He Doesn't Know the Territory

"He Doesn't Know the Territory!"  This is a line from "Music Man," one of our family's favorite musicals.  Taylor was one of the "Pick-a-little" girls in a production her middle school put on.  Very fun.

But the quote is good as a warning for preachers too.  You need to know the territory.

Even Professor Harold Hill, who didn't know the first thing about boys bands, spent time getting to know the people of River City in order to present his sales pitch in a way that they couldn't resist.

Preachers need to do the same thing.  That is why, except for a few rare situations, the local pastor is the best one to minister from the pulpit.

For some time in my ministry as a corps officer, I was glad to get a break when a DHQ officer came.  One time, a DHQ guest said to me, "I will either preach or pay for lunch."  At that time, I was glad to preach, so that our corps could save some money.  Other than that, I would have the DHQ guest preach.  I thought they might have something to say to our people.  But I found that they didn't really connect with the people.  It wasn't that the content wasn't good, or that it wasn't well-prepared or well delivered.  But I knew my soldiers better.

Visiting preachers don't connect well from the pulpit because they don't have a relationship with them before the sermon begins.

Many of you can remember, as I do, Commissioner Andy Miller, when he was guest speaking, he would roam the auditorium, not only before the meeting started, but sometimes while the meeting was happening.  He would talk with people, "read" their faces, pray with people and get a sense of the crowd.  He would let the Holy Spirit inspire him as to what he should include in his sermon.  Sometimes, he would use something he learned just a few minutes before in his sermon.  Other times, I am convinced, he actually changed what he was going to preach in order to match what he was sensing among the people.

Commissioner Miller knew the value of connecting with the people before the sermon in order to connect better with them from the pulpit.

Here are a few things I remember that help me "know the territory."

1. Pay attention to news events.  Maybe you switched your sermon just after September 11, 2001, or just after the Haiti earthquake.  If you did, you understood what your people needed to hear.  After all, preaching is about meeting needs, and crisis is a prime time to allow the Bible to apply to uncertainty.
2. Use personal examples.  When I spoke about faithful service, sometimes, I would refer to some soldier in the congregation who was a great example of that.  They aren't perfect examples, and I risked embarrassing them, but it really connected with the congregation that day.
3. Listen to what you hear on Sunday morning.  If someone is going through a crisis, or has a story of victory, maybe it's time to delay the sermon and have a short time of prayer or testimony.  More than once, I have ditched my planned message because God was doing something incredible in the meeting - I just had to step aside.  
4. Address known issues.  Because you have been working with the families, you know what faith issues people are facing.  From your face-to-face ministry with them through the week, you can tailor make your sermons to meet those needs.  Maybe it's an illustration, or a whole sermon.  Other times, you may decide to construct a whole series to help your people deal with today's life challenges.
5. Watch faces.  This is my weakest area, because sometimes I "zone in" to my message and don't realize what is happening as I am preaching, but sometimes, you can see pain or distraction on someone's face.  At those times, be sensitive to what God is stirring in your heart to say.
6. Go with a distraction.  Even in the most peaceful of corps environments, an interruption comes.  Maybe it's a crying baby or a disruptive kid.  One time on an Easter Sunday with a visiting preacher (I wasn't there), a child pulled the fire alarm.  If there is a distraction, understand that even the most focused congregation member is distracted.  If you keep preaching without skipping a beat, you will lose your audience's attention.  My advice:  Acknowledge the interruption, laugh about it, then return to the sermon.  It might even serve as an illustration to something you are already talking about.  I suppose that comedians know better how to deal with hecklers, but preachers need to be nimble (and humble) enough to deal with an interruption with grace.

As I write this, I am preparing to "guest speak" before a group of people, most of whom I don't know.  I hope to do a little bit of "working the room" in order to be better connected for the message.

What do you do to make sure you are connecting with your audience?

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