Preaching Step 3: Build a Map
My grandpa used to say that a driver’s job is getting passengers to their destination as comfortably as possible. You won't be surprised to learn he was not a taxi driver. There’s a big difference between riding with someone who knows where they’re going and someone driving like a tourist. The first scenario is a pleasant riding experience, but the second might have your body cascading throughout the vehicle as your driver makes abrupt stops and turns.
Andy Stanley compares communication with truck driving to illustrate the difference between a preacher who uses an outline and a preacher who uses a road map.* Outlines help speakers organize their thoughts, but each thought is a different idea related to the same topic. The “three points and an application” approach to preaching relies heavily on an outline. Stanley offers this outline as an example: “God wants a man to (1) love his wife (2) lead his wife (3) learn from his wife… but never ever… (4) leave his wife.” Each point is related to the topic, but unrelated to each other. The problem with this approach is that listeners don’t know what’s coming next and they miss the how one statement is connected to another.
A road map is different—it leads a preacher from their starting point to one clear destination. This method offers a simple way to introduce, support, and apply a teaching point. Essentially, the map provides speakers with the best route to their endpoint. Here’s how it works:
ME (orientation) - begin with a dilemma or problem that you are facing.
Key question: What am I talking about? (Remember to focus on one topic that will lead to one point.)
WE (identification) - develop common ground with your audience around the same or similar dilemma.
Key question: How does this dilemma relate to each person who will be listening?
GOD (illumination) - respond to the dilemma by transitioning to the biblical text and uncovering your main point (read about how to develop a main paint here).
Key questions: How does this text relate to the dilemma? How does the main point of this passage provide a helpful alternative?
YOU (application) - challenge your audience to act on what they’ve just heard.
Key question: what step do I want my audience to take?
US (inspiration): finish the message by painting a picture of what would happen if everyone took a step
Key question: What would happen if our church (or city, world, parents, etc.) lived by this principle?
Because the sections in the map relate closely to each other, the transitions between sections can happen quite smoothly. In fact, when I listen to Stanley preach, I sometimes have trouble identifying when he moves from one section to the next. Even still, I suggest scripting a transition statement between sections and practicing this several times out loud before you preach. This will make your message feel like one cohesive talk that will keep your listeners engaged throughout its entirety.
This also means that you should only use content that will lead listeners to your point, help clarify your point, or help them apply your point. Only refer to Hebrew or Greek words if this will clarify your point and only use illustrations that will illuminate your point. Any content that doesn’t support your point will be a distraction. Scrap it from your message and save it for another time when it will naturally fit into your road map.
I felt uneasy the first time I used Stanley’s model. But after my message, I was told by a listener that it was the best sermon she had ever heard me preach. I was still reading and interpreting Scripture the same way. The difference was how I arranged everything else.
Pick a point and build everything else around it. Give it a try and ask others if your new approach has a greater impact.
[Keith Reed is the Director of MinistryLift.
This post is the third in a three-part series on preaching. Read the first called Determine Your Goal and the second called Pick One Point.
*Andy Stanley and Lane Jones, Communicating for a Change (Colorado Springs: Multnomah Books, 2006).