This has happened to me more than once.  I’m sitting in some huge meeting with hundreds of the Lord’s people representing churches across our state or country. A large number of preachers are in the audience. The speaker is sounding forth on some subject of importance to us all.

Suddenly, the speaker comes out with a statement that gets a hearty “amen,” something that sounds profound and undergirds the point he is making. He goes on in the message and everyone in the room but one person stays with him. Me, I’m stuck at that statement. Where did he get that, I wonder. Is it true? How can we know?

The speaker says something that stops us in our tracks.

Ever happen to you?

If “Facebook,” that wonderful and exasperating social networking machine, has taught us anything, it’s to distrust percentages and question quotations.

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Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! I cannot speak, for I am a youth.’  But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not say, I am a youth.  For you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.  Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you,’ says the Lord.  (Jeremiah 1:6-8)

Short answer:  Work at it.

Longer answer:  Read, listen, attend, ask, study, change, improve.

I used to have a professional speaker in my church.  When I asked her for advice, she declined.  I was disappointed. I would loved to have had some helpful pointers from her.  (Many years later, we are still in contact and to my pleasant surprise, she remembers only how effective I was.  I’m thankful for her poor memory!)

I bought a magazine at Barnes & Noble the other day.  OnPoint costs like a hardbound but is a slick quarterly from the Harvard Business Review.  The entire Summer 2019 issue is devoted to  “How to Become a Fearless Speaker.”

I paid $20 bucks for it.

If I get one or two great ideas, it’ll be an excellent investment.

And that’s another point worth remembering, pastor:  Always be open to improving your technique.

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