How do you "feed the sheep?"

In thinking through John 21 and Jesus' command to Peter (and us) to "feed the sheep", how do you ensure that you are leading the students to green pastures? Share some of the practical tools that you use as a youth pastor or youth communicator in developing or delivering SOLID messages from God's Word. Comment with your ideas below...

You can find the original John 21 post HERE.

A Brief Thought on John 21

Reading John 21 this morning:

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” 

Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” 

The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. (John 21:15-17 NIV)

Charles Jefferson expounds on this passage in writing:

That the feeding of the sheep is an essential duty of the shepherd-calling is known even to those who are least familiar with shepherds and their work. Sheep cannot feed themselves, nor water themselves. They must be conducted to the water and the pasture.... Everything depends on the proper feeding of the sheep. Unless wisely fed they become emaciated and sick, and the wealth invested in them is squandered.... When the minister goes into the pulpit, he is the shepherd in the act of feeding, and if every minister had borne this in mind, many a sermon would have been other than it has been. The curse of the pulpit is the superstition that a sermon is a work of art and not a piece of bread or meat. (The Minister as Shepherd, pp 59, 61, 1980)

As we seek to sharpen our skills in communicating to students, it is imperative that we remember our chief goal in shepherding the flocks that Jesus, the Great Shepherd, has entrusted to our care...

 Feed the sheep.

Old School Yet Relevant Advice on the Art of Preaching

When the Yale Divinity School was celebrating the one hundredth year of it's founding, Dr. Charles Reynold Brown gave a series of lectures on the Art of Preaching. Here are a few excerpts:

Brood over your text and your topic. Brood over them until they become mellow and responsive. You will hatch out of them a whole flock of promising ideas as you cause the tiny germs of life there contained to expand and develop. . . . It will be all the better if this process can go on for a long time and not be postponed until Saturday forenoon when you are actually making your final preparation for next Sunday. 

If a minister can hold a certain truth in his mind for a month, for six months perhaps, for a year it may be, before he preaches on it he will find new ideas perpetually sprouting out of it, until it shows an abundant growth. He may meditate on it as he walks the streets, or as he spends some hours on a train, when his eyes are too tired to read. He may indeed brood upon it in the night-time. It is better for the minister not to take his church or his sermon to bed with him habitually—a pulpit is a splendid thing to preach from, but it is not a good bed-fellow. 

Yet for all that, I have sometimes gotten out of bed in the middle of the night to put down the thoughts which came to me, for fear I might forget them before morning. . . . When you are actually engaged in assembling the material for a particular sermon, write down everything that comes to you bearing upon that text and topic. Write down what you saw in the text when you first chose it. Write down all the associated ideas which now occur to you. . . . Put all these ideas of yours down in writing, just a few words, enough to fix the idea, and keep your mind reaching for more all the time as if it were never to see another book as long as it lived. This is the way to train the mind in productiveness. You will by this method keep your own mental processes fresh, original, creative. . . . Put down all of those ideas which you have brought to the birth yourself, unaided. They are more precious for your mental unfolding than rubies and diamonds and much fine gold. Put them down, preferably on scraps of paper, backs of old letters, fragments of envelopes, waste paper, anything which comes to your hand. This is much better every way than to use nice, long, clean sheets of foolscap. It is not a mere matter of economy—you will find it easier to arrange and organize these loose bits when you come to set your material in order. Keep on putting down all the ideas which come to your mind, thinking hard all the while. You need not hurry this process. It is one of the most important mental transactions in which you will be privileged to engage. It is this method which causes the mind to grow in real productive power. . . . 

You will find that the sermons you enjoy preaching the most and the ones which actually accomplish the most good in the lives of your people will be those sermons which you take most largely out of your own interiors. They are bone of your bone, flesh of your flesh, the children of your own mental labor, the output of your own creative energy. The sermons which are garbled and compiled will always have a kind of secondhand, warmed-over flavor about them. The sermons which live and move and enter into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God, the sermons which enter into the hearts of men causing them to mount up with wings like eagles and to walk in the way of duty and not faint—these real sermons are the ones which are actually born from the vital energies of the man who utters them.

   

Want to Communicate Better to Students? FREE registration...

"Encouraging. Sharpening. Training."

"It's like Proverbs 27:17 lived out in the youth speaker universe!"

Just a few words to describe the experience of participating in the Youth Communicator's Cohort (YCC).

If you want to improve your communication and speaking skills with students, join us for the cohort beginning in September 2013. Registration opens in April and it's FREE!

YCC members commit to participating in a monthly conference call for encouragement, training, and feedback. Each participant will submit a video of a recent message for the rest of the cohort to view and feedback on. Also, cohort members take turns facilitating discussion each month on a communication-centered topic. Topics include:

Biblical exegesis
Blocking, movement, and gestures
Message outline and structure
Storytelling
Refining your message
Best practices of preparation
Improved illustrations
Vocal & speech techniques of the pros
Openings & Closings
And more...

Finally, YCC participants get the benefit of being a part of occasional "Master Class" calls facilitated by seasoned youth communicators, preachers, and teachers.

Registration for the Youth Communicator's Cohort opens this April. Participant skill levels range from newbie-speaker to seasoned-professionals and everyone in between. The only requirement is that you are currently communicating/preaching/speaking/teaching to students on a somewhat consistent basis.

As youth ministry veteran Josh Griffin of Saddleback Church states, "A team approach to communicating makes everyone on the team a better speaker."  

10 Steps to Creating and Delivering Solid Messages

Creating new and fresh messages on a regular basis can be a somewhat daunting task in the busy life of the hard-working youth pastor. Here is a simple 10-step process to help you ensure that you are investing the time and effort necessary to deliver a solid message each time you speak.

1. Pray - What does God want to say?

Usually, this is the most overlooked step in the process. It's easy to try and take a shortcut on this one. Resist the temptation. The work you do in communicating the Word of God to students is too important. When in doubt, remember what MC Hammer said, "We've got to pray just to make it today."

2. Study - What does the Word of God say?

I believe in exegesis over eisegesis. It is imperative that we take the time necessary to see what God is saying from the text rather that us reading our own ideas, thoughts, and assumptions into the text. Let's be sure that when we speak our message is Biblical.

3. Brainstorm - What is everything I could say?

In this step, you write down every idea that comes to your mind surrounding what you feel like God wants you to say. Whether you write each idea on an index card, a Post-It note, or your iPad, no thought is a stupid thought (at this point). Be sure to include specific illustrations, stories, quotes, supporting scriptures, and one-liners.

4. Theme - What is the one thing I should say?

This is the one main point of your talk. Each message you deliver should have one main theme. You should be able to summarize it in one sentence. If you find yourself with multiple themes, cut it down to one.

5. Refine - What should I not say?

Go back to your brainstormed index cards and remove all of those ideas that don't fit with your singular theme. Then, organize the body of your talk with the remaining ideas and thoughts in a logical and interesting flow.

6. Opening - What is the first thing I should say?

Spend some time thinking through how you want to open your message. Will you open with a personal story? Should you open with an attention-grabbing video or statistic? Always work toward a strong opening and introduction. If you begin your talk in a weak or boring way, you will have lost the students' attention from the get-go and it is hard to get it back once you have lost it.

7.  Closing - What is the last thing I should say?

Be sure to finish strong. People typically remember the last thing you say. Ensure that you have included the main theme somewhere in your closing as well as any application of the message you have shared.

8. Rehearse - How should I say everything?

Aside from skipping prayer, if there is a step that youth workers are notorious for short-changing it is rehearsing and practicing the message. Rehearsal is crucial to figuring out the HOW of what you are saying. At which points during your message will you pause to add emphasis? How will you purposefully move to add character to the stories you tell? What are you going to do with your hands? Not only does rehearsing help you answer these different questions, it also allows you to get comfortable with the flow of your talk so your communication is as seamless as possible.

9. Deliver - Now say it.

Now that you have studied and prepared well, deliver the message God has given you allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your audience.

10. Review - How could I say it better next time?

Reviewing is an integral part of the message creation process. When you allow feedback from the students, leaders, and even yourself, you will be the kind of youth leader who is constantly growing and improving in the area of communication. If possible, use video recording to review from time to time so that you can evaluate not only what you said or how you sound, but also how well you communicated the message nonverbally.

How about a FREE illustration of the month?

I figured it would be fun to begin offering a free illustration each month that you can put into use immediately (or save in Evernote for future use).

This month's free illustration is one of my favorite openers. I have used it over a half dozen times in the last 6 years at various retreats, conferences, and events. It is an older illustration that I picked up from a speaker named Michael Rowan back around 2002. My hunch is that it originated from Reader's Digest or something back in the 90's. Here it is...

(Be sure to read with great enthusiasm, gusto, and oversell the characters and dialogue)

YOU'RE A JERK!

Now get this. I was sitting at my desk, when I remembered a phone call I had to make. I found

the number and dialed it. A man answered nicely saying, “Hello?” I politely said, “This is Patrick Hanifin and could I please speak to Robin Carter?” Suddenly the phone was slammed down on me! I couldn’t believe that anyone could be that rude.

I tracked down Robin’s correct number and called her. She had transposed the last two digits. After I hung up with Robin, I spotted the wrong number still lying there on my desk. I decidedto call it again. When the same person once more answered, I yelled “You’re a jerk!” and hung up.

Next to his phone number I wrote the word “Jerk,” and put it in my desk drawer. Every couple of weeks, when I was paying bills, or had a really bad day, I’d call him up. He’d answer, and then I’d yell, “You’re a jerk!” It would always cheer me up.

Later in the year the phone company introduced caller ID. This was a real disappointment for me, I would have to stop calling the jerk. Then one day I had an idea. I dialed his number, thenheard his voice, “Hello.” I made up a name. “Hi. This is Herman with the telephone company and I’m just calling to see if you’re familiar with our caller ID program?”

He went, “No!” and slammed the phone down. I quickly called him back and said, “That’s because you’re a jerk!”

And the reason I took the time to tell you this story, is to show you how if there’s ever anything really bothering you, you can do something about it. Just dial 555-4822.

The old lady at the mall really took her time pulling out of the parking space. I didn’t think she was ever going to leave. Finally her car began to move and she started to very slowly back out of the stall. I backed up a little more to give her plenty of room to pull out. Great, I thought, she’s finally leaving.

All of a sudden this black camaro come flying up the parking isle in the wrong direction and pulls into her space. I started honking my horn and yelling, “You can’t just do that, Buddy. I was here first!” The guy climbed out of his camaro completely ignoring me. He walked toward the mall as if he didn’t even hear me.

I thought to myself, this guy’s a jerk, there’s sure a lot of jerks in this world. I noticed he had a For Sale sign in the back window of his car. I wrote down the number. Then I hunted for another place to park.

A couple of days later, I’m at home sitting at my desk. I had just gotten off the phone after calling 555-4822 and yelling, “You’re a jerk!” (It’s really easy to call him now since I have his number on speed dial). I noticed the phone number of the guy with the black camaro lying on my desk and thought I’d better call this guy, too.

After a couple rings someone answered the phone and said, “Hello.”

I said, “Is this the man with the black camaro for sale?”

“Yes it is.”

“Can you tell me where I can see it?”

“Yes, I live at 1802 West 34th street. It’s a yellow house and the car’s parked right out front.

I said, “What’s your name?”

“My name is Don Hansen.”

“When’s a good time to catch you, Don?”

“I’m home in the evenings.”

“Listen Don, can I tell you something?”

“Yes.”

“Don, you’re a jerk!” And I slammed the phone down. After I hung up I added Don Hansen’s number

to my speed dialer.

For a while things seemed to be going better for me. Now when I had a problem I had two jerks to call. Then after several months of calling the jerks and hanging up on them, the whole thing started to seem like an obligation. It just wasn’t as enjoyable as it used to be.

I gave the problem some serious thought and came up with a solution. First, I had my phone dial Jerk #1.

A man answered nicely saying, “Hello.”

I yelled “You’re a jerk!” But I didn’t hang up.

The jerk said, “Are you still there?”

I said, “Yeah..”

He said, “Stop calling me.”

I said, “No.”

He said, “What’s your name, Pal?”

I said, “Don Hansen.”

“Where do you live?”

“1802 West 34th Street. It’s a yellow house and my black Camaro’s parked out front.”

“I’m coming over right now, Don. You’d better start saying your prayers.”

“Yeah, like I’m really scared, Jerk!” and I hung up.

Then I called Jerk #2.

He answered, “Hello.”

I said, “Hello, Jerk!”

He said, “If I ever find out who you are…”

“You’ll what?”

“I’ll kick your butt.”

“Well, here’s your chance. I’m coming over right now Jerk!” And I hung up.

Then I picked up the phone and called the police. I told them a big gang fight was going down at 1802 West 34th Street. After that I climbed into my car and headed over to 34th Street to watch the whole thing.

I turned onto 34th Street and parked my car under the shade of a tree half a block from Jerk #2′s house. There were two guys fighting out front. Suddenly there were about 12 police cars and a helicopter. The police wrestled the two men to the ground and took them away.

A couple of months go by and I get a call for jury duty. I was picked to be on a trial of two guys charged with disorderly conduct. As luck would have it, it happened to be the same two guys. I might have influenced the jury, because when they announced the verdict, they said, “We the jury find the defendants to be guilty, and a couple of jerks!”

What is the Youth Communicator's Cohort? Listen in...

Once a month a group of 6 youth speakers, communicators, and preachers from around the United States gather via conference call for an hour of discussion, training, encouragement, and feedback around the topic of becoming better communicators. Who is this communication-centered group, you ask? The Youth Communicator's Cohort.

On a typical call, we spend about half of our time encouraging a fellow communicator regarding a recently-preached message. The other half of our time is spent discussing a relevant communication-centered topic. This year we have covered topics such as hermeneutics, storytelling, and gestures to name a few.

To hear a snippet of our call from last month click here (approximately 6 minutes in length).

My favorite part of the call each month is the sharpening and encouragement that we provide to one another. As King Solomon so wisely advised, "As iron sharpen iron, so one man sharpens another." (Proverbs 27:17)

Register today for the Fall '13 YCC... Space is very limited.

You can register by clicking here.