This may be the last post for this blog. It has been a good experience for Rick, Bruce, and I, but it’s time to wind things up. Thanks for reading, and for your input and comments. We hope that it has been helpful.
As for me, I will be writing for the brand new blog of the faculty of Moore College, called Thinktank.
You can check it out here: http://moore.edu.au/resources/thinktank/
Posted by Con Campbell
Rod Decker has collated a helpful collection of essays on using Greek in ministry, including essays by Luther, Piper, and the great granddaddy of Greek grammarians, A.T. Robertson.
Check it out here.
Posted by Con Campbell
3. Learn the structure of the talk. This involves learning how each main point of the talk connects to the next, and ultimately enables the preacher to “see” the whole talk in his head. I organize my notes into big points, each with minor points. To give the talk without notes, the first step will be to be able to recall your three (or four, or whatever) main points with ease. If you can’t do this, then forget about trying to preach without notes; it’s not going to happen. But I think that remembering three main points is not going to be a problem for most preachers.
After learning those big points, learn the other key elements of the wider structure: What is your introduction? What is your conclusion? After doing this you should be able to recall:
Introduction
Point 1
Point 2
Point 3
Conclusion
At this stage, you have the broad structure of the whole talk in your head. If you had to give the talk from this point, it might not be polished, and the details might not be clear, but you could still rattle off a 5-10 minute talk with some coherence. Now it’s just a matter of going deeper…
Posted by Con Campbell
My second point:
2. Write the talk to be memorized. What I mean by this is that as the talk is being written, it should be constructed in such a way that enables easy memorization.
The most important element here is structure. Say the talk has three main points (for a change). The first thing I will be conscious of as I write a new talk is how easy it is for me to remember those three points. Does one lead to the next? Are they easily discerned from the passage being preached? Can I keep all three in my head at the same time? Apart from helping with noteless preaching, these checks ensure structural clarity for our hearers.
The second most important element is the “connectors” in the talk. Once you know what the three main points are (the skeletal structure of the talk), I need to know how to move from one to the next. At this point, I will write (and memorize) short little connecting statements: one at the end of point one, another after point two, etc.
After this, writing a talk to be memorized involves filling out the content of the main points. This is the hardest thing to do in a way that ensures memorization, but the rule is: keep it simple stupid. Not that the content should be simplistic, or lacking depth, or un-profound, but that the content should not be unnecessarily complex in its structure or logic. The logic and structure within each point ought to be clear; if it’s clear, I can remember it. Again, this kind of clarity makes for a good talk to listen to as well. And this does not do away with detail; I can remember details fine, as long as I know how they fit in the broader thing.
If you can write a talk that has these elements, I’d say you’re well on the way to noteless preaching!
Posted by Con Campbell
…is here.
Posted by Con Campbell
Which cover do you prefer? I need to make a decision by Friday, so any thoughts would be appreciated. If you can tell me why you like a particular cover that would be especially helpful. Thanks!
Posted by Con Campbell
Cover A
Cover B
Cover C
Sometime ago I posted about preaching without notes, and promised to follow up with some thoughts about method. I haven’t been blogging for a while, but several people have asked when I would fulfill that promise, so here goes. I think it will be easier to tackle it in a few small chunks rather than lay it all out at once.
I’ve been preaching without notes for six months now, and in that time have preached 34 times, including a couple of occasions in which I’ve preached two different talks back to back, with about 15 minutes in between. Last month I preached 11 times, nearly all different talks. All of this has tested my “method” pretty well, and has helped me to reflect on what I’m doing. So here’s my first point:
1. Know the passage really well. It sounds obvious, since any preacher will study the text closely. But my point includes more than this. First, it is more important to know the passage than to know your talk. This is a good rule anyway, but it especially helps in preaching without notes. One reason for this is that even if you forget bits of your talk, you can still speak about the passage with clarity and depth of understanding.
Also, close attention to the structure of the passage, and particular words and phrases, can serve as a memory trigger for the talk. I will make sure that I know how I want to break a passage up, and then will know what I want to say about each section of the passage. For example, if the first unit is verses 1–3, I’ll expound that unit, drawing out its most important elements. I might have an illustration to help with understanding the main point of the unit, and I’ll know what kind of application I want to draw from the unit. As long as I know the passage well, all I really need to remember are those three steps. As I move through the whole passage, the process is much the same for each unit.
More to come later…
Posted by Con Campbell
…has been published and is available here.
Posted by Con Campbell
I’m reading Mike Bird’s great little book, Introducing Paul, and had to share this analogy of Paul’s contrast between Adam & Christ. I’m sure the analogy should not be pushed too far, but it’s great for what it’s worth.
In want of a modern analogy, George Lucas’s six-part saga Star Wars can be called a ‘Tale of Two Skywalkers’, and in many ways mirrors the Adam–Christ contrast of Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15, where Adam and Christ stand for the two respective heads of humanity. They are representatives or types of either a corrupted humanity (Adam) or a redeemed humanity (Christ). The first Skywalker (Anakin Skywalker) faced the temptation to give in to the dark side of the force: he gave in to it and death, destruction and chaos followed. In contrast, the second Skywalker (Luke Skywalker) faced the same temptation, but was faithful and obedient to the Jedi vocation, and consequently hope, life and the triumph of good followed. In fact, Luke was able to redeem the first Skywalker, his father Anakin, from evil through his faithfulness.
Introducing Paul, 43
Posted by Con Campbell
From the chapter on using your senses:
Increasingly, teachers are harnessing different methods for learning Greek, including catering for different learning styles and utilizing the power of our senses for language acquisition.
Because Greek is normally treated as a dead language (though it is far from it!), there is often little interest shown in pronouncing it or hearing it read aloud. This is a great shame. Speaking Greek out loud can be a very useful way to internalize the language.
It seems that singing Greek is all the rage at the moment.
Personally, some of my fondest Greek memories are associated with Kalamata olives and feta cheese, but that doesn’t really help with paradigms.
Posted by Con Campbell
Rick Creighton
Bruce Lowe
Con Campbell
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