tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6235759163515861773.comments2013-02-17T09:20:33.769-05:00This Preaching ThingMichael Ruffinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18387955769638547701noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6235759163515861773.post-46258878515587245992013-02-17T08:17:36.749-05:002013-02-17T08:17:36.749-05:00"Hello, my name is Todd, and I'm addicted..."Hello, my name is Todd, and I'm addicted to the ellipsis." <br /><br />"Hi, Todd."<br /><br />I like the way it:<br />[1] conveys that this is not the final thought, idea, or word; there's more to come;<br />[2] leaves the door open for me to add something (in the newsletter, online, or the next sermon) after I hear (usually in the handshake line after worship) the words I should have said;<br />[3] gives the readers/hearers the sense that the next part of the story will require them to think, speak, and/or act...<br /><br />Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Mike!dabar96https://www.blogger.com/profile/14683396312389941957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6235759163515861773.post-91816143429653464912013-02-16T16:12:48.215-05:002013-02-16T16:12:48.215-05:00Perhaps my most used punctuation...Perhaps my most used punctuation...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11359336238918009092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6235759163515861773.post-63666956085603746842012-05-05T01:21:43.456-04:002012-05-05T01:21:43.456-04:00Have you heard any of these comments, even if in j...Have you heard any of these comments, even if in jest, since posting this? If I were in your congregation, I would memorize this list so as to have a different comment every Sunday!Scott Rushinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05941615826228265183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6235759163515861773.post-9524878375711910462012-04-26T12:31:22.281-04:002012-04-26T12:31:22.281-04:0011. "You really got after 'em today, prea...11. "You really got after 'em today, preacher! It's too bad some more of those other people (not like me) who needed to hear this weren't here today."dabar96https://www.blogger.com/profile/14683396312389941957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6235759163515861773.post-62489989750682616022012-01-19T09:38:31.129-05:002012-01-19T09:38:31.129-05:00Thanks for this post, Michael. As one who fills pu...Thanks for this post, Michael. As one who fills pulpits instead of preaching regularly to one congregation, I find returing to old sermons to be a good way to look at those sermons in new ways. As one person said once, "a preacher does not preach because the sermon is finished. A preacher preaches because it is Sunday."<br /><br />Also, I think your fourth point is spot on. I feel that some preaching is bland simply because preachers go into a text or sermon with preconceived ideas instead of letting the text take them to unexpected places. This is why I like preaching the lectionary, although I do not always do so. The lectionary forces you to deal with text you otherwise may not deal with, which can lead to unexpected results.<br />Peace,<br />DrewC. Drew Smith, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00353444627683533559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6235759163515861773.post-26756115880519229742011-08-28T09:18:00.550-04:002011-08-28T09:18:00.550-04:00I am also a fairly new preacher. I have tried wit...I am also a fairly new preacher. I have tried with manuscript and with outlines and I prefer the manuscript. I found I look at my papers a lot less with a manuscript than with outlines. The thoughts have to process from my mind through my lips past my hands and by that time they are more firmly lodged in my memory. There have been Sundays where I have walked to the pulpit carrying a 15 page grammatically correct, accurately spelt, immaculately formated sermon--and not looked at it once.Gordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13676358343459385644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6235759163515861773.post-65357032196895454452011-08-13T21:16:16.188-04:002011-08-13T21:16:16.188-04:00The problem with sampling is that I find myself sa...The problem with sampling is that I find myself sampling from the same guys over and over. I think I need to widen the pool that I am "fishing" in. I have way too many John MacArthur quotes. But I guess when you've had a preaching/teaching ministry that has lasted over 40 years, your quotes end up everywhere. I can only pray that I will be so fortunate.Jonathan Pearsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07969790061637496033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6235759163515861773.post-60730030286912492092011-08-13T21:10:48.353-04:002011-08-13T21:10:48.353-04:00As a fairly new preacher, I've had to wean mys...As a fairly new preacher, I've had to wean myself away from using the manuscript. I like to take my Kindle up to the pulpit, loaded with my outline and the verses that I will be using. It's worked so far, but we all know what happens to technology from time to time.Jonathan Pearsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07969790061637496033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6235759163515861773.post-62812064987792268502011-05-16T17:46:16.634-04:002011-05-16T17:46:16.634-04:00Well, a few things come to mind,primarily of which...Well, a few things come to mind,primarily of which is a class taught by that Master of Homiletics, Dr Howard Giddens. It was in one of his classes that someone asked how long should a sermon be. He said he always used a manuscript and this method. Four Pages doubled spaced is about 15 minutes. Five pages is about 20 minutes and 6 pages or more is an abomination. Now that will preach Mike. A former preacher at the church I attend in Worcester, came out of the pulpit once and he had to look for another job. You need to know your audience before you go against tradition. Love reading your blog Mike. Keep up the good work. By the way when were you in Adel? I married my nephew in that church a few years ago. He was Adam Story, an Adel Policeman. <br />Blessings on you. <br />Davidstorymanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02874121631284719145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6235759163515861773.post-23945331893581536142011-03-17T10:53:58.939-04:002011-03-17T10:53:58.939-04:00As with most things in the universe, preaching wor...As with most things in the universe, preaching works by different strokes for different folks in different yokes. I had my first manuscript-ectomy by force after 4 years of comfortable reliance. After a while, I learned to like the freedom and even manage to trust the spontaneous part of the Spirit occasionally. What I don't like is the pew-sitters who equate scriptlessness with Godliness, thereby rejecting the notion that the Spirit can also hang around the keyboard on Thursday morning. I also appreciate the power of a well-crafted phrase, for which your plan leaves room. Enjoy!dabar96https://www.blogger.com/profile/14683396312389941957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6235759163515861773.post-17591600397298785432011-02-24T15:29:03.192-05:002011-02-24T15:29:03.192-05:00This is a very helpful post. There is certainly a...This is a very helpful post. There is certainly a lot to consider when preparing a sermon intended to be a guide to and of God's Word and not just a speech with our biased thoughts.<br /><br />BradBrad Keatonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17952144297107562704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6235759163515861773.post-47500596217283756422011-02-17T20:52:52.336-05:002011-02-17T20:52:52.336-05:00Mike Wimbush! Thanks for reading and thanks for t...Mike Wimbush! Thanks for reading and thanks for the comment. It's been a long time since the Gordon Grammar and Forsyth Road School days, hasn't it?Michael Ruffinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18387955769638547701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6235759163515861773.post-84195621276735299062011-02-17T20:23:51.602-05:002011-02-17T20:23:51.602-05:00Well Said Mike!!! All the Best Mike Wimbush.Well Said Mike!!! All the Best Mike Wimbush.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13547895091208283180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6235759163515861773.post-19635402809372025892011-01-09T23:51:48.692-05:002011-01-09T23:51:48.692-05:00The difference seems important to me as well. Jus...The difference seems important to me as well. Just so long as we remember that you would not be able to say, "Jesus, though, is the Word made flesh. Jesus is the ultimate merging of the human and the divine" without Scripture. Pitting the two against one another, which you certainly aren't doing, is usually not a helpful exercise. Thanks for this and for the Mark Noll quote; he is one of my favorite authors.PhilipMeade.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14433997081453084698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6235759163515861773.post-56851685500199368322011-01-04T07:26:21.700-05:002011-01-04T07:26:21.700-05:00Mike,
I would never be critical of the cerebrality...Mike,<br />I would never be critical of the cerebrality (my word) of your preaching. As a student of the Bible, I always got a lot from your preaching and even though I have heard a few comments of "well it was a little over my head" I always considered who said it and figured most anything beyond the most simple expression of the Gospel would be. <br />I post this as a celebration with you of the discovery of the "one point" sermon. I was fortunate to do that many years ago and it was in part the result of my own aging and the attendant deterioration of memory. I have not used notes in a long time but as I got older, I found that I could no longer mentally organize the traditional three points and I think the Holy Spirit in directing me to the one pointer sort of left me to my own with that aspect. When I made the change He jumped right back in there.<br />I concluded a long time ago that if I could impress one point into someones mind, I could make 104 such impressions per year. In the supply work I do, I still that use that.<br />God Bless you my friend, you are a decicated servant of our Lord Jesus Christ and have and always will mean a lot to me.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15407557380550132463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6235759163515861773.post-2180881707491203282010-12-29T20:45:39.545-05:002010-12-29T20:45:39.545-05:00I love good preaching. I am so fortunate to have a...I love good preaching. I am so fortunate to have a priest at my parish that preaches the Love of Christ in such a way that most are really moved. Better than being moved we try and live his preaching. He even leads contemplative retreats for Baptist ministers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com