EPPICon Workbook - Eagles Communications

FOREWORD
Dear Fellow Preacher,
A warm welcome to our second EPPI Conference!
I believe that preaching is a vocation of public and social significance,
a high and noble calling worthy of the very best and brightest young
people. As Charles Spurgeon was accredited to have said, “If God calls
you to be a preacher, don’t stoop to be a prince!”
We at Eagles Proclamation & Persuasion Institute (EPPI), are focusing
on nothing less than the future of the church, and that starts by
equipping preachers of all experience levels and roles today. Thank
you for coming; I trust that this conference will be a primer for you to
become the effective preacher and communicator that God has called
you to be.
Once again, we are so grateful to the pastoral leadership of Wesley
Methodist Church for hosting this conference for the second time.
We are also thankful to all our speakers, who have come from near and
far to share their insights and experiences. None of them are theorists;
they all love to preach, and they all walk the talk. They all practice what
they teach about preaching—so you can be certain that it works.
In perhaps his most magisterial work, Giving Blood: A Fresh Paradigm
for Preaching, Leonard Sweet writes:
The sound of great preaching is not applause, but the creaking
of doors in heaven and hell, and sometimes even in the back
of the church. The dirty little secret of preaching is that people
expect to enter heaven every week. The doorway is the
sermon, and the preacher buzzes the congregation in.
That’s what we do from the pulpit. I hope you will be part of this
community of God’s communicators that we seek to raise up for God’s
glory and for the glory of preaching!
Michael Tan
President, Eagles Communications
CONTENTS
PROGRAM
SPEAKERS
WORKSHOP SYNOPSES
CONTAGIOUS PASSION
Jeffrey Arthurs
FINDING YOUR VOICE
Joshua Hiew
PREACHING JESUS IN A CYNICAL WORLD
Zack Eswine
PREACH THE WORD
Edmund Chan
PREACHING DIALOG
Jeffrey Arthurs, Joshua Hiew, Michael Tan
EAGLES MINISTRY PROFILES
COMMUNICATING TRUTH IN A POSTMODERN WORLD
Zack Eswine
RESOURCES TO ENHANCE YOUR PREACHING
Scott Lindsey
HELP! I CAN’T PREACH TO CHILDREN
David Leong
EVANGELISTIC PREACHING TODAY
Peter Chao
I DON’T HAVE TIME! CONFESSIONS OF A
BUSY PASTOR Kow Shih Ming
PREACHING ON DIFFICULT ISSUES — CHALLENGES,
CONTEXT & COMMUNICATION Desmond Soh
KNOWING THE FEAR OF THE LORD WE PERSUADE MEN
Jeffrey Arthurs
PRINCIPLES OF RHETORIC & ART OF COMMUNICATION
Joshua Hiew
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
PROGRAM
DAY 1 — FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2016
TIME
PROGRAM
07.30
Registration
08.30
Welcome by Emcee, followed by Worship and
one performance by The Crosswinds
09.00
P1: CONTAGIOUS PASSION
Jeffrey Arthurs
10.00
Morning Tea Break
10.30
P2: FINDING YOUR VOICE Joshua Hiew
11.30
D1: PREACHING DIALOG
Jeffrey Arthurs, Joshua Hiew, Michael Tan
12.45
Logos Presentation by Scott Lindsey
13.00
Lunch & ELC Presentation
Day 1 Afternoon Workshops (Part 1)
W5: I DON’T HAVE TIME! CONFESSIONS OF
A BUSY PASTOR Kow Shih Ming
14.00
W6: PREACHING ON DIFFICULT ISSUES —
CHALLENGES, CONTEXT & COMMUNICATION
Desmond Soh
W7: KNOWING THE FEAR OF THE LORD
WE PERSUADE MEN Jeffrey Arthurs
W8: PRINCIPLES OF RHETORIC & ART
OF COMMUNICATION Joshua Hiew
15.30
Afternoon Tea Break
16.00
Day 1 Afternoon Workshops (Part 2)
17.30
End of Day 1
PROGRAM
DAY 2 — SATURDAY, JULY 23, 2016
TIME
PROGRAM
Day 2 Morning Workshops (Part 1)
W1: COMMUNICATING TRUTH IN A
POSTMODERN WORLD Zack Eswine
08.30
W2: RESOURCES TO ENHANCE YOUR
PREACHING Scott Lindsey
W3: HELP! I CAN’T PREACH TO CHILDREN
David Leong
W4: EVANGELISTIC PREACHING TODAY
Peter Chao
10.00
Morning Tea Break
10.30
Day 2 Morning Workshops (Part 2)
12.00
Lunch & The ARETE Program Presentation
13.00
Worship by The Crosswinds
13.15
P3: PREACHING JESUS IN A CYNICAL WORLD
Zack Eswine
14.15
Short Break
14.30
Performance by The Crosswinds
14.45
P4: PREACH THE WORD Edmund Chan
15.45
Closing Song by The Crosswinds
16.00
Closing Words & End of Conference
17.00
Wesley Evening Service
SPEAKERS
EDMUND
CHAN
Rev Edmund Chan is a seasoned disciple-making pastor.
As the Leadership Mentor of Covenant Evangelical Free
Church, Edmund is widely regarded as an insightful Bible
expositor and a mentor of Christian leaders. In 1995, he
launched the annual Intentional Disciple Making Church
(IDMC) Conferences and serves on the advisory councils
of several Christian organizations. Edmund has authored
Built To Last: Towards A Disciplemaking Church, Growing
Deep in God, Mentoring Paradigms, Growing Deep in
Faith, Cultivating Your Inner Life and A Certain Kind. He
graduated summa cum laude from Trinity Evangelical
Divinity School with an MA (Missions).
JEFFREY
ARTHURS
Dr Jeffrey Arthurs is a professor of preaching and
communication at Gordon-Conwell Theological
Seminary, South Hamilton, MA. His books reflect his love
of preaching and communication: Preaching with Variety,
and Devote Yourself to Public Reading of Scripture. He
is the chair of the elders in his church, North Shore
Community Baptist, and is on the teaching team
there. His passion is preaching, and he uses his wide
ranging communication experience as a teacher, pastor,
missionary, director, announcer, and consultant to equip
others for more effective proclamation of the Word.
ZACK
ESWINE
Dr Zack Eswine serves as pastor for Riverside Church
and Director of Homiletics at Covenant Theological
Seminary in Saint Louis, Missouri. Zack’s books include
The Imperfect Pastor, which received Christianity Today’s
Book of the Year award 2016, in the category of Church/
Pastoral Leadership, and Preaching to a Post-Everything
World, recipient of Preaching Today’s Book of the Year
Award, 2008. His books, Spurgeon’s Sorrows: Realistic
Hope for those who Suffer from Depression, and
Recovering Eden: The Gospel According to Ecclesiastes
have blessed many.
SPEAKERS
DESMOND
SOH
Rev Dr Desmond Soh is an ordained minister of the Gospel.
He served as a tentmaker in Indonesia for nine years with
his wife Wendy. Desmond currently teaches masters and
doctoral level homiletics and missions in the Practical
Theology department at Singapore Bible College. He is
also the adjunct Professor at Southeast Asia Bible Seminary
(SAAT) in Indonesia. Desmond has special interests in
grooming pastors and missionaries and is actively involved
helping people get back to a Gospel-centered life.
PETER
CHAO
Mr Peter Chao is the Founder of Eagles Communications.
He has been an evangelist and preacher since 1968
when he preached his first sermon as a 14-year old new
Christian to a group of fellow students. Many of those
students also became preachers and pastors. Peter has
spoken to a wide spectrum of audiences in Asia, Europe
and the USA in the last 46 years. He is also a mentor to
both church and marketplace leaders as well as younger
preachers and is very much in demand as a plenary
speaker for church and leadership conferences.
SCOTT
LINDSEY
Mr Scott Lindsey is the Ministry Relations Director for
Logos Bible Software. For 17 years, Scott has been
equipping leaders and pastors with the best tools
available for the life-long pursuit of God through His
word. The world has gone digital and Scott’s ministry
is to bring people’s Bible study and sermon prep into
the digital now. Scott teaches at over 20 conferences
per year. He has personally trained and worked with
the ministries of Tim Keller, Randy Alcorn, David
Jeremiah,Tony Evans, Chuck Swindoll, and many more.
MICHAEL
TAN
Mr Michael Tan is the President of Eagles
Communications. He came to faith at age 14 and has
been involved in evangelism and preaching. He has
taught lifestyle evangelism and apologetics in churches
in Singapore and the region in the past 20 years. He
chairs the Eagles Proclamation and Persuasion Institute
(EPPI) and has organized the first cohort of trainees
for the Eagles ARETE Program, an intensive coaching
program for preachers, in 2015.
SPEAKERS
KOW
SHIH MING
Rev Dr Kow Shih Ming is Pastor-in-charge of Wesley
Methodist Church since January 2013. Prior to leading
Wesley, he was Pastor-in-charge of Faith Methodist
Church for more than 11 years, leading the church to
reach out to the community and the regions beyond.
Shih Ming has been in church ministry since 1992, and
is deeply passionate about preaching, teaching and
equipping leaders in the church to impact the world with
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This passion led him to a
doctorate in 2008 from Asbury Theological Seminary.
JOSHUA
HIEW
Mr Joshua Hiew is a graduate of the School of
Communication at Northwestern University in Chicago.
As an undergraduate, Joshua was a member of the
Northwestern University Speech Team that competed
in the NFA (National Forensic Association) National
Tournaments. The National Forensic Association is a
national intercollegiate organization in USA designed
to promote excellence in individual events and
debate. Apart from his team awards, Joshua himself
has been winning the national championships in both
extemporaneous speaking and impromptu speaking.
Currently, he is pursuing his second degree in Law at the
National University of Singapore.
DAVID
LEONG
Mr David Leong is a local preacher and missionary
of Grace Methodist Church, Singapore, serving as a
freelance itinerant children and family minister cum
educator. For the past 35 years, David has been working
actively among children and young people. He has had
experience in conducting training for children’s workers
and doing ministry with children and families in many
cities in Asia and Australia. He is also a trainer of trainers
for Hope for Kids (previously known as Kids Evangelism
Explosion) as well as UnveilinGLORY Seminar (USA),
which teaches missions to children and a certified trainer
of Habitudes: Images That Form Leadership Habits &
Attitudes (Growing Leaders, Inc.).
WORKSHOP SYNOPSES
COMMUNICATING TRUTH IN A POSTMODERN
WORLD Zack Eswine
Audiences have changed — and so should preaching. No longer
are Christian ministers regarded as authoritative sources of
guidance and knowledge in society ... but the work of the Lord
is needed more than ever. Led by homiletics professor Dr
Zack Eswine, you will learn how you can minister and proclaim
God’s Word in light of this, and convince today’s postmodern
audiences of the eternal truths of Scripture.
RESOURCES TO ENHANCE YOUR PREACHING
Scott Lindsey
Have a sermon to preach, and little time to prepare it?
Streamline your sermon-building with Logos Bible Software,
which puts more than 50,000 theological resources, sermon
ideas and illustrations at your fingertips. This presentation by
Scott Lindsey will reveal the power of Logos to put you back in
control of preaching and teaching of God’s Word, so your time
and energy are saved for truly connecting with the needs of
your audience.
HELP! I CAN’T PREACH TO CHILDREN
David Leong
Preaching to children is nothing less than shaping the next
generation of men and women of God. In this workshop, David
Leong shares the proven framework he has developed from
35 years of working with children and teens. Now, you too can
confidently approach your next message to kids aged 7-12 in a
way they will understand and love.
EVANGELISTIC PREACHING TODAY
Peter Chao
One problem with evangelistic sermons is that they look and
sound like they’re selling something! In a pluralistic world, they
no longer work so smoothly — unless evangelists can shape
their sermons in an appealing, powerful way that reaches the
unbelievers of today. This workshop by veteran evangelist Peter
Chao will show you the tools you’ll need to do just that.
WORKSHOP SYNOPSES
I DON’T HAVE TIME! CONFESSIONS OF A BUSY
PASTOR Kow Shih Ming
“I don’t have any time!” many pastors think — and look on their goals
and responsibilities with dread. But there are ways to not only cope,
but thrive. This tell-all by Rev Dr Kow Shih Ming dives deep into the
time and people management work of a busy pastor, and reveals
how he shepherds his church, prepares strong sermons and lives a
full life — on just as much time as the rest of us.
PREACHING ON DIFFICULT ISSUES - CHALLENGES,
CONTEXT & COMMUNICATION Desmond Soh
As preachers, we will be asked to preach on difficult or
controversial issues affecting the church and society, like gender
identity, sexism, politics, racism, secularism, etc. It takes both
courage and sensitivity, and many are reluctant simply because
they have no idea how to approach them. This workshop with
seminary professor Desmond Soh will replace your fears with an
actionable plan for just such an engagement, so you can tackle
the ‘hard stuff’ with confidence and compassion.
KNOWING THE FEAR OF THE LORD WE
PERSUADE MEN Jeffrey Arthurs
Ever struggled with the misconception of preaching as ‘hitting
people over the head with the Bible’? This workshop by
preaching and communications expert Jeffrey Arthurs will help
you to persuasively come alongside your listeners and become
a trusted companion, so that you can guide them into biblical
truth with respect, credibility and courtesy.
PRINCIPLES OF RHETORIC & ART OF
COMMUNICATION Joshua Hiew
Are you struggling in speaking well publicly? Do you feel
you are not able to connect with your audience from the
start? This workshop from rhetorician and speaking coach
Joshua Hiew will equip you be the most effective speaker
you can be. You will find your style of delivery, you will find
your voice, and you will be a convincing speaker.
PLENARY
SESSIONS
CONTAGIOUS PASSION
Jeffrey Arthurs
A. Introduction
Intro: If you want your listeners to catch fire, you must set
yourself on fire, and when you burn, many of them will burn with
you. Pastor and rhetorical scholar Hugh Blair said it this way:
“There is obviously a contagion among the passions.”
A possible objection: isn’t logos what counts? Why this
emphasis on passion?
B.How It Works
1. When the speaker displays passion, it causes a reciprocal
response in the listener.
i. Plato’s image of the magnet:
ii. Modern psychology uses the term “empathy.”
iii. Science speaks of “mirror neurons.”
iv. Theology behind the “contagion”:
2. Display of passion generates emotion in the sender.
i. Facial Expression:
ii. Power poses:
3. When the nonverbal message conflicts with the verbal,
listeners trust the nonverbal.
C.How to Work It
1. Start With .
2. Watch Yourself on .
3. (but Don’t Imitate) Preachers You Admire.
4.Preach .
5.Practice . Get your body and voice involved.
6.Pray and ask God to the inner person.
FINDING YOUR VOICE
Joshua Hiew
PREACHING JESUS IN A CYNICAL
WORLD Zack Eswine
Biblical texts: John 20:24-29; Matthew 28:17
A. What is a Doubting Thomas?
B. Cynicism and doubt challenge every neighbor
we preach Jesus to
1.Atheists
2.Agnostics
3. World Religionists
4.Christians
C. Jesus welcomes the cynicisms and doubts of
our neighbors
1. Invite your neighbors to bring what faith they have to Jesus
(John 20:24-25)
i. Thomas does not doubt the existence of God or the
Personal Nature of God
ii. What Thomas doubts is the resurrection of Jesus
iii. Can you travel this far with him?
2. Help your neighbors to admit the difference between
emotional and intellectual doubt
i. John 11:16
ii. When losing our faith is a good thing
iii. Emotional cynicisms disguised as intellectual ones
iv. C. S. Lewis and Thomas Nagel
3. Help your neighbors to learn how to doubt their doubts
(John 20:24-29)
i. Cynicism and doubt is a faith
ii. The problem with saying, “If I can’t see it, I won’t believe”
4. Help your neighbors see that Jesus offers what our
cynicisms and doubts cannot provide
i. His timing (eight days later)
ii. Your fears
iii. His peace
D.Preach Jesus to your own cynicisms and doubts
(Matthew 28:17)
PREACH THE WORD
Edmund Chan
“To me, the work of preaching is the highest and the greatest
and the most glorious calling to which anyone can ever be
called. The most urgent need in the Christian Church today is
true preaching.” — Martyn Lloyd-Jones
“To expound Scripture is to open up the inspired text with such
faithfulness and sensitivity that God’s voice is heard and His
people obey Him.” — John Stott
“Habitually to come into the pulpit unprepared is unpardonable
presumption.” — Charles Spurgeon
A. Introduction
1. The ‘Jack and Jill’ Mentality
2. The Five Defining Questions
i. Why Is ‘Preaching the Word’ So Important?
ii. If It’s So Important, Why Is It So Neglected?
iii. What Is ‘Preaching The Word’ All About?
iv. What Makes ‘Preaching The Word’ So Difficult?
v. How Can ‘Preaching The Word’ Be Best Accomplished?
B. How To Be A Good Preacher
1. Prepare Thoroughly. Avoid the last-minute rush known as
“the Saturday Night fever”. Start early. Allow time for careful
exegesis. Think coherently, write clearly and rehearse
thoroughly. It allows you to be “faithful to the text” and to
preach extemporaneously.
2. Make It Interesting. Speak to felt needs. Make it highly
relevant. Let your hearers say: “I’ve got to listen to this!”
Also, liven up your message with personal anecdotes and
humour. Learn to tell a good story.
3. Tell Your Hearers Something New. It is a boring sermon if it
is a predictable one. Preach with biblical insight! Let your
hearers say: “Hey, I’ve never seen it this way before!”. We
need more biblical exposition than exhortation from the
Word.
4. Have a Clear Outline. A good outline allows your sermon
to have a sense of meaningful progression. Let your outline
be derived from the text. Alexander McLaren had this great
gift of opening the text and “it immediately broke up into
natural and memorable divisions”. Work on your outline!
5. Craft Your Words Well. Avoid well-worn clichés. Instead,
communicate in word-pictures. Don’t just say “It is
hopeless”. Try this: “It is like facing a charging rhino
armed with a rubber band”. We are in an age of visual
literacy. Speak metaphorically. Also, discover the power of
aphorisms. Collect a list of quotable quotes.
6. Make Realistic Applications. If there is no summons, there
is no sermon. However, many summons to action are too
unrealistic, like “we must never get angry”; or too general
like “we must love one another”; or too idealistic, like “we
must share Christ with someone every day”. Make concrete
applications that are realistic and challenging. Show in
specific ways how it can be done.
7. End with Emotional Appeal. End with a strong conclusion.
Don’t be afraid to end with emotional appeal. The Sermon
on the Mount ended with the story of building on sand or
solid rock. That has emotional appeal!
8. Feed Your Mind Daily. A keen mind is a preacher’s asset.
Read daily. A preacher works with ideas, not just words.
Keep your thinking sharp and your mind fresh. Evaluate
ideas. Think.
9. Grow in The Word. Preachers are not merely public
speakers. They are not peddlers of human opinions but
proclaimers of God’s Word. They are Word-saturated
persons. Martyn Lloyd-Jones advises: “One of the most fatal
habits a preacher can fall into is to read his Bible simply to
find texts for his sermons. This is a real danger…”. Grow in
the Word!
10. Unction Is the Key. Cultivate a vital walk with the Lord. Be
alone with God. Seek the Lord’s anointing. Be one who has
something to say rather than one who has to say something.
Speak with passion. Preach from your heart!
Finally, echoing an unknown black preacher: “Pray Yourself
Empty. Read Yourself Full. Write Yourself Clear. And Let
Yourself Go!”
C. Recommended Reading
1. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers
(Zondervan, 1972)
2. Tony Sargent, The Sacred Anointing
(Hodder & Stoughton, 1998)
3. Haddon Robinson, Expository Preaching (IVP, 1980)
4. Charles Koller, Expository Preaching Without Notes
(Baker, 1962)
5. Michael Duduit, ed., Handbook Of Contemporary Preaching
(Broadman,1992)
6. Samuel Logan, Jr., ed., The Preacher and Preaching
(Presbyterian and Reformed, 1986)
7. Donald Demaray, Introduction to Homiletics (Baker, 1974)
8. John Stott, Between Two Worlds (Eerdmans, 1982)
9. C.H. Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students
(Zondervan, 1980; 11th printing)
10.Bruce Mawhinney, Preaching with Freshness
(Harvest House, 1991)
“To get into the Word, one must cultivate a Delight in the
Word, a Devotion to the Word and a Discipline in the Word.”
— Edmund Chan
PREACHING
DIALOG
PREACHING DIALOG
Jeffrey Arthurs, Joshua Hiew, Michael Tan
To ask questions, please write them on a piece of paper and pass to our ushers.
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1968, we have impacted thousands of
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JOIN US IN A JOURNEY OF
TRANSFORMATION AND MAKE
YOUR LIFE COUNT…
BEYOND SELF
At Eagles Communications, we encourage ourselv
and others to creatively share our talents, abilitie
and resources to reach those in need, in crisis, an
in search of meaning through vibrant community
We offer programs that articulate the truth abou
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in people’s lives through our programs.
BEYOND TIME
At Eagles Communications, we live and work beyo
the present. We harness our experience to leave a
positive legacy for the future. That is why we are
passionate and intentional in developing emergin
leaders and participating in social concerns that
provide opportunities for the next generation to
grow and flourish. You too can make your life cou
beyond your time.
BEYOND BORDERS
At Eagles Communications, we cultivate internati
partnerships. We bring people together to learn
from and with each other. We exchange insights
and resources through meaningful collaborations
globally. Our programs have impacted lives acros
cultures. You can be involved in equipping peopl
serve and lead around the world.
Ea
to
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JO
TR
INTENSIVE
WORKSHOPS
COMMUNICATING TRUTH IN A
POSTMODERN WORLD Zack Eswine
Biblical text: Acts 14:8-18
A. Preach Jesus by paying attention to Jesus in the
biblical text
1. The Bible is about Jesus
i. From “In the beginning God…” to “May the Grace of the
Lord Jesus be with you. Amen.”
ii. This is what Jesus believed: John 5:39, 46-47; Luke 24:27,
44-45.
2. The Old Testament points forward towards Jesus; the New
points to him.
i. The seed of the woman who will crush the serpent’s
head(redemptive context)
ii. Prophet
iii. Priest
iv. King
v. Wise Man
vi. New Testament (The rock was Christ; 3 days and nights
in the fish; the good shepherd)
3. This means that God is the hero of every text
i. Be like David?
ii. Who are we in the story? David and Goliath, Esther
iii. We can only be like a Bible hero if we have the same
grace they did (e.g. Joseph)
iv. We must locate the vine for people (Deadly Be’s)
v. We must let a pit be a pit and a wall be a wall
4. Preaching Jesus (Hebrews 1)
B. Preach Jesus by paying attention to your
neighbor’s culture
1. Translate foreign terms so people understand.
I’ve heard people say, “No me preocupo por la cultura, solo
por predicar la palabra.” (“I don’t care about the culture;
I just preach the Word.”) Not so in the Bible!
Biblical examples:
i. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them,
“What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi”
(which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” (John
1:38, ESV)
ii. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him,
“We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).
(v. 41)
iii. He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said,
“You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called
Cephas” (which means Peter). (v. 42)
… and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam”
(which means Sent). So he went and washed and came
back seeing. (John 9:7)
2. Let’s use Acts 14:8-18 as a foundational text
i. We must pay attention to how people hear what we
preach
ii. We graciously understand cultural grammar
iii. We move toward and not away from different “truths”
iv. We build a bridge with our common humanity
v. We start where they are
3. Contrast two Scriptures:
i. “The God of Abraham” to a Jewish audience (Acts 13)
ii. “The God who created the heavens and the earth” and
“What is unknown to you I proclaim …” to a Gentile one
(Acts 17)
4. Pay attention to cultural backtalk
i. Examples: “What is truth?” (John 18:38) and “Now
when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some
mocked. But others said, ‘We will hear you again about
this.’” (Acts 17:32)
ii. Cultural grammar has to do with clarity and
understanding; cultural backtalk has to do with unbelief
and resistance.
C.Examples of Cultural Grammar and Backtalk
1. Cultural grammar:
• Who is God? Who is Jesus?
• What is Love?
• What is the World? What is belief?
• What is life? What is eternal life?
2. New Testament cultural backtalk:
• “He is out of his mind” (Mark 3:20)
• “He is possessed by Beelzebul … by the prince of
demons he casts out demons” (Mark 3:22)
• “He has an unclean spirit” (Mark 3:30)
• “John the Baptist, Elijah, a prophet” (Mark 8:28)
• “A glutton, a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and
sinners” (Luke 7:34)
• “A liar” (John 8:13)
• “A Samaritan” (John 8:48)
• “Not from God, unlawful” (John 9:16)
• “He has a demon, he is insane, why do you listen to
him?” (John 10:20)
• “He is evil” (John 18:30)
• “The Christ” (Mark 8:29)
3. Early cultural voices:
• “Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite
tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called
Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the
name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty
during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our
procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous
superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke
out not only in Judea, the first source of the evil, but
even in Rome …” (Tacitus, 57-120 AD)
• “Now around this time lived Jesus, a wise man. For he
was a worker of amazing deeds and was a teacher of
people who gladly accept the truth. He won over both
many Jews and many Greeks. Pilate, when he heard him
accused by the leading men among us, condemned
him to the cross, (but) those who had first loved him did
not cease (doing so). To this day the tribe of Christians
named after him has not disappeared.” (Josephus, 37101 AD)
• “Jesus, on account of his poverty, was hired out to go to
Egypt. While there he acquired certain (magical) powers
which Egyptians pride themselves on possessing.
He returned home highly elated at possessing these
powers, and on the strength of them gave himself out to
be a god.” (Celsus, 175 AD)
• “Jesus practiced magic and led Israel astray.” (The
Jewish Talmud, 400-700 AD – b. Sanhedrin 43a; cf. t.
Shabbat 11.15; b. Shabbat 104b)
4. Modern Cultural Backtalk:
• Brahman is, therefore you must break free from Karma
(Hinduism)
• You are God, find your own consciousness, determine
your path (New Age)
• Nirvana exists, discipline yourself for enlightenment
(Buddhism)
• Allah is supreme, devote your whole self to him by
keeping the five religious duties (Islam)
• God so loved that he gave us a fictional and sometimes
intolerant story about sending his son so that we too can
follow God (Progressive Christianity)
• God is so holy that he gave us his own Son so that we
can go to heaven if we follow his example and be good
enough too (Fundamentalist Christianity)
• God doesn’t exist; love is a chemical reaction that has
evolved over centuries for our survival (Scientific materialism)
• God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believes in him might not perish but
have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
D. A Tool for Cultural Grammar
1. “You have heard it said, but I say to you.”
E. A Tool for the Conditions of the Heart
1. Hard- and soft-hearted people: “Some of you”
(I Thessalonians 5:14)
F. Tools for Cultural Backtalk
1. Apologetic Hints
2. Apologetic Moments
3.Examples
RESOURCES TO ENHANCE YOUR
PREACHING Scott Lindsey
HELP! I CAN’T PREACH TO
CHILDREN David Leong
A.Introduction
Reasons preachers can’t preach to children:
1.
of how children including
preschoolers can respond to the preaching of God’s Word.
2.
in preparing and presenting a
children’s, sermon including handling of their responses
and / or behavior.
3. Others —
B.Know Your Listeners
1. Today’s children (especially those born after 1995) are
known as “Generation Z” and “Generation Alpha”.
What are they like, and what do they like?
Claire Madden of McCrindle Research (Australia) explains in:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqJRbp4y-xg.
2. There are three main learning styles of children where they
learn best:
i.V
learners: learn best by
.
ii.A
learners: learn best by
.
iii.K
or
learners: learn best by
.
Note: They also have differences in their
abilities,
background,
experiences, and
level.
and
C.Components of a Children’s Sermon
1. There are three main components is a children’s sermon
as follows:
i.L
O
• An introduction which grabs the attention of the
children. It needs to lead them into the message.
E.g. showing a picture or short-video-clip; having a
short quiz, etc.
ii.L
I
• This is the main content or body of the message.
• If it is a
sermon (for 4 to 12 years old),
you can tell the Bible story creatively using
methods e.g. role-play/skit, audio-visual aids,
interactive movements, etc.
• If it is a
sermon (for 4 to 12 years old),
you can use three main points starting with the same
for easy memory and recall.
• If it is a
sermon (9 to 12 years old),
you can use an
i.e. using the first
letter of a main word/truth to describe it. E.g.
A.G.A.P.E. — All-encompassing, Greatest, Amazing,
Powerful, Everlasting.
iii.L
O
• This is the conclusion of the message which should
give the children some practical ways to apply what
they have heard from God’s message.
• Preachers may get the children to repeat the main
truth in three different ways so as to begin the
process of long-term memory.
• Short and impactful video-clips can also be shown to
lead towards the prayer of response/commitment to
live out God’s teaching.
D.Principles and Tips for Presenting a Children’s
Sermon
1. In Howard Hendricks’ Seven Laws of the Teacher, he spells
out:
i. “The
people learn determines
you teach.” (‘The Law of Education’)
ii. “Maximum learning is always the result of maximum
.” (‘The Law of Activity’)
2. Tips for presenting a children’s sermon that will impact them
for life-change:
i.
— All children like to have fun. Laughter
through humor brings about a more relaxed atmosphere
for children to want to listen more and thereby absorb
more of God’s message.
ii.
such as the “I Wonder”
questions. E.g. “I wonder how it feels to be blind?”
“I wonder what was said after the disciples asked each
other ‘Who is this, that even the winds and the sea
obey Him?’”
iii. Video clips on Bible stories, or stories with Christian
values or an evangelistic thrust. Examples:
• “The Parable of the Lost Sheep”
<https://youtu.be/tyWZeOlaRo4> from
www.max7.org.
• “Hermie the Common Caterpillar”
<https://youtu.be/OId-NoEC9lc> by Max Lucado.
• Other resources such as Superbook, Bible App for
Kids, etc.
iv.
examples or testimonies. Video-clips
may be used such as those featuring Nick Vujicic,
Benny Prasad, etc.
v.
lessons to reinforce the main truth. E.g.
a colorful fan, whose blades represent each individual’s
unique talents which should be used in unity to fulfil
the fan’s intended function. But when they ae broken
or bent (that is, disunited), the whole fan cannot fulfil its
intended function.
E.Conclusion
The preacher who wants to preach a sermon that will impact
children for life-change needs to pray fervently for the Holy
Spirit’s anointing, prepare well in advance and then present the
sermon with clarity and creativity, pointing the children to Christ
for God’s glory.
EVANGELISTIC PREACHING TODAY
Peter Chao
I DON’T HAVE TIME! CONFESSIONS
OF A BUSY PASTOR Kow Shih Ming
A. PROBLEMS OF THE PULPIT MINISTRY
1.
2.
3.
4.
B. PRIORITY OF THE PULPIT
“and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the
word.” (Acts 6:4)
1.
2.
3.
C. PHILOSOPHY OF YOUR PULPIT MINISTRY
1. What is the ?
2. Where do I ?
3. What style do I ?
4. Who is my primary ?
5. What is my ?
6. How often should I ?
D. PLANNING FOR THE PULPIT
1. of planning our messages in
advance:1
i.It your teaching.
“For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole
purpose of God.” (Acts 20:27)
ii.It for many others to be
involved.
“Pastor-teachers … are given for the equipping of the
saints for the work of the ministry, to the building up of
the body of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11, 12)
iii. It keeps the messages .
“Make my joy complete by being of the same mind …
intent on one purpose.” (Philippians 2:2)
iv. It lowers your levels.
“The prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and
prepares for them; the fool goes blindly on and suffers
the consequences.” (Proverbs 22:3, TLB)
1
Wayne Cordeiro, Leadership Practicum 2015
2. Identify the 3. List the or
4. Mark out all the in your
calendar
5. your calendar with the
sermons
E. PREPARING FOR THE PULPIT
1.
2.
3.
4.
F. PERSONAL PREPARATION
1.
2.
3.
G. FINAL WORDS
PREACHING ON DIFFICULT ISSUES
— CHALLENGES, CONTEXT &
COMMUNICATION Desmond Soh
A. Before we start…
1. Two sessions.
2. Two house rules: Interaction and discussions
3. Two hot potato topics — death and dying, and the LGBTQ
movement
B. The World We Live In Today
C. Difficult Issues the World Has to Deal with
• Sexuality
• Divorce
• Dying and Death
• Addiction
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Question: Discuss this further with another person, and list at
least three more issues to deal with.
desmond_soh@sbc.edu.sg
D. What Some Churches (and Pastors) are More
Concerned About … and Preach On!
• Denominational distinctives
• Bible versions
• Gender roles in church (Egalitarianism vs. Complementarianism)
• Worship styles
•
•
•
•
•
•
Take Home Project — Think about the last six months of
sermons you have heard or preached in church. What were they
mostly about?
E. What Are Our Usual Singaporean Responses?
• Oo nya bo? What problem ha? • Siam quickly — • Why you so like dat one? • Mati-lah! • Wah piang eh! — • Ai pia jia a nya — Question: How do you usually respond? Why do you think we
respond in such a manner? Talk to the person beside you.
F. Reasons Why We Respond the Way We Do
G. Pre-sermon Preparation
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
H. Sermon Preparation
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
I. When Preaching
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
J. Post-sermon Legwork
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Topic #1 — Death and Dying
“People never die at convenient times.” — Haddon Robinson
Topic #1 — Death and Dying (con’t)
Topic #2 — LGBTQ
“People won’t care how much you know until they know how
much you care.” — Theodore Roosevelt
Topic #2 — LGBTQ (con’t)
KNOWING THE FEAR OF THE LORD
WE PERSUADE MEN Jeffrey Arthurs
A.Introduction
1. Define Persuasion:
2. List and comment on common elements found in definitions
of “persuasion.”
3. Contrast coercion and persuasion.
4. Should we think of preaching as a form of persuasion?
B.Ethos
1. What is “ethos”?
2. Does the Bible stress the importance of ethos for preachers?
3. List and illustrate the four elements of ethos:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
How can you leverage each of these elements?
C.Pathos
1. What is pathos?
2. What motivates our actions according to Maslow?
According to the Bible?
3. Two specific pathetic appeals: humor and fear.
4. The pathetic appeal of form.
i. What is form?
ii. Comment on one kind of form: Repetition.
iii. List the five steps of Monroe’s Motivated Sequence.
This is a method of using form (arrangement of the
whole speech/sermon) to leverage pathos.
iv. The pathetic appeal of language.
Draw the “operations of the mind” and illustrate.
Language has the power to control perception, build an
attitude/feeling, and suggest action. Illustrate:
v. The pathetic appeal of delivery. List six ways that nonverbal channels function in persuasion:
D.Logos
1. The key to leveraging logos is collaboration.
What does that mean?
2. Good arguments often fail because we assume too much
knowledge and/or agreement. Explain and illustrate using
the three questions listeners ask:
PRINCIPLES OF RHETORIC & ART
OF COMMUNICATION Joshua Hiew
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to acknowledge the following for their invaluable
contribution to Eagles Proclamation & Persuasion Institute
(EPPI) Conference 2016.
All Plenary and Workshop Speakers
for their invaluable insights that have provided an inspiring
learning experience for all participants.
Rev Dr Kow Shih Ming and the leadership at Wesley
Methodist Church Singapore
for hosting the conference on their premises.
The Conference Steering Committee
for ensuring that every aspect of the conference is well planned
and executed.
Each one of YOU
for your presence and participation!
Copyright © 2016 by Eagles Communications. All rights reserved.
No part of this workbook may be reproduced without permission
in writing from Eagles Communications.
Eagles Communications Ltd reserves all rights to change any of
the published conference details without notice and has the final
decision on any matter relating to the conference.