By Rick Blackwood
Rick Blackwood (DMin. Grace Theological Seminary; EdD.
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) serves as the senior pastor
of Christ Fellowship Church in Miami, Florida, a large and growing
multicultural congregation. Christ Fellowship has been listed as one of
the Top 100 Fastest-Growing Churches in the country, although Miami is
considered one of the most unchurched cities in the nation. His book, The Power of Multisensory Preaching and Teaching, is a Preaching magazine Book of the Year winner.
Just like you, I love to teach God’s Word. In addition, I love to
communicate it in a form that is engaging, crystal clear, and
unforgettable. But the pressure to deliver messages that are compelling
is stressful, and after a while this stress can zap the joy out of our
calling. We can act outwardly like we are exempt from that pressure, but
the reality is that the human casualties of ministry highlight the
pressures.
Multisensory preaching can breathe new life into your calling. It can
bring a sense of thrill and expectation to your teaching. Stated another
way: Multisensory communication can help make your teaching
fascinating for your audience and
fun for you.
By way of explanation, multisensory teaching interfaces with multiple
senses. Unlike conventional preaching, which stimulates only the sense
of hearing, multisensory communication stimulates multiple senses—that
is, the senses of hearing, sight, touch, and sometimes even smell and
taste. In short, it brings more of the whole person into the learning
process and results in greater audience focus, longer attention, greater
message clarity, long-term retention, and an increase in the likelihood
of application. It also makes the teaching process more fun for you!
Relax: This is Not Going to be Complicated
My goal is to make you a better communicator without making your life
more cluttered and complicated. The last thing you need is something
that demands more work and more of your time. For that reason, you
should know that becoming a multisensory teacher will not complicate
your life. Multisensory communication is uncomplicated or I would not be
able to execute it, either. I preach once on Saturday evening, three
times on Sunday, and then again on Sunday afternoon at another Christ
Fellowship campus just south of Miami. That load will increase to two
additional campuses by next year. If multisensory teaching were
complicated, I’d have to abandon it. It is not.
Get Pumped: This is Going to be Fun
Let me give you an image of what we are doing at Christ Fellowship this
weekend. We are teaching through the gospel of Matthew in our weekend
services, and tonight we launch a new series called: “WAR: Defeating
Temptation.” The series will be a four-part exposition of Matthew
4:1-11, which chronicles the temptations of Christ by Satan and Satan’s
goal to drag us down into sin, destroy our lives, and destroy our
testimony.
Our single-minded goal throughout this series is to get people to
realize they are at war. To etch that reality into their minds, the
church campus has been transformed into a war zone. Christ Fellowship
has the appearance of a theater of military operations.
Tonight, greeters and ushers will be dressed in military fatigues.
Peppered throughout the campus are objects and images of warfare. The
stage has been transformed to resemble a war zone. There are military
tents and military weapons, and even a military MASH unit has been set
up on the stage. The MASH unit will be used later to talk about
restoring our wounded brothers and sisters who fall into sin. To further
drive home the truth, Eric Geiger and I will be teaching in military
garb. The effect will be instant. People will be drawn into the sermon
as soon as they walk onto the campus. The whole campus screams WAR!
Picture it: Tonight, I am excited, our multisensory team is pumped, and
our people have a sense of expectation when they see such explicit
communication. Simply put, I am having the time of my life! So can you.
Preparing for Sense-Sational Change
The key to preparing yourself to produce multisensory sermons is to
transition at a pace that suits you. Don’t attempt to make radical
changes without giving yourself some time to learn the ropes. Here are
some simple guidelines to help you successfully navigate the transition.
1. Start simple.
This is a major rule for beginning a new style of teaching. Don’t start
with complicated multisensory elements. Begin your transition with a
few object lessons as well as some simple interactive tools. Doing it
this way can pay huge dividends in terms of gaining attention,
establishing clarity, and creating long-term memory.
I began the move to multisensory communication by introducing my
messages with simple teaching aids in my hand. For example, I would walk
to the platform with props such as:
-
A child by the hand
-
An “FBI agent” escort
-
A tire iron
-
A golf club
-
A laptop
-
Boxing gloves
-
A bobsled
-
A fire hose
-
Bottled water
-
A pumpkin
-
A shovel
-
A basketball
-
A fishing rod
-
A bicycle
-
Salt
-
A magnet
-
A trumpet
-
My daughter
These were simple beginnings for me, but they allowed me to get used to the new method.
2. Keep it manageable.
One of the keys of multisensory teaching is smooth management of the
props and interactive tools you are using. Trying out a new teaching
method can make you feel self-conscious. Just keeping up with your
emotions at such a time is enough, much less trying to manage something
complicated. If you are struggling to manage multisensory teaching
tools, it will be distracting to you and distracting to your audience.
Shortly after I started using simple multisensory aids, I attempted
some fairly complicated stuff, and I was not ready. As a result, the
teaching was difficult to manage. It seemed clumsy, awkward, and
unnatural. No one said anything to me, but I knew it was awkward. My
congregation is forgiving, and I think they knew I was trying hard.
You should start simply and keep it manageable. Increase the complexity as
you adjust, as
your congregation adjusts, and as
your human resources (your team) grow.
3. Embrace your multisensory strengths.
Just as you have verbal communication strengths, you will also have
multisensory strengths. My personal strength is the use of props and
interactive tools. When I have props in my hand and tools that engage
the participation of the audience, I feel as if I have an assistant
teacher with me. Sometimes, I almost feel as if I am cheating, because
it makes the teaching so easy to execute. Props and interactive tools
help me grab attention, create intellectual clarity, and instill
long-term memory. I feel comfortable with them.
I struggle, however, with the use of drama. I have been able to
implement visual art with great success, but I have struggled to use
dramatic arts. I recognize that drama is one of the most powerful forms
of communicating a point. If you have never watched Andy Stanley use
drama in his sermons, you have missed a treat. He is a master. Drama can
grab your attention, impact your emotions, and make a theological point
like few other forms of communication can.
Having said that, I personally struggle to make it work. For one thing,
you have to have great actors, and Stanley does. Our culture is used to
watching A-rated actors on television. If we use B-rated actors
ill-equipped for such a presentation, it can come across as cheesy. I
have not given up on drama, but I realize my limitations. Don’t force it
if you don’t feel ready for it.
4. Keep learning and developing.
One factor I love about teaching the Bible is that it is a lifetime
learning experience. To keep our communication style fresh and
captivating, we must have two non-negotiable traits:
-
A teachable spirit
-
A willingness to learn from others who are different from us
Many pastors and teachers develop one style of communication at the
outset of their ministry and then never tweak it. As a result, they
become predictable to their audience, and after a while they tend to
sound like a broken record. Be honest: How predictable do you think your
teaching is? Is it fresh each week, or can the audience put their mind
on autopilot?
Prepare Your Church Audience
Who can forget the Challenger spacecraft disaster? The catastrophic
explosion and subsequent loss of life and vehicle was the result of two
basic mistakes:
-
A rush to launch
-
A failure to recognize climate conditions
How many pastors create church disasters simply because they rush to
make changes without considering the climate of the church? Again, if
you are in a new church start, you will not have to deal with the issue
of transitioning your church to a new style of Bible teaching. If,
however, you are in an established church, read the following two
thoughts carefully. They can help you successfully navigate the change.
1. Transition, transition, transition.
The culture of your church should determine how you proceed with
multisensory teaching. Most of us have plenty enough to deal with
without starting a conflict over our preaching and teaching style. To
make these style changes without starting a war, begin with simple
multisensory components, not overpowering ones.
Begin your transition
with simple object lessons. It will give you time to learn the ropes,
and it will give your congregation time to adjust to the change.
2. Determine to keep it Biblical.
By keeping your sermon laced with Biblical authority, you will keep
your sheep at ease. Spiritual sheep seem willing to adjust to
methodological change as long as the message hasn’t changed.
Our teaching needs to be captivating and relevant, but when it lacks
solid Biblical content, it weakens the flock and can make them restless.
Furthermore, from time to time I suggest that you reference God’s
multisensory teaching methods as well as those of Jesus and the prophets
(ex: Hosea, Jeremiah, the setup of the tabernacle, the situational
teachings of Jesus, the practice of baptism, and the Lord’s Supper
observance). This will lend Biblical authority to the change.
Consider Forming Teams
Sermon content must always flow from the heart of the ones God has
called to teach. Nevertheless, a “teaching team” can serve as a great
advantage for the pastors and teachers who teach week after week.
Instead of one brain attempting to come up with all the ideas, you now
have multiple brains.
At Christ Fellowship, our teaching team gathers once a month for a time
of brainstorming about upcoming series and sermons. Our team is made up
of four gifted men called to be pastors and teachers. The combining of
our creative minds generates remarkable ideas.
As teachers, it is our calling to generate sermon content; transforming
the sermon into a multisensory teaching experience can require other
talents. A “design team” can help take your content and transform it,
particularly when your church has members with skills like graphic
design, carpentry, art, sculpture, and other craftsmanship gifts. In
fact, there are probably people in your church who are just waiting to
use the creative, artistic, and constructive talents God has given to
them. In some churches, such talents go untapped and even unwanted. What
a shame! Put out the word that you want to assemble such a team:
“Calling all artists, builders, graphic designers, fabric designers,
interior designers, sculptors, and other dreamers!” Meet with those who
respond and tell them your vision to create sermons that are Biblical,
captivating, clear, and unforgettable. When you turn them loose, you’ll
be amazed at their creative ability.
Conclusion
The truth is simple: I have a great passion to teach God’s Word in the
most compelling, most understandable, and most unforgettable way. To do
so, I must be willing to learn from a variety of teaching styles.
Unfortunately, we all tend to be closed-minded to anything that doesn’t
fit the camp we hang out with. Last week, I met with a group of
contemporary pastors who gathered to discuss teaching techniques. During
the course of the conversation, they were condemning of in-depth
teaching that emphasizes the text and theology. They mocked such
teaching as being stuck in the past. But they were shocked when I
suggested that they may be the ones stuck in the past. I warned them
that the church growth landscape that characterized the past decade may
be changing and changing quickly. Content and intellect now matter!
To sum up, I have enjoyed learning from both sides. I may read from one
person who can make me a better Bible teacher, and I may learn from
another who may make me a better communicator. Just don’t let people
force you into one dimension.
This article was excerpted from
The Power of Multisensory Preaching and Teaching (Zondervan).
