiths who made a profit out of her images, rioted. (Acts 19).

Yet the Town Clerk in his speech could honestly say, “These men are not blasphemers of your goddess.”

We undermine evil by preaching truth, not by attacking evil. Jesus said “Resist not evil but overcome evil with good.” He also said He had not come to condemn the world but to save it.

Truth itself is effective. Opposing falsehood is self destructive. Proclaim truth positively and with good manners at all times.

2-4. GENUINENESS.
A preacher is a servant. It is also vital that a preacher be nothing but a servant. Your purpose is to build up Christ’s kingdom by building up His people, by making clear to them what God has said in His Word. You are there to teach what you have learned from Him through scripture.

The moment any other motive comes in, people will perceive the loss of sincerity. What other motives can there be?

First let me say there is nothing wrong in enjoying it. Preaching involves skill, “And skill’s a joy to any man.” Pleasure in doing something you can do well is perfectly legitimate.

Desire to be acknowledged as a orator, however, is quite another matter. So is desire to get one’s own way, to put over a partisan point of view, to prove one’s own faction right, to show where someone else is wrong.

Nor may the preacher ever be in competition with the leadership of the church. Preaching is just one area of service, leadership involves many and varied tasks and responsibilities. The preacher who is not in leadership should at all points make the leaders’ task easier by building for them a more mature and Christlike church to lead. Preaching is not a path to leadership, or to dominance or eminence.

Preaching has only one reward on earth and one reward in Heaven. The reward on earth is - “Thank you you helped me.” The reward in Heaven is - “Good and faithful servant.”

2-5. LOYALTY TO LEADERS.
When a preacher is not also part of the leadership team, he or she draws authority from it by reason of being under its authority. Disloyalty to the leadership takes away the preacher’s own authority.

This does not mean that the preacher must preach exactly what the leaders order. Preaching must come from deep within the preacher.

If the church officially believes some doctrine which I do not, I cannot preach it, but neither can I preach against it (at any rate not without the leaders’ consent.) A well-known preacher was convinced of one belief which his church elders did not hold. Asked what he held on that subject he replied, “my tongue.”

2-6. SOAKED IN SCRIPTURE.
No this does not mean you must know the whole Bible thoroughly before starting to preach. That takes years. It does mean you are living with the Bible, getting to know it better all the time and relating to the Lord as you learn.

It means more particularly that you are soaked in the scripture passage or passages you are preaching on that day. Spend days going over those particular passages repeatedly until they permeate your being. It is better to go over it every day for a week than cram it all at once - although if you do have to speak at short notice the Holy Spirit will enable you.

Read other relevant scriptures and such books of reference as you may need for background information etc or meaning of words.

But don’t get your message from a commentary.

2-7. THE SACRED ANOINTING.
No amount of Bible knowledge will make a preacher without the Holy Spirit. If you want to preach, start by praying that you never will - except when The Holy Spirit comes upon you in power.

God may take you at your word and keep you waiting longer than you had hoped. He may put you through some of His own training courses consisting of suffering and humiliation and frustration.

But keep praying that you may never preach without Him. One sermon given in His power with His love in His presence, confirmed by His Spirit in the hearts of the hearers, might change many people’s lives and the changes last for ever. A hundred brilliant pieces of super-spiritual oratory will be meaningless in eternity if done without Him.

So What about the Spiritual Gifts? (See C3 SPIRITUAL GIFTS)
Preaching is not listed among the gifts of the Spirit. But there is teaching and prophecy and the word of wisdom and evangelism.

Evangelism is telling the good news, whether one-to-one or in a sermon or in any other way. Some sermons are mainly on the Gospel. These should make the Gospel clear to non-Christians and Christians alike, whether to draw people to Christ or confirm new believers.

Prophecy is hearing from God and communicating His message by any means. It is a very wide term covering what Moses did, and Elijah, and Isaiah (who wrote it down in poetry). Above all a prophet is one who hears from God and it must never be imagined that prophecy is simply a kind of utterance. There are people who say “Thus saith the Lord” and go on to express their own opinion.

Prophecy does not have to be spontaneous. In fact it is usually carefully prepared with much listening to God and, in comparison, only a little speaking. A prophecy if it is real will stand the test of waiting before it is spoken.

The Word of Wisdom is a needed insight for a situation, church, group, family or individual and may sometimes be conveyed in the sermon although perhaps more often in conversation.

Teaching is building up the body of Christ by conveying God’s Truth.

There is something of all of these in preaching. Perhaps Teaching is predominant.

But don’t worry - you will have whichever gifts you require, as the need arises. It is an employer’s responsibility to provide workmen with their tools. So it is God’s responsibility to give His workers whatever spiritual gifts they need at the time. Just get on with the job and leave God to provide the spiritual equipment.


2-8. EXPERIENCE OF LIFE.
Experience of life ought to soften and mellow and knock off the sharp edges. Whether it does or not depends on how we receive it from The Lord.

Young preachers can be pretentious (though they do not do as much harm as a preacher who is both well-established and pretentious.)

There are hurtful things which a softened preacher will never say because he knows what it feels like to be hurt. Yet he will find a way to express the truth to hurting people so that it heals.

2-9. A CLEAR VOICE AND EXPRESSION.
See Chapter six.

CHAPTER THREE THE BASIC SERMON.

3-1. EZRA’S METHOD. Original and best.

Nehemiah 8:8 They read in the the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.

The simplest and most basic sermon is a reading from the Bible, read clearly, and explained. It was Ezra’s method. It was Tom Reece’s method when preaching to ten thousand people in The Albert Hall.

Messrs Kelloggs who first produced Cornflakes used to advertise theirs as “Original and Best” Explaining a Bible passage is the Kelloggs Cornflakes of preaching - original and best.

When Tom Reece was going to preach at The Albert Hall, he would spend maybe a whole day soaking himself in the passage of scripture he was going to speak on. I once heard him speak on the encounter between Philip and the Ethiopian Treasurer and he recited from memory, not only the whole story from Acts 8 but also the whole of Isaiah 53 which the Ethiopian was reading.

I wholeheartedly recommend the same method to any new preacher. Know the passage, not necessarily by heart but thoroughly. Be able to read it and make its meaning clear and plain for everyone to understand.

By the time you have finished reading it aloud, your congregation should have received about half of what you want to convey to them.

By the time you have prepared yourself to read it, you are more than half prepared to speak on it. You need understanding in order to read aloud. All you then need to do is pass on that understanding to your hearers.

This then is sermon preparation. Know the passage well. Know the necessary background so that you can explain it. Know what the passage has meant to you. Tell it and then sit down. “Cause the people to understand.”

This is the kind of sermon that transforms lives. Think what you have done, even if you are a clumsy beginner. You have demonstrated (not asserted) that scripture is alive and that God speaks through it. You have shown that you take it seriously yourself. You have passed on an attitude to truth and the Bible and its message. You have given other clumsy beginners an example of how to start. You have provided a starting point for seekers to move on from in their search.

In twenty years time, youngsters present may be serving Christ in Mission round the world, and your sermon may still be part of the foundation of their lives. Such achievements are better than producing an eloquent piece of oratory and being acclaimed as an expert.

It is more important to show people how to find out God’s truth for themselves, than to show them how well you understand it.

3-2. TELLING BIBLE STORIES.
This is similar to speaking on a passage except that the story may be too long to read in full. Or you may be focussing on one character. Once again, soak yourself in the scripture in full, it might be quite a lot, and know the background information needed to explain it. Learn to feel along with Abraham or Isaac or Jacob or David or Daniel or Paul or Silas. Select a part to read and then tell the story in your own words. Draw from it the message you have found for yourself in it, not what you have heard someone else say is in it.

Get the story right, (books of Bible stories don’t always). If the story appears twice (eg in Kings & Chronicles, or Matthew & Mark) read both to prepare yourself even if you are only reading one to the hearers.

Don’t assume a Bible story is an easy way to begin, it may be if you are good at story telling, but the research is vital.

Don’t be ashamed to tell a story to adults, they need them and like them.

Background information.
Understanding John 4 or Genesis 24 involves some knowledge of the culture of water drawing in hot dry countries. Understanding the story of the paralysed man let down through the roof involves some understanding of how houses were built in those days. Understanding Paul’s shipwreck involves some knowledge of ancient sailing and the relationship between the soldiers and crew.

There are books on Bible background which a preacher should study.

3-3. PARABLES.
Jesus was the supreme communicator. He told stories which people had to listen to in full before they began to work out what the message was. So they did not have time to develop a resistance to it until after they had heard it.

Parables can be understood equally by children and by intellectuals.

Parables fix an idea in a hearer’s mind, make it memorable before it is even understood and leave the hearers free to go on looking for the truth in it afterwards.

When retelling Christ’s parables it is necessary to make clear any points in the lifestyle or culture of the time which are necessary to understand the story. For example that the sower sowed by hand and did not have a seed drill (no that is not obvious, not to people brought up in modern times who have never even thought of sowing without a seed drill).

3-4. PREACHING ON A SUBJECT.
You may be asked to do this, or may sense a special need in the church for it. The best way is to find a passage which deals with that subject. For example I was once asked to speak on “The Holy Spirit - His Place in the Trinity” and finished up doing a simple study of John 14.

Or you may need several scriptures, but avoid flitting from verse to verse, you are likely to leave the hearers behind.

Don’t take on a subject unless you are confident you have already faced it and sorted it out with the Lord. Don’t just read it up in a commentary. It will not come from the heart and will be shallow.

3-5. LOGIC ON FIRE.
“Friend I have always found than my heart is most warmed by that which doth most enlighten my mind.” (Often quoted by my father from an old Quaker saying - origin unknown).

A preacher is not there to play on people’s emotions. Truth will do that.

“Cause the people to understand,” and when understanding comes it will frequently bring emotion - to both speaker and hearer. The rational truth that God became a man and was crucified for our sins is the most emotive force in the universe. That is why the preacher must not play on emotions. Leave the truth free to do its own work.

If you are going to preach at all you had better come to terms with the fact that you will sometimes feel the force of the truth yourself and an unwanted crack in the voice or tear may spoil your reputation as an orator. It will happen. Never force it and never resist it. You are not there to gain a reputation as an orator. You are there to cause the people to understand. Explain, explain, explain.

If people break down emotionally because of your skilled manipulation, you have failed as a preacher. If people break down because God has spoken to them, praise Him for doing His part of the work and carry on doing your own. Enlighten their minds and their hearts will be warmed.

3-6. SERMON STRUCTURE.
Have something to say. Say it. Then stop.

Never mind about “firstly, secondly and thirdly”. Have as many points as there are points you want to make. The structure must fit the message, not the other way round.

All you have to consider is, “How do I say this so that people will follow it, understand and be interested?” There are no rules for this, except to be clear in your own mind what you want to say.

Consider how much the hearers can take at any one time - how much can they take in with their minds, and how much emotional intensity is in it. Don’t overload either.

Using notes.
This is something personal to each preacher. Don’t be ashamed to use notes or to do without them. Often the scripture passage is the notes. If you intend to read out any quotation, have it ready.

Detailed notes are liable to make you stuffy and distract your attention from the people you are speaking to. Personally if ever I do used notes (which is rarely) I only have a few headings on a slip of paper, printed in block capitals for quick reference, just to keep me to the order planned and ensure nothing is missed.

Sometimes when preparing I write a much fuller summery of what I want to say, but I leave it behind when I go to preach it. The purpose is to prepare me and fix the points in my mind.

The finish.
Some preachers find it helpful to memorise or write down a prepared final sentence because finishing off can be difficult.

The opening.
One may also prepare the opening, even down to the exact words, but a caution is needed here. Be ready to change the prepared opening if it would be insensitive to what has preceded it. Others may have shared, there may be news, good or bad, the opening must not show that you have not been listening.

Rehearsal.
I often go for walks, preaching the sermon to myself over and over again. It is different every time and never comes out as rehearsed, but it helps to prepare, me to preach it.

CHAPTER FOUR. PREACHING AND SPIRITUAL WARFARE.
There is a common idea that spiritual warfare is about dealing with demons, whether casting them out of people, exorcising them from houses or “binding” them by prayer. It is seen as a special and separate area of the church’s life and some people are regarded as having a “deliverance ministry” (not a Bible term).

In fact, spiritual warfare is about advancing Christ’s kingdom and it includes spreading the Gospel, strengthening the church, discipling new followers, training, supporting and sending people into action in Christ’s service. In all these activities we may encounter enemy resistance - sometimes from human opponents, sometimes demonic.

In all cases, it is Christ going in that matters, not demons coming out. This applies whether we are talking about a person, a family, a church or a situation.

Defence.
In a human war, it is not only front line troops who are attacked. Anyone building a factory or a driving a train or bringing in supplies or training pilots, is involved in the war effort and if the enemy can attack them it will.

Preaching advances the kingdom of God by building up maturity in Christians, and by being part of the process of winning people for Christ. It may therefore be subject to a counter-attack even though the preacher is not consciously engaging in spiritual warfare.

Types of enemy attack:-
Directly on the preacher
Temptation
Discouragement
Harassment
On the preacher’s family
On the congregation
To keep them away
To distract them
To create antagonism
On the service, interruption, disruption etc.

Finally there may be the kind of attack which is actually recognised as directly demonic, though this is less usual.

When there are demonic attacks, there will normally be human factors as well. Defence is needed against both. The human factor may be exhaustion, stress or a bad relationship. Once the demonic element is removed, the human one remains and has to be dealt with at a different level.

Direct confrontation.
We can halt demonic activity by asserting Christ’s authority over it. That is the essence of “casting out” demons or “binding” them and it is reasonably straightforward in itself. It does not need to be public, in fact it is better if done quietly and kept as unobtrusive as possible.

It is a good military principle not to attack unless absolutely ready, but if we do attack or if we are attacked, to fight with utmost aggressiveness. Either avoid it or go for it wholeheartedly, no half measures. So if we are drawn into the situation when it is really necessary to assert Christ’s authority over the forces of evil, be firm and definite.

But do not glory in it, it is nothing to be proud of or to seek out. Direct spiritual warfare is no fun. See Luke 10:17-20.

Direct spiritual warfare is, however, only a small part of the whole.

Everyone involved needs:-
Continuing protection from counter attack
A filling with Christ and His word to replace any area previously dominated by evil.

Once again it is Christ going into the situation that counts, not the demons going out.

Vulnerability.
Everyone is vulnerable to enemy attack, but some are more vulnerable than others. High vulnerability is a reason to hold back from preaching, temporarily at least. Generally one should not preach or engage in other front-line spiritual activity if one’s family is unstable or if one is living under excessive stress. It is not a question of blame but of danger.

Sin also makes one vulnerable, but that can be dealt with. Just repent and get on with life, God never wants his children to wallow in guilt. Long term sins like resentment make for high vulnerability (Ephesians 4:26-27).

Other reasons for holding back from challenging Satan’s kingdom include recent marriage, pregnancy, recent birth of children or special need to concentrate on family for a variety of reasons. The law of Moses precluded a newlywed soldier from going into action (Deuteronomy 24:5).

Defence structure.
How many people are praying for us? With whom can we share our personal problems? Is someone caring for us pastorally? A lonely person is vulnerable. We need to know where our defences lie if we are to go into action. Spiritual warfare is not for loners.

See Booklet B5 Spiritual Warfare.

Scripture References on Spiritual Warfare.

Genesis 3:15
“The Seed of the Woman” promised who would bruise the serpent’s head.

Luke 10: 17-20
Disciples say “Even the devils are subject to us in Your Name.” Christ replies that He saw Satan fall from Heaven, He gives them authority over the enemy, but tells them not to glory in it - rejoice because your names are written in heaven.

Ephesians 1:19-21
Christ is far above all principality and power.

Ephesians 6:12
We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, spiritual wickedness in the heavenly places.

1 John 3:8
The Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the Devil.

Revelation 12:11
They overcame him by:-
The blood of the Lamb
The word of their testimony
They loved not their lives unto death.

CHAPTER FIVE. WORDS.

F. B. Meyer said; “It is the glory of Jesus that He pillaged Truth’s deepest mines of their golden ore, and minted it into common coin, which He threw in lavish handfuls among men.”

It is the shame of theology that it has pillaged the people of that common coin, mixed it with dross and buried it back in the mines. It has done this by its carelessness about words.

5-1. IF WE CARE FOR GOD’S WORD WE WILL CARE FOR HIS WORDS.
As mechanics care for their tools or musicians for their instruments, so do Christ’s messengers care for their words. We have news to tell, the message which is “The power of God unto salvation” committed to us by the Master Himself. To tell it, we must use words.

Words matter. Choosing the wrong word can sink a ship, crash a plane, lose a battle or wreck a marriage. Choosing wrong words can corrupt our message and lead people astray. We use words to think; so wrong words can lead to confused thought and false beliefs.

It was said of Winston Churchill that he mobilised the English language and sent it into battle. Knowing that confused thought could lose the war he took time to demand simple brevity, rallied the nation with four monosyllables, “Blood, toil, tears and sweat” and pleaded for American aid with the simple words, “Give us the tools and we’ll finish the job.”

Clear simple words are a Christian’s essential tools. Preaching should be logic on fire, reasoned argument shot through with passion. Long or obscure words spoil both the reasoning and the passion.

5-2. THREE KINDS OF WORD.
There are only three kinds of word which a Christian has the right to use - ever.

FIRST, PLAIN WORDS - simple plain language which the hearer or reader can easily understand.

SECOND, POETIC WORDS - imagery, or words which give dramatic force to what is said. Such words may not necessarily be familiar to the hearer, so long as the total statement is still understandable. There is much poetry in the Bible. Teachers need to explain and clarify it, but keep it as poetry.

THIRD, TECHNICAL WORDS.
Every area of life has its technical terms. A cricket commentator may say that the bowler is “waving his short fine leg round square” and if you understand cricket you know what he means. Carpenters speak of mortises and mitres and dowels. Gardeners speak of a fair tilth.

Christianity is no exception. An evangelist may speak of “justification” or “grace” or “faith” or “salvation” - so long as he explains their meaning in a way the hearers can understand and also remains faithful to the use of those terms in scripture.

With changes in language, new words may be rightly adopted as the nearest translation of such terms. We may substitute “rescue” for “salvation” or “turning round” for “repentance.”

5-3. THEOLOGICAL JARGON.
But Christianity has another set of technical terms, jargon, words which draw their meaning neither from everyday speech nor poetic imagery nor from the Bible. Nor yet are they alternatives to Bible words which a different translator might have used.

These words corrupt the Gospel. By the mere fact of their existence they are saying that God got it wrong when He revealed His Truth in Scripture; that theologians can do it better. If we care for God’s Word we will care for His words. To change them is always to change the message - at least to give it a different emphasis. What cannot be stated without jargon, is false.

When Nelson sent out his famous signal before the battle of Trafalgar, he told the signallers to say, “Nelson is confident that every man will do his duty” - the confidence of their beloved commander meant a lot to the seamen. It was the kind of message to boost morale. The signallers persuaded him to change it to a message that was easier to signal - and incidentally would sound more grand in the history books, “England expects that every man will do his duty,” a signal which only produced resentment in men with no strong loyalty to England and no intention of doing anything but their duty anyway.

We are God’s signallers, let us not corrupt His message by inventing theological jargon.

CHAPTER SIX. READING THE BIBLE ALOUD.
The ability to read scripture to a congregation is a preacher’s first practical qualification. It takes the same skills as preaching.

To read you must be able to: -

1 Speak clearly and intelligibly.
2 Understand the passage yourself.
3 Communicate understanding.
4 Be gripped by the truth of the passage yourself.
5 Communicate that enthusiasm.

These are all skills needed for the sermon as well. What is more if you are reading the passage you are speaking on, you are half way to preparing your sermon when you have prepared yourself to read.

And your hearers, by the time they have heard you read, should have received about half the benefit which God has for them that day.

So reading aloud is critical. It is especially important in churches where some of the people cannot read or only read a little. How can anyone discover that the Bible is worth reading except by hearing it read.

A clear voice.
It is a waste of time for God to spend ten years preparing you spiritually to preach if when you do, people cannot hear you.

Hearing, as everyone beginning to go deaf knows only too well, is more a matter of clarity than loudness. If words are pronounced clearly and not too fast, even deaf people will be able to make them out.

If there is a microphone use it, but ask someone at the back to let you know if it is not working or if they cannot hear.

Physical exercise improves the voice.

Vowels differ according to regional accents but clarity comes from the consonants.

Practice tongue twisters.

Communicate understanding.
Only after your have thoroughly soaked yourself in the scripture passage to be read can you make people understand it. Wrestle with every shade of meaning, if there is doubt, decide which possible interpretation you are working on. You can only make others understand what you have understood yourself.

I once had the privilege of having one of my poems read aloud by a retired professional actor. I caught a glimpse of the page I had given him and was astonished to see it covered with pencil markings. He had marked every stress, pause and glide. Yet when it came to it, the stresses were not heavy or the pauses long. The expression he had worked so long to prepare came over as if it were easy and natural. As author of the poem I knew he had got it right, though there was just one point at which his interpretation differed from mine - and improved on it.

Whether or not you go to such lengths before a Bible reading, the essential preparation is needed if the stresses, pauses and glides are to be in the right place.

If two points are contrasted, stress both, not heavily but enough to raise them above the uncontrasted words so that the contrast is perceived. Stress is not merely loudness, it is a combination of saying the word a little louder and a little slower, sometimes preceding it with a dramatic pause.

Parts relegated to lesser significance are spoken quicker but not louder. Combining speed with loudness conveys excitement or urgency and should be used sparingly.

If there is a change of speaker, eg between the prodigal son and the father, you need a slight pause to indicate the change, but only attempt to change voices if you can do it well.

eg. Romans 5:7-8
“For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners. Christ died for us.”

Convey enthusiasm.
You can only convey it if you have it; so don’t try otherwise. But don’t let your enthusiasm trap you into reading too fast to be understood or without saying the words clearly.

CHAPTER SEVEN. HOLDING ATTENTION.

To hold people’s attention you must give them yours.

That is a rule in all situations, not only preaching. Even though you are the speaker and they the listeners, your mind must be on them, the people you are talking to so that you say the words not just speak them.

When I found that even with bifocals I could not look at both the people and my notes, I gave up using notes. Always watch. Always listen. Be conscious of the hearers and relate to them. If you lose their attention, stop, regain it and carry on or else wind it up quickly and sit down.

The story is told of a tent convention in Canada where, because of the heat, the tent sides of the marquee had been taken down. Behind the speaker a bear came out of the woods and walked past the tent. All eyes were focussed on the bear; all eyes that is except the preacher’s. He could not see the bear and failed to observe the switch in his audience’s attention. He carried on preaching in blissful ignorance that no one was listening.

In contrast to this, there was a comedian performing a humorous monologue, and a cat walked onto the stage. Instantly the man knew he had lost attention, looked to find out why and saw the cat. He stopped, picked it up to give to a stage hand and said, “Here this is a monologue not a catalogue,” and regained his audience.

We are not all as quick thinking as that, but can all be as sensitive. Never go on talking when attention is lost.

The most common reason for losing attention is going on too long. Too long means beyond the time people expected you to finish, or earlier if they have stopped listening.

In some circles going overtime is seen as a mark of being guided by The Holy Spirit and free from human restraints. That is nonsense. The Holy Spirit has good manners and also the sense to know it is useless speaking to people who are not listening. Even the most attentive and enraptured audience has children or other dependants to care for and a timetable to keep to. Guests may have been brought with the assurance, “It will be over by twelve-thirty” and hosts become uneasy if the preacher breaks their promise. Attention switches from the speaker to the clock.

Another reason for losing attention is an interruption or distraction. This my come from you - for example if you make an obvious blunder or stumble over the words. If that happens just correct it, laugh at yourself and carry on, attention is easily regained, but not by ignoring what has happened.

Or the interruption may come from someone else. Here it is vital that the speaker deals with it courteously. No matter how unjustified the interruption, if you react to it negatively you will lose attention. If you remain gentle and caring you will regain it.

The mothers who brought their children to Jesus, were probably interrupting His sermon.

Finally, you might lose people’s attention because you are be beginning to bore them.

Length.
The length of a sermon should be what it was announced or expected to be - or a little shorter. If you have finished, stop.

On the other hand, there are situations where time is not important. I know from experience that the attention-span of a fifteen-year-old is three and a half hours. At fifteen I heard Gladys Aylward telling her story in a crowded room to about twenty teenagers. She went on until phonecalls began to come from anxious parents wondering what had happened. But then she had an exciting story to tell.

If no time has been set, the question is simply, are they still listening? Are they still interested? You must know.

And it is better to leave people wanting more than thankful it is over.

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