Connecting with listeners in preaching

A few years agone, there was a wonderful advert featuring the late Rik Mayall. As he strolled around his penthouse apartment, he turned to the camera:

Hello, Rik Mayall here. If you're like me: immensely rich, talented, handsome, isn't it a diameter?

I cannot even think what the ad was for (after research, information technology turns out to be for the Nintendo Gameboy)—but I loved the spoof on the attempts of stars to brand connections with ordinary people. It stuck in my listen because of the perennial challenge for preachers: how do I connect effectively with those I am speaking to, and then that what I am sharing will make sense in the context of their own lives? This is, in part, a question of advisable personal self-disclosure, but information technology goes beyond that.

It was highlighted for me just before Easter as a result of my speaking, in close succession, in 3 very different contexts. The first was a retreat of Northern Church Leaders, which included Anglican and Roman Cosmic bishops and area leaders from other denominations. The 2d was at Oxford Community Church, a charismatic congregation which is part of the Table salt and Calorie-free network. The third was preaching on Palm Lord's day at HMP Whatton, a sex activity offenders prison house.

Speaking in such different contexts can exist very enervating; it made me realise how much I depend on the knowledge of the regular congregation I speak to, not just in terms of their situation and life experiences, only in terms of their expectations of preaching, and how they might respond and interact during a sermon. When speaking in a new context, I do not know whether they will express mirth at my jokes, chronicle to my illustrations, or appoint with my theological position. In some cases, a passing comment well-nigh something that would exist taken for granted in my own context could provide a serious distraction in a context where that idea was contested or controversial.

---

In the three contexts I had visited, there was no dubiousness that we shared common concerns and aspirations equally human being beings and every bit disciples of Christ wanting to encounter his kingdom come. But at the level of particulars, these were iii groups with whom I did not have things in mutual. Nigh challenging, of course, was the prison context, since I could not refer to everyday experiences I accept in my life which the prisoners could not accept access to. This made me aware of the movement we constantly make betweencommonality andparticularity. All our experiences sit somewhere on the range between the common and the particular, and both ends of the range need to be used in preaching. In whatever item area of life, nosotros tin can identify things that are particular to me, or we can move to more common questions. Here are things I could mention in the area of relationships, moving from the particular to the general or common:

• Something that happened recently with friends
• The things I like to exercise with friends and family unit
• The friendships I have
• My marital and family unit situation
• My demand for relationships
• The question of human loneliness

If we stay at the top of the scale, we are only going to connect with listeners who share the detailed particulars of our life and situation, and doing this habitually volition create monochrome congregations (or will just work in such a context). So nosotros need to move down the calibration if nosotros are to engage with a range of unlike people. But nosotros cannot only always talk in generalities, and merely address the questions we face in the virtually common terms. For 1 matter, our congregations are non infinitely variable—there are item things we share in terms of linguistic communication, culture and location. And our hearers demand to know how the gospel works out in the particulars of their lives.

So one aspect of preaching is to place the particulars, motion downwardly the scale to explore the mutual questions we face, run across how the gospel engages with those questions, and and so move dorsum up the scale to see the difference that makes in the particulars of life. Equally it happens, that gives quite a good structure to a sermon, known equally chiasm. It is a regular feature of teaching and speech in the Bible.

---

Simply this movement doesn't just use in the 'forward' direction, in relation to our listeners. It too applies in relation the Scripture, as our source for understanding the gospel. In many parts of Scripture, we are presented with the particulars of the biblical characters—and, since these characters live in a different time and culture from united states of america, they are not always particulars we can chronicle to. So role of the exploration of Scripture is nearly moving along the same scale, in lodge that our listeners tin find common business organization with the people in Scripture. As they understand how God's grace transformed those situations, they tin brainstorm to come across how God's grace might transform their own.

And as an illustration of how not to do information technology, here is Rik Mayall:

---

Follow me on Twitter @psephizo

---

Much of my work is done on a freelance basis. If you have valued this mail service, would you considerdonating £1.20 a month to support the product of this blog?

If you enjoyed this, do share information technology on social media (Facebook or Twitter) using the buttons on the left. Follow me on Twitter @psephizo. Like my page on Facebook.

Much of my work is done on a freelance basis. If you have valued this mail, you can make a single or repeat donation through PayPal:

Comments policy: Practiced comments that engage with the content of the post, and share in respectful debate, can add real value. Seek beginning to sympathise, and then to be understood. Brand the most charitable construal of the views of others and seek to learn from their perspectives. Don't view debate as a conflict to win; address the argument rather than tackling the person.

cangelosibeills43.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.psephizo.com/preaching-2/connecting-with-listeners-in-preaching/