

Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 5 hours and 13 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: christianaudio.com
Audible.com Release Date: February 6, 2013
Whispersync for Voice: Ready
Language: English
ASIN: B00BC5H8C0
Best Sellers Rank: #13 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Ministry & Evangelism > Sermons #18 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Ministry & Evangelism > Preaching #292 in Books > Audible Audiobooks > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity

Anyone who has heard Andy Stanley preach knows that he is an effective communicator. Now, Stanley and coauthor Lane Jones let us in on the secrets of effective preaching in Communicating for Change.The first half of the book is a fable about a discouraged preacher, Pastor Ray Martin, who is desperate for help. He meets with an acquaintance, a successful businessman, who flies him by helicopter to meet Will Graham, a truck driver who has just the answers that Ray needs. By the time Ray leaves, he has a new approach and new hope for his preaching.The second half of the book explains this model of preaching, covering topics like the goal of preaching, how to outline the message relationally, and how to engage the audience.The model offered by Stanley and Lane has two main strengths. First, it centers preaching around one central idea, taken from the text. This is more effective than other approaches, which fail to capture the central idea of the text. In trying to communicate everything, they communicate nothing. Haddon Robinson and others have also written on the importance of the big idea in preaching.Second, Stanley and Lane also present a relational outline approach to preaching. Their outlines are built around "the communicator's relationship with the audience rather than content." They remind us that "the way we organize material on paper is very different from how we process information in a conversation." This relational approach can lead to better communication of the Biblical idea of a passage.The book is not without its problems. The leadership fable, in which an unlikely hero rescues a hapless practitioner, may be an overused approach.
After finishing this book, I was reminded of the following verse in 2 Timothy 2:15 - Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Not everyone is called to preach or to give Bible studies but this book, at the very minimum, allows us to see how much work and thought is involved when a pastor gives a sermon/Bible study. Because of that, I very appreciate my pastor who must have worked really hard to preach God's word. Here are the takeaway lessons that are transcribed verbatim from the book for each of the relevant chapters. In order to see how these points were derived, you'll need to read the book which I highly recommend:1. Determine your goal1a. Our approach to communicating should be shaped by our goal in communicating.1b. Our goal should be life change. Specifically, to teach people how to live a life that reflects the values, principles, and truths of the Bible.1c. When you commit to preach for life change, your preparation is not complete until you have answered two very important questions: So what? and Now what?2. Pick a point2a. In a one point message it is essential for the communicator to know the answer to two questions: What is the one thing I want my audience to know? What do I want them to do about it?2b. For most communicators, the biggest challenge will not be finding the one idea, but eliminating the other three.2c. The process for developing a one point message is as follows: 1) Dig until you find it. 2) Build everything around it. 3) Make it stick.3. Create a map.3a.
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