Practical Ministry III: To Communicate the Gospel

1
Practical Ministry IIITo Communicate the Gospel

• Pastor Bryce Formwalt
• Joyful Harvest Church
• Johnsburg, IL

2
Why Are We Here?

• Develop Skills for EFFECTIVELY Communicating the
  Gospel
• Develop Lutheran Hermeneutic of Law and Gospel
• Accomplish Your Goals
• What do you hope to get out of this class?

3
How Will We Do It?

• Reading
• Lecture/Presentation
• Discussion
• Practice
• Evaluation

4
Whats on Deck for Today

• Student Speeches
• 4-6 minutes
• Feedback (Encouragement) Session
• Introduction to SCORRE
• Choosing a Subject
• Focusing on a Central Theme

5

• Student Speeches

6
Introduction to SCORRE

• Why is this important?
• Too little of Christian proclamation is
  effectively communicated
• Poor communication of the Gospel means
  missed/lost opportunities
• Responsibility of Christs followers
• You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all
  Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
• - Acts 18

7
Introduction to SCORRE

• How do we witness?
• In Word and Deed!
• Are we really so bad that we need a course?
• Sometimes, yes
• But even the best of us can improve our
  communication
• In order for this to work, we need to set aside
  what we think we know about communicating

8
Introduction to SCORRE

• Resources from the Dynamic Communicators Workshop
  by Ken Davis
• History of DCW
• What Ken Learned
• DYNAMICS without FOCUS is entertainment
• Christians often speak without DYNAMICS and
  FOCUS!
• In this class, we will teach how to speak with
  DYNAMICS and FOCUS

9
Introduction to SCORRE

• There is a desperate need for clear
  communication
• gt75 of the people leaving a speech or sermon
  have no idea what was communicated
• gt50 of the speakers cannot articulate, in a
  simple sentence, the objective of their talk
• Dynamic speaking is nice (entertaining), but
  focused communication is essential! (Better to be
  CLEAR than CLEVER)

10
Introduction to SCORRE

• Speaking with an objective is essential to good
  communication
• A sermon should be a bullet and not buckshot.
  Ideally each sermon is the explanation,
  interpretation, or application of a single
  dominant idea supported by other ideas, all drawn
  from one passage or several passages of
  Scripture.
• - Haddon Robinson, Biblical Preaching

11
Introduction to SCORRE

• If you do not consciously choose an objective for
  your speech, an unconscious objective will take
  over
• I want them to like me.
• I need to get through all the material
• I need to fill the time
• I need to communicate all that I learned
• I want to impress the audience
• Unconscious objectives meet the speakers needs
• Conscious objectives focus on the needs of the
  audience

12
Introduction to SCORRE

• You can speak with clarity and power by following
  the steps of the SCORRE process in preparing your
  speech.
• The two primary functions of the SCORRE process
  are
• It forces the speaker to focus on a single
  objective
• It forces the speaker to make sense

13
Introduction to SCORRE

• How does SCORRE accomplishes these goals?
• SCORRE is an acronym as well as a process
• S is for Subject
• C is for Central Theme
• O is for Objective
• R is for Rationale
• R is for Resources
• E is for Evaluation

14
Introduction to SCORRE

• Establishing a SUBJECT and choosing a single
  aspect of that subject as a CENTRAL THEME helps
  the speaker focus on what he/she wants to talk
  about .
• Writing an OBJECTIVE forces the speaker to
  consider the purpose of the talk.
• Building powerful RATIONALE provides the logical
  foundation for persuasion and encouragement.
  The RATIONALE should lead the listener to your
  objective.

15
Introduction to SCORRE

• RESOURCES bring light, color, and
  clarification to the talk and keep the listener
  interested. They also personalize what otherwise
  seem like abstract ideas and facts.
• EVALUATION causes the speaker to ask, Do I know
  what I am talking about and is it worth my
  listeners time?

16
Two Approaches to Speaking

• Traditional Approach
• Study
• List
• Organize List
• Deliver

• SCORRE Approach
• Study
• List
• Ask why or how?
• Eliminate everything that doesnt help answer the
  question
• Organize
• Find Illustrations
• Deliver

17
Introduction to SCORRE

• Hourglass Metaphor
• Subject and Central Theme narrow toward the
  Objective at the center.
• Rationale and Resources help broaden the base for
  a dynamic message.

18
Choosing a Subject

• The first step in preparing a speech is to
  choose a subject from the endless possibilities
  available. This the beginning of the focusing
  process.
• Examples of possible subjects
• Love
• Fear
• Faith
• Self-control
• Rabies

19
Choosing a Subject

• Four Guidelines for choosing a subject
• It must touch the audience
• It must be within the bounds of your knowledge
• Authority - Do you know what you are talking
  about?
• Integrity - Do you live what you are talking
  about?
• It may be limited by your assignment
• It always will be limited by the INTENT of
  scripture

20
Choosing a Subject

• Acts 11-14
• In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all
  that Jesus did and taught from the beginning
  2until the day when he was taken up to heaven,
  after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit
  to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3After his
  suffering he presented himself alive to them by
  many convincing proofs, appearing to them during
  forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
  4While staying with them, he ordered them not to
  leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the
  promise of the Father. This, he said, is what
  you have heard from me 5for John baptized with
  water, but you will be baptized with the Holy
  Spirit not many days from now.

21
Choosing a Subject

• 6So when they had come together, they asked him,
  Lord, is this the time when you will restore the
  kingdom to Israel? 7He replied, It is not for
  you to know the times or periods that the Father
  has set by his own authority. 8But you will
  receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon
  you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
  in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the
  earth. 9When he had said this, as they were
  watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him
  out of their sight. 10While he was going and they
  were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in
  white robes stood by them. 11They said, Men of
  Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward
  heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from
  you into heaven, will come in the same way as you
  saw him go into heaven.

22
Choosing a Subject

• 12Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount
  called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath
  days journey away. 13When they had entered the
  city, they went to the room upstairs where they
  were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and
  Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and
  Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the
  Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14All these were
  constantly devoting themselves to prayer,
  together with certain women, including Mary the
  mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.
• Brainstorm possible SUBJECTS based on Acts 1

23
Focusing on a Central Theme

• Step two in the focusing process is to choose a
  single aspect of your subject as a CENTRAL THEME.
  The theme must be brief and crystal clear.
• Purpose Focus your speech to a manageable
  amount of information
• Complete Central Theme Exercise Action Point
  (p. 13)

24
Preparing for Next Week

• Read Secrets of Dynamic Communication, pp. 19-115
• Next Weeks Teaching Topics
• Determining the Objective
• Create Rationale
• Add Resources
• Evaluation
• Putting it all together