Presentations, Sermon Prep, Teaching Presentations, Sermon Prep, Teaching

How Does Alistair Begg Prepare to Preach

A group of us from First Family attended the Pastor's Conference at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago last week, and I do not think I would be alone in my opinion that Alistair Begg was one of the highlights of the week. His messages from 1 Samuel 17 spoke to the deep sense in all of us that we are many times wholly inadequate for the task that in front of us.I am always curious how gifted speakers like Alistair Begg go about preparing their messages. I found this video from Billy Graham's The Cove on YouTube in which Alistair describes his preparation process. Here, in summary, are his steps:

  1. Pray hard. Pray, pray, pray, and then pray some more.

  2. Think myself empty. A complete brain dump. Anything and everything that is on his mind at that moment gets written down on a piece of paper. Scribbled. Sometimes it is extraneous quotes, thoughts, notes, poems, stories, whatever is on his mind. Some of the thoughts may see the light of day in the final message, but many won't. Sometimes during this process, he may begin to see some structure or form begin to take shape. This may stay through to the completion of the message, which makes the process easier, but this is not usually the case.

  3. Read myself full. This does not imply that he will read commentaries in relationship to the text. This is where he turns to his filing system and begins reading what others have written and said about not only the text, but the themes and topics that may be found in the text.

  4. Write myself clear. The writing process for Alistair is the key to clarity and to the ability to speak affectively and with fluidity and fluency. He notes, "as you read through what you have written, you can begin to tell if the syntax is there, and if you are connecting thoughts properly in a short amount of space. If you don't write it to read it, and you assume you can process the information between your mind and your mouth, you won't be 100 percent successful." Spurgeon said to write your sermons out for the first five years. Alistair started to do this, but decided not to stop because he realized the task never got to be any easier. He admits that because he has preached for so many years now, he could operate off the back of an envelope with a simple three point outline, but that is not is approach. He continues to write out his sermons as part of his preparation. Too often, he gets the sense that pastors are working out their sermons off the cuff while they are speaking rather than doing so during their preparation.

  5. Be yourself and forget yourself. This is crucial, not as a sense of posture, but as a reality. This is significant because God has determined that through the lips of mere men, He will speak. If God can speak from Balaam's donkey, then He can certainly is not in need of you. The fact that God gives us the privilege and opportunity to speak is indeed a very humbling thing.

How is your sermon preparation process different or similar? What steps have you found to be helpful in your preparation to preach?

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Blog, Presentations Blog, Presentations

An Introduction to Sermon-Based Small Groups

Below is an outline of a presentation I gave at Johnston Evangelical Free Church on Sermon-Based Small Groups, the model we employ for our small group ministry at First Family Church. 

 

The purpose of this presentation is to introduce you to sermon-based curriculum as a small group model and provide you with the basic skills and tools you will need to begin implementing this model in your church regardless of the size of your small group ministry.

 Overview: The Roots of SBSGs

  • 40 Days of Purpose (2002)
  • Halley’s Bible Handbook (The Most Important Page in the Book)
  • North Coast Church, Larry Osborne

Seven Advantages of SBSGs

  1. Increase Educational Impact
  2. Pull in the Marginally Interested
  3. Reach More People
  4. Sharpen the Church-Wide Focus
  5. Mainstream New Believers
  6. Eliminate Idiot Questions
  7. Help with Leadership Recruitment

Implementation: Bringing SBSGs to Your Church

  • Importance of Planning
  • Get Everyone on the Same Page

Tools & Tips

  • Plan Annually (see Annual Sermon Planning Sheet)
  • Organize Your Research / Content
  • Develop Curriculum
  • The Weekly Handout
  • Online Landing Page
  • Podcast, Blog, Facebook, Etc.
  • Sermon Series Online
  • Evaluate Your Results

Presentation Resources

Resources Available from North Coast Church

 

Sticky Church (the Book)

Book Description: In Sticky Church, author and pastor Larry Osborne makes the case that closing the back door of your church is even more important than opening the front door wider. He offers a time-tested strategy for doing so: sermon-based small groups that dig deeper into the weekend message and tightly velcro members to the ministry. It's a strategy that enabled Osborne's congregation to grow from a handful of people to one of the larger churches in the nation---without any marketing or special programming. Sticky Church tells the inspiring story of North Coast Church's phenomenal growth and offers practical tips for launching your own sermon-based small group ministry. Topics include: Why stickiness is so important Why most of our discipleship models don't work very well Why small groups always make a church more honest and transparent What makes groups grow deeper and sticker over time Sticky Church is an ideal book for church leaders who want to start or retool their small group ministry---and velcro their congregation to the Bible and each other. [Amazon.com]

 

 

Helpful Articles:

 

Contact Information

Chris Eller
First Family Church
Ankeny, IA 50021
Email: ChrisEller [@] firstfamilyministries.com
Phone: (515) 965-8300
Web: www.ChrisEller.net
Twitter: www.twitter.com/celler

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Blog, Educational Technology, Presentations, Tools Blog, Educational Technology, Presentations, Tools

Presentation Tools: PowerPoint, Keynote, or Prezi?

I am beginning the process of planning some presentations for various conferences in 2012. Historically, I have used PowerPoint as my presentation app of choice. (See What’s In Your Presentation Toolbox?) Given I have some time to explore, and some new tools are now available, I am re-evaluating my options.

2011 12 16 16 14 33

Presenting With an iPad

Ideally, I would like to walk into a presentation with nothing more than my iPad. I know Apple has a Keynote app for the iPad, and based on some quick scanning of the reviews, it performs well. Still, many of the presentation tips I see relate to a presentation in front of a small group with the iPad serving as the only visual source (i.e. no projector).

How would the iPad perform in front of a live audience?

One of the newer (2-3 years old) apps I am looking at is Prezi, a web-based presentation tool. Prezi is a completely different paradigm than either PowerPoint or Keynote. First, and foremost, it is non-linear. The presenter can easily move from one area of a Prezi presentation to another with a simple click.

Perhaps the best way to appreciate Prezi is to see it in action. Here’ is their official intro video from YouTube:

Prezi has an iPad app, and I like the way Prezi automatically prevents a presentation from quickly becoming a series of (boring) bullet points. Still, old habits die hard, and PowerPoint and Keynote have a lot of stability and familiarity built into the apps.

My first presentation is in mid-January, so I will need to make a decision in the next few days.

Do you have any advice? Powerpoint? Keynote? or Prezi?

 

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Blog, Educational Technology, Presentations, Technology, Tools Blog, Educational Technology, Presentations, Technology, Tools

4 Simple Tips for Recording High-Quality Audio

The Rapid E-Learning Blog has an excellent article on recording high quality audio on your computer. Having clean, crisp audio is critical to the successful implementation of your learning applications. This article is well worth the read.

Good audio is critical to your elearning success.  You might be a great instructional designer and create the most engaging courses possible.  But it all falls apart if the audio quality in your course is not very good.

In an earlier post we looked at when it makes sense to consider paying for professional narration.  If you have the money, this is a viable option.  However, many of you are like Old Mother Hubbard and your cupboard is bare.  If you do have a limited budget (or you want to do the narration yourself) then here are some tips to help you do the best job possible.

Today we’ll look at the microphone and recording environment.  And in a follow up post, we’ll explore ways to get the best sounding narration.

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Blog, Presentations, Teaching Blog, Presentations, Teaching

10 Tips for a Great Presentation

Another great post from Church Leaders Intelligence Report on great presentations. This time, they offered “10 Tips for a Great Presentation” by Steve Tobak. Here they are:

InfoConnecting with an audience, communicating your vision and passion for your message, can be a beautiful experience. It's also a rare opportunity to make an impression that might impact the listener's future. It can either be a gateway or a roadblock to spiritual growth. Remember these tips:

  1. The pitch. Start with your main point of view and a handful of take-aways. Then build a storyboard around that, one slide per thought. Keep the number of slides down and allow only a few minutes per slide.
  2. The icebreaker. Start with something to break the tension (yours and theirs): a welcome gesture, engaging or humorous anecdote, graphic or video, or some combination. Keep it relevant and appropriate. Don't tell a joke.
  3. The old axiom. Old advice, but it works: First tell the audience what you're going to tell them, then tell them, then tell them what you told them.
  4. Don't always read what's on the slide. Use the slides for brief cues and speak in your own words.
  5. Engage the audience. Ask questions. If they don't respond, try offering an answer and asking for a show of hands, or ask easier questions. Make the audience part of the experience.
  6. Be accessible. Don't stand behind a podium. Use a wireless mic, if needed. Get close to the audience and move from place to place while maintaining eye-contact, but only from time to time. Do not bounce around like a ping-pong ball.
  7. Pause for effect and emphasis. Practice being comfortable with silence for two or three seconds. It's the most dramatic way to make a point. Avoid "verbal static" like ahs, uhs, and other fillers of uncomfortable silence; they just detract from your presence.
  8. Make eye-contact. But only for a few seconds per person. Too short and you'll fail to engage; too long and it becomes uncomfortable.
  9. Use hand gestures. They're engaging and interesting. But when you're not using them, keep your hands at your sides. Don't fidget, hold onto things, or put your hands in front of you, behind you, or in your pockets. Have a trusted friend observe your rehearsal to point out nervous habits.
  10. Don't block the audience's view. Don't step in front of the screen or block it from view, except for the occasional walk-across. Gesture with your hand, but don't touch the screen. Don't use a pointer unless you must.

Adapted from Steve Tobak, bNet, 12/22/08

Remember, you weren't born with this ability; it takes practice. Be patient with yourself. Finding your own style where you feel comfortable comes with experience.

What tips can you offer that help take your presentation from good to great?

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