I’m sorry I didn’t post these links earlier, but Tim Archer over at The Kitchen of Half-Baked Thoughts has posted a series of articles about the use of presentation slides in sermons. He shares some good thoughts, and he was even kind enough to let me contribute some images to one of his posts.

• Presentation Suggestion #1: Illustration not sermon
• Presentation Suggestion #2: Think big!
• Presentation Suggestion #3: Worth Ten Thousand Bullet Points
• Presentation suggestion #4: Varying learning styles
• Presentations: An example

Depending the sermon, I may prepare and arrange my slides differently than for an education conference. It’s a different setting with different rules for effective presentation. Tim has some good thoughts here, so make sure to check them out.

Tags: sermons

Sometimes, you just can't avoid a long sermon. Many of my cousins are gospel preachers – very good preachers – and one of them just made a short blog post about a very long sermon he recently did that covered recent interest in the DaVinci Code. The sermon lasted 62 minutes.

In my first post about Breaking Rules, I noted that Vincent van Gogh is not considered a great artist because of his strict adherence to all the rules. In fact, the case is quite the opposite, and I would surmise that many members of the congregation my cousin preached at hardly felt the extended time period despite the 10-20-30 rule.

So how do you present 62 minutes of material and keep it engaging?

Stay Focused: The length should come from a wealth of material – not because you are busy chasing rabbits.

Stay Energetic: If you appear bored or fatigued with yourself, you are doomed. (I'm having a terrible flashback to a certain lesson about Genesis 1+2 back at TP, for those of you who know of what I speak.)

Keep It Moving: Avoid spending 45 of the 60+ minutes on one point. (Whoa, same flashback...)

Keep It Real: Use material that is current and relevant. The topic of my cousin's sermon is a great example. Make sure the material has a hook that will maintain engagement.

Don't Mention It: Avoid warning your listeners. "Today's lesson is probably going to be 12 hours long." No. You know you accomplished your task if few are aware of the elongated time period.

Don't Make It a Habit: You can only get away with this so many times.

Remember, human attention dwindles quickly, and you, as a speaker, need to put extra effort into maintaining that attention if you know you will be speaking for a long time. As for your slides, the guidelines don't change – you will just end up with more than 10. With the right material and the proper planning, long sermons can be effective.

Tags: sermons, time use, 10-20-30

In my last post, I touched upon the fact that preachers should try to follow the 10-20-30 Rule as much as possible. Now, Mr. Kawasaki's rule is specifically geared toward business pitches, and he lays out a simple 10-point list of how your slides should flow in this setting.

Whether you want to think of it this way or not, sermons are very similar to pitches. You usually start with a problem (i.e. divorce rates). You propose a solution that typically includes scripture references, and you conclude with a call to action.

In this post, I'm going to put together a sample 10-slide sermon as a model for what a 10-20-30 sermon presentation might look like. This lesson is about divorce, and it will follow a "3-point" outline with an introduction and summation.

Slides 1 & 2: Introduction & Statement of Problem

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While the lesson is being generally introduced, slide 1 is visible. I would start without the text and have it appear while I'm working up to the problem. Slide 2 is very simple, clearly pointing out the problem that about half of US marriages end in divorce. Now, I can list some other relevant statistics if I wish (like trending, broken home violence, etc.) , but they don't all need to be enumerated on the slide because they are all secondary to that figure.

Slide 3: The Solution

The solution is presented upfront. The way to handle the problem of divorce begins and ends with respect: respect for marriage, respect for one another, and respect for God's word. At this point, I don't build all three of those points onto the slide. The slide merely opens with "The Answer?" and I build in "Respect" once I am ready. I don't want the congregation to get ahead of me. Details should not be revealed until the speaker is ready.

Slides 4-9: Details and Scripture

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The first point of our sermon focuses on respecting the institution of marriage. We start with Genesis 2:24 (on slide 4) where a married man and woman are described as one flesh. From here, I can refer to related scriptures about oneness such as Deuteronomy 6:4 and briefly compare it to Ephesians 5:31, but the slide remains focused on Genesis 2:24. Slide 5 centers around Hebrews 13:4 describing marriage as honorable. At this point, it might be wise to glance at Matthew 19 where Jesus says God joins the couple together.

The main point of these two slides is that God created marriage honorable and holy, and we should should respect what God has created.

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Slide 6 emphasizes the adultery that can result from divorce. The one initiating divorce is guilty of adultery, and he/she may have laid the path for his/her former spouse to commit adultery. Slide 7 talks about violence as the result of divorce, and I could speak a moment here about the numerous individuals affected negatively by a divorce. (Again, there is no need to list them on a slide. The congregation does not need to be spoon-fed information.)

The main point: If we really respect ourselves and others, we will sincerely seek other alternatives before divorce.

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Slide 8 remains with Malachi 2:16 and the fact that God hates divorce. That alone should be enough for us. On slide 9, Jesus is referenced as pointing out that there is no good reason for divorce (except for adultery by one's spouse).

The main point: As Christians, we should respect God's view of divorce and avoid it if possible.

Slide 10: Summation

Slide 10 merely serves to review the big points of the lesson and encourage the congregation to take marriage seriously rather than view it as something easily disposed of. If we have the proper respect for marriage as God made it, for each other, and for God's views on the matter of divorce, then we should work diligently to maintain the solidarity of our marriages.

Wrap-Up

Slides: 10. Practice run: 25 minutes. Fonts: 48-288 points. I also made sure the slides were in line with my previous post. We have built-in, emphasized text, no bullets, and no walls of text at any point. All images are high quality (and any image that had text atop it was reduced in sharpness to maintain the readability of the text), and our background is a heavy paper texture that looks similar to what you might see for a wedding invitation. Finally, the font is simple yet formal and easy to read.

Now I drafted this outline and these slides from scratch especially for this post. I even went to my favorite stock photography sites to find some new images, and used eBible for looking up scriptures and commentary. This took about three hours in all. I don't think thats an unreasonable amount of time.

Whether or not you agree with the doctrine of these slides, I hope you can learn something from this model. Our sermon presentations do not have to be derivative and mundane. With a little work, our slides can be a strong reinforcer of our message at an intellectual and an emotional level.

Tags: 10-20-30, sermons, examples, guy kawasaki

I'm sure many of you attend congregations with slide presentation abilities, and, along with these capabilities, you probably have slides running through the preacher's sermon. The sermon presentation can be a very different beast from a professional presentation, but some of the same principles apply. Here are some things to think about if you are planning a presentation to go with a sermon.

Do Follow the 10-20-30 Rule. If you don't know what I'm talking about: 10 slides, 20 minutes, 30-point font. If you are presenting a standard sermon, you should be able to fit everything in right around 10 slides. My longest slide presentation for a sermon comes in at 14 slides. My shortest has only six. Most sermons will break the twenty-minute mark, but you should definitely try to avoid breaking that thirty-minute mark. Finally, any text smaller than 30-points gets hard to read.

Do Use (Some) Built Text. Your average sermon will have numerous scripture references. Pick those scriptures most relevant to your point, and cite them on the slide. This can be helpful for those following along and for those taking notes. Have those scriptures appear as you get to them so the audience does not get ahead of you and disengage.

Do Use Images. I don't mean clip art here. Use quality images that reinforce your point, that create emotional impact associated with the topic.

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The first slide uses clip art and a business theme. Number two uses a stock image and an organic theme.

Do Use Themes. Choose a nice background for your slides. Don't make it busy or the color too bold– a simple texture should do – and avoid "business" themes. Use a background that has a natural feel about it. Textured paper or light stone should do.

Don't Overuse Transitions. Stick mostly with simple fades and dissolves. Save big transitions for big points, such as your summation. Too much animation will distract the congregation, and the message will become secondary to the show.

Don't Write Out Scripture. This is an easy one to fall into. If you have some words you want to pull out of a scripture, build those words onto a slide as you get to them in your reading. Don't just paste the entire scripture up there and highlight the words.

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The first has a lot of visual distractions. The second is much clearer on the main points.

I've seen preachers have three or more slides straight containing one long scripture reading. First, this practice creates walls of text that just get unreadable. Second, by the time you get through all the slides, the congregation has forgotten what was highlighted on the first slide. Build in the key words. Your point will be stronger for it.

Don't Use "Cool" Fonts. You want the congregation to be able to read the text you do put on your slides. Avoid neat-looking fonts that obscure legibility (and remember kids: 30-points or higher).

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The first makes me want to get my eyes checked. The second is much clearer.

Finally, be prepared to slip your slides in amidst other slides the congregation may be using – for standard announcements, song service, etc. When I occasionally preached at a congregation that used slides like these (and I wanted to use Keynote for my slides), I would replicate the standard-use slides, so my computer could be used for the entire service. Otherwise, I would switch to PowerPoint for the day. If you do want to use different software than the congregation traditionally uses, make it seamless. Don't put someone in a situation where they have to try and switch computers mid-service.

Hopefully these tips help those of you that present slides along with your sermons. Remember, if you are taking the time to make slides, then it is worth doing those slides well. Churches deserve good presenters as well!

Tags: 10-20-30, readability, eye candy, themes, sermons