Prepare Well | Preach Well

Eight key components to help you communicate the Word of God better:
1) Consecration 2) Compassion 3) Credibility 4) Connection 5) Creativity 6) Clarity 7) Cheerfulness 8) Conviction

1) Consecration
Bathe yourself and your message in prayer. Pray hard and pray long. There are no shortcuts when it comes to prayer and time with God. The Holy Spirit must be our focus and not us. He's the one that draws and leads and gives us the power to communicate His message the way He wants. Commit yourselves and your message to God's purpose and pleasure. This deals with you motives. Do you seek God's approval or man's. Do you draw attention to yourself or God. You must choose one because you can't have both.

Give the Holy Spirit room to guide you in the delivery. Sometimes you need to leave your notes and pursue new direction that God gives. This doesn't mean that you're not prepared. On the contrary, being very prepared allows you to free yourself mentally and emotionally to hear prompts from God to make changes during the message.

2) Compassion
A minister without feeling is no better than a book. You either care or you don't. To truly care means to pay close attention to people and their needs. This brings heart to your message.

3) Credibility
"You are the message" The Kingdom needs you to stay strong. "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world." 1 Peter 5:8-9

4) Connection
Connection is vital because it is the key component that grabs the hearts of the people. Without connection no matter how great the message it will fall on deaf ears. Connection is not possible without being in touch with others, being honest with yourself, and being willing to speak the truth in love. Connection is basically the availability of two human hearts to understand  each other. Without connection your message is worthless.

5) Creativity

Creativity is available to any communicator who is willing to ask God, the creator, The creative One for help. Creativity comes from a lifestyle of soaking and saturating yourself in the Holy Spirit's presence.

6) Clarity

"I don't mean any disrespect, but there are far too many messages I've heard upon there conclusion, I silently commented to myself, "What the heck was he trying to say?"

Bill Hybels has a predetermined focus, a thought-through flight plan, and a pre-arranged place and purpose for landing the plane-Every Time! Clarity requires discipline and lots of it. Discipline is a challenge because you can wing it, but I assure you, while you get away with it you will not have near the impact you would if you added disciplined thought preparation into every message every week. Furthermore, no matter how good you are, cutting corners will eventually catch up with you.

Writing out your message in detail, even if you don't use your notes in the pulpit, is the greatest tool to help you clarify your thinking. Another tool is to let someone else read your message and have them tell you in a sentence or tow what they perceive your primary thought to be.

7) Cheerfulness

No one wants to listen to a serious stick in the mud. Take God seriously, but don't take yourself too seriously because no one else does. Lighten up. It will help your communication immensely. This doesn't mean you need to be a comedian and tell jokes. Please don't. It means to look for the humorous, light-hearted side of life and tell stories. Life will provide all the humor you will ever need. Remember people need to laugh. It's important to their soul and even their physical body. People need to see the joy of the Lord alive in you and your messages. Life is often tough, and humor is medicine to the soul.

8) Conviction/Passion

When the heart is afire some sparks will fly out of the mouth. Have you ever heard a pastor deliver a message that he or she seemed completely unmotivated about? We all know some communicators are more lively than others; that is style. I'm talking about conviction-a fire in the belly-a leader who is willing to risk to see God's work go forward. Don't mistake this idea of conviction for yelling or screaming. Volume has nothing to do with passion or conviction. Conviction comes from the heart and leads to courage and boldness in the pulpit.