Andy Stanley refuses to stand up and preach until he knows the answer to two questions. He reveals these questions in his newest book, Communicating For a Change, which is co-authored with Lane Jones. The questions are (drum roll, please!) . . .
1. What is the one thing I want my audience to know?
2. What do I want them to do about it?
Andy writes: "Those are two frustrating questions. I have pushed back from my computer on many occasions thinking I'm finished with my prep, when it occurs to me I have three pages of outline but I don't have an answer for those two questions" (p. 104).
I can relate! Thinking is hard work. The kind of thinking needed to identify the main idea of a preaching text is extremely hard work. So it's encouraging to hear Andy observe: "The reason the one thing usually comes late in the game is that sermon preparation is a discovery process" (p. 106). I remind myself of this when I tend to get impatient. Some weeks, a text's main idea emerges early on in my study. At other times, it doesn't crystalize until later in the week (Friday).
But why stress out over identifying the main idea of a text? Andy cites a compelling reason "to keep searching for the one thing among the many." It's something he learned from his dad, Charles Stanley. Andy writes: "The one thing isn't just information. It's not just a carefully crafted phrase. It is literally a burden. It is a burden that weighs so heavily on the heart of the communicator that he or she must deliver it" (p. 113). Yes, yes, yes!!
It's Friday, but Sunday's coming. Have you identified the burden you must communicate? May God help us stick to the task until the burden grips us! May we keep sitting at our at our desk or falling on our knees until we grasp "the one thing." Then, and only then, are we ready to stand up and preach.
Posted by Steve Mathewson at 8:11 AM on January 11, 2008
