What have you done to improve your preaching?
If you’re like most of us, you have…
bought books
read some of them
discovered a couple of great tips you incorporated for a few sermons
Mostly, though, you probably got fired up about preaching for your next few sermons, and then the books started to gather dust.
You’ve probably also attended workshops or festivals where you:
listened to great sermons
heard talented speakers
learned some great principles about the practice of preaching
discovered a couple of great tips that you incorporated in your next few sermons
Mostly, though, you got fired up about preaching for your next batch of sermons, and then it all faded.
So how come we learn great stuff but it doesn’t affect our preaching long-term?
“Learning Transference.”
Improving your preaching is hard because “learning transference” is a skill.
What the heck is Learning Transference?
Learning Transference is the fancy academic term for taking what you learn and putting it into practice until it becomes your “new normal."
In other words, Learning Transference is about making learning “stick.”
The reason many books, workshops or festivals fail to improve your preaching is that you don't have a process to make the learning “stick.”
These resources don’t tell you how to take a marvelous theory about preaching and make it practical and applicable.
You don't have a way to clarify confusion: you can't ask questions of a book, and at festivals and workshops, time is limited for Q and A (if it exists at all)
When you do try to implement a new strategy, you don’t get feedback to know if you've been successful
It's easy to let inertia take over: once you put down the book or leave the conference, old habits and routines take over because disrupting the way you've always done something requires more effort and time than simply continuing as is.
As a result, after the initial boost of energy wears off, you’re right back to your old ways.
Getting learning to stick requires a plan.
Master this three-step process to ensure your next investment in professional development produces the improvement you seek.
Step #1: Make predictions about what you'll learn—and hope you get it all wrong.
Before you read the next chapter or walk into the lecture, answer these questions:
What do I think this chapter/lecture is going to say?
What do I want to learn?
What would surprise me?
Making predictions about what you'll learn is called anticipatory learning.
By asking and answering questions about your learning before you begin, you increase engagement through the process. You’ll actively listen for the answers to your questions, revising your questions and ideas as you go.
This engagement increases recall and understanding.
If the answers are what you expect, the learning has been reinforced and that’s good.
If your answers turn out to be wrong, though, that’s even better! We actually remember our mistakes more than we remember what we’ve done correctly.
So get it all wrong!
Step #2: Review your notes and write down your action steps within 48 hours.
I have binders full of workshop notes I’ve taken.
I have books filled with highlighted sentences and enough writing in the margins that not even Half-Price Books will consider buying them.
And have I ever looked at them again? Rarely.
Without investing time to review the information you've learned and make a plan, your learning will be relegated to the proverbial dust bin of good but unrealized intentions.
When you buy the book or make your reservation for the event, make another reservation on your calendar as soon as possible (on the airplane, for example) to review your notes.
Your well-intentioned, fast-scribbled notes will soon lose any meaning without a translation.
The book or event isn’t finished until you’ve digested your notes and made usable sense of them.
When you do go back to review, speak to yourself or write out what you learned in your own words as if you were telling a colleague who wasn’t there. That’s a great way to reinforce the information.
During this time, write down the top three ideas you want to implement immediately, and make a plan for any logistics involved.
Step #3: Tell someone your plan
Saying our intentions out loud helps solidify the information in our mind.
Make a coffee date with a colleague to share what you've learned. Tell your spouse what you hope to change. Heck, have a heart-to-heart with your dog in front of the fire.
Find a way to speak your plan.
Even better, recruit someone to read the book or attend the conference with you. Then you can process your learning as you go and help each other implement change when you're finished.
Having a partner committed to the same learning and improvement you are will help you fight inertia when the demands of parish life seem determined to sabotage your efforts.
I mean, why spend all that time and money and not reap the benefits?
If we don’t master the skill of learning transference, we may as well put our continuing ed money back into Sunday’s collection plate.
If you’re interested to learn more about and get better at this new era of digital ministry, Lexington Theological Seminary is offering a great new program.
Applications are due by July 31st, so don’t wait!
Certificate in Continuing Education in Congregational Approaches to Technology in Ministry
Lexington Theological Seminary Offers CE Certificate to Help with Technology in Ministry
The COVID-19 global pandemic changed the church forever.
Clergy and lay leaders scrambled in early 2020 to figure out how to do church online. From streaming worship and hosting video board meetings to calling church members and receiving online donations, church will never be what it was before March 2020.
While we can pat ourselves on the back for our incredible work and for the creative ways we stepped up, there is still a lot to learn to be the best pastors and leaders in this new expression of church.
To meet this need, Lexington Theological Seminary is offering a continuing education certificate starting September 2021 for pastors and congregational lay leaders facing these new challenges. The Certificate in Continuing Education in Congregational Approaches to Technology in Ministry is a six-course series is designed to meet the needs of today’s leaders in the church. You can study online and earn eight continuing education units (CEUs) within a 12-month timeline.
Courses include Digital Media and Discipleship, Pastoral Care in a Digital Age, Technology as a New Form of Sacred, Ecclesiologies from Avatars to Zoom, Tech Basics for Pastors and Congregational Life, and Digitally Mediated Worship. Learn from theologians, Bible scholars and IT experts how to stay connected and provide deep interactive experiences using the latest technology.
While nothing can replace the face-to-face connection of being together, the pandemic showed us many people had been left out of and left behind in the church family due to physical, geographic, and life situations. We also learned more people can – and want to – participate in worship, educational opportunities, and meetings when they can attend virtually.
Learn more about the LTS Certificate here. You can apply today here. The deadline to apply is July 31.