Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
If we’re preaching the Most Important Message Of All, then it’s a tragic irony if the preacher is the biggest distraction from it’s contents. In this episode, Smith & Southerland discuss the 5 big (very common) distractions preachers commit when delivering a message.
Will you confess your own (past or present) here below? Did we miss any? Leave your COMMENTS below!
4 May 2010 at 3:36 am
Really enjoyed this episode (was the first for me). Thanks guys!
One type of additional distraction can be how you design slides if you use them during your sermon. Using Powerpoint/Keynote/Impress/Prezi wisely is of course a big issue. But this type of visualization can speak louder than your actual message as well. Any minute of time invested in careful creation of slides is wise spent – whether you do it yourself or you have staff to do this. Less is more is the golden rule here.
Ben
4 May 2010 at 6:24 am
HEY ,JOEL and Scott WHAT Distractions do pastors have from the people in the church that get your mind off the sermon? and what helps you stay ( spot on)? may God bless both of you LOVED ep 9
5 May 2010 at 6:28 am
Thanks for this episode. Great stuff.
At the beginning, intro, of the podcast Smith mentioned his Droid phone. Any specific apps you find useful or even, dare I say, necessary?
5 May 2010 at 7:42 am
@Ben, excellent advice on Powerpoint. I would even say, go as light as possible on visuals (ie. pics in your powerpoint) and where possible use vivid verbal descriptions. This keeps them “in” your message and actually makes you a better illustrator overall. You’re right, less is more.
@John, whoa, boy… that’s a whole ‘nother podcast! We’ve got to tackle that one. But you’re right, sometimes WE’RE the ones distracted!
@David, I don’t use any specific apps for sermon prep, recall or anything like that. I do have a Bible app called the You Version. I like it because it has so many version and I can change quickly. Also reference lookup is a snap. I also enjoy, by the way, Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening devo which I’ve always managed to find for all my PDA’s I’ve ever used. When I jump to a new platform, it’s the first thing I look for.
Thanks for listening to the show!
12 June 2010 at 12:23 pm
Scott, I concur with the comment that fewer visuals and more verbal pictures imprint the message in the hearers mind. Too many pics. really take my mind away from an otherwise good message. In many ways, too many visuals are no different than television running a subliminal message that entertains but has little content.
27 July 2010 at 11:29 am
Scott and Joel, good episode. The point on shock words is something we all need to remember. I believe when we have the privilege to preach the gospel, it is the Word that we have come to proclaim. Our speech should be without reproach. The gospel and cross of Christ will be offensive. My speech should not.
11 August 2010 at 9:15 am
The whole powerpoint issue can be easily addressed. Did Jesus use PPT? No. Did Paul? No. Did Peter? No. Is there any mention in the N.T. of any visual aids being used during a sermon? No.
The use of PPT is another instance of the church looking at the world’s way of doing things and following along (all of us like sheep….). A pastor gifted by God and preaching through the Spirit is all that’s needed. Preachers who use PPT are in effect admitting that they don’t have the necessary skills to preach effectively through the Word and the Spirit. If PPT were necessary to effectively communicate the Word, God would have provided it 2000 years ago.
14 August 2010 at 7:07 am
@Steve – you are right, Jesus didn’t use powerpoint – but He didn’t use an air-conditioned building, piano, microphone, or a host of other things we use today to preach the message.
I would say that Jesus did use visuals though. When He preached on the sower and the seed, He was probably pointing at one. When He preached to the woman at the well, He used the well / water as a visual. I could go on and on with the visuals Jesus used.
The point is this – its however you can get the message across in the power of the Holy Spirit that matters. PPT or no PPT – just get the message of Jesus out!
27 August 2010 at 6:21 pm
I am new to the site, only today. So, do not know if anyone has mentioned another distraction…… AN OPEN FLY!
24 November 2010 at 5:59 pm
hello,
I’m new to this site and I realy appreciate it. I believe that the Lord allowed modern technology for effective communication of the Word coupled with the power of the Holy Spirit.
22 February 2011 at 4:57 pm
On the subject of “shock words:” This is something that has troubled me since I went to a men’s retreat and heard one of the preachers (a pastor) curse in his message. He did so exactly inline with the example given in this podcast. If you’re a pastor who disagrees with the points given about “shock words,” please consider this: Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. (Eph. 4:29)
There are many other scriptures that give us the same instruction. How can we be an effective witness from the pulpit, if our sermon is perceived as “How to Sin” and not “The Importance of Christ’s Gift?”