Sermon – Renovate Your Mind
December 30, 2009
It was my privilege to fill the pulpit at the Wade Center this week. As usual, preaching to myself as much as anyone else, my sermon could be summarized in these words (adapted from Rom. 12:2):
Life Transformation Follows
Thought Renovation
You can watch the sermon online here:
My chief criticisms:
- Not dynamic and passionate as I’d like to be (think: John Piper, Louie Giglio, etc.).
- Too reliant on notes.
- Way too distracted by self-defeating thoughts. (Should have listened to my own sermon about the importance of renovating our thoughts!!!)
Some positives:
- Good job at generating interest and clearly defining the topic.
- Good job exegeting the text. From a broad view of the entire book of Romans to a macro closeup of what the word “renew” means, I think I dug down deep. For academics in our crowd, the word-by-word analysis of the verse (conformed, transformed, renewing, etc.) felt more like a traditional sermon for them… which is a good thing around here, even though it feel less focused than it should be.
- Good job at making the message memorable through use of visuals and repetition of the thesis.
- Good job at stating application – making sure the audience left knowing exactly how to apply the message.
So, even though it wasn’t my best, I’m pleased with how it came out. If I can generate interest, faithfully exegete the Scripture, and send people out knowing exactly how to apply it.. what more can you ask? Life change is what it’s all about.
As usual, I consider myself a hybrid speaker. My sermons combine Andy Stanley’s ME/WE/GOD/YOU/WE structure with Louie Giglio’s love of visuals and Mark Driscoll’s detailed exegesis. During the delivery, I was very hard on myself mentally. At the time, I graded myself a “C-” at best. But, after watching the tape and evaluating myself, I upgraded my performance to a “B+.”
Why did it feel so bad during delivery? First, I was busy right up until the service started fixing video cameras and trying to get Pro Tools recording. Second, the sermon bump rolled late. Third, my mic was clipped (not unmuted fast enough). Fourth, the live Webcast echoed loudly in the background. Fifth, the Scripture on the screen earlier than expected. All that happened within the first 2-3 minutes of the sermon. I believe that’s the most critical time to get momentum going and connect with the listeners. So it took extra work on my part to get the ball rolling after those distractions (more distracting to me than the crowd, hopefully). Also, every time I would stumble over a word or tell a joke that wasn’t as funny as our usual speaker’s jokes, I would tell myself that I have no business being on stage. (That type of harsh self-talk is a good example of the type of thoughts I was preaching about correcting!)
Why did it come out OK in the end? I can only attribute it to practice, practice, practice (and the Holy Spirit). It turns out that, even when I’m horribly distracted and “not feeling it,” my “auto-pilot” mode keeps my voice sounding decently passionate and my message moving along nicely. Pitch, pacing, dynamics, memorization, improvisation — all these things used to require a lot of manual effort on my part. Now, they’re almost automatic. (I still do better in all these areas when I’m not distracted and when I’ve had time to properly internalize a message.)
I’m already planning my next sermon, scheduled for April 25 at the Wade Center. Based on 1 Cor. 6:19-20, it is called “Under New Management” and will explore the implications of the truth that we do not belong to ourselves but have been bought with a price.
If you have any thoughts on my upcoming topic or my current sermon, I’d love to hear them!
