As I continue to hammer home this thought that the minister must do ONE THING; speak a word for God to the people, we arrive at the third idea in handling that word.  First we must discern the message, then we must digest it.  Now we must DEVELOP the message God has given us, that word from Him.

DEVELOP THE MESSAGE

Having traveled in 25 countries, I know what it means to have things lost in translation.  It is difficult to communicate an idea, especially when I believe that idea is from God and He wants me to speak it to the people, when I know that every individual in the audience will interpret what I say differently through their own life experiences.  How do I develop the message in such a way that the big idea from God to the people is not lost in translation?

I do it by means of discipline, prayer, and faith.

Discipline is the process by which I study, read, learn, consult the experts, practicing the art of listening to God in all the resources at my disposal.  It means I consult commentaries, other ministers, lexicons, classic authors, and my own community of accountability when I develop the message.  It also means that the more I am disciplined to actually prepare and preach the message, the more comfortable I become in the role of “preacher.”  (P.S.  A minister is simply one called by God to serve, but a preacher is one who actually proclaims the Word of God publicly.  While there may not always be a public platform or audience for every minister, there is always a public aspect to the calling of a preacher, or “proclaimer.”  Most ministers are both servants and preachers, or at least they should be.)

Prayer is the exercise by which we connect personally and intimately with the God we are speaking for.  It is the line of communication and exchange with our Source of all inspiration and energy.  We don’t pray to get things from God, we pray in order to know God.

Faith is the bedrock that we stand on when we develope the message.  After all the books are back on the shelf and our notes are finished, we rest in the knowledge that it is God’s business to bring about His will through His word that He gave us to speak.

Bruce Springsteen, the great American rock icon, says that when he writes music, he speaks in a second language, one that comes to him naturally when he is inspired, because he has been an artist for so long it is automatic. I must strive to be constantly developing this second spiritual language; the way I get a word from God and develope it, getting rid of the excess, choosing words and tones and illustrations and facial expressions carefully. Consulting the experts and the masters and the ancient texts. Preaching and re-preaching and asking tough critics for honest critique. As I mature, the message is indistinguishable from me, because as I have developed as a minister, the grand narrative of the gospel has developed with me.

If you have a few extra minutes over the holidays, you can click on this link to watch a message I preached this weekend called “Meeting or Movement?”  It ties in with recent themes I have written about here and is one of the most passionate messages I have preached in a long time.

http://www.newspring.cc/225499.ihtml

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