How are people applying the truths you’re teaching?
A signature feature of Life Action’s Revive magazine has always been the final section, “Making It Personal.” This is where information turns to application, and where third person switches to first. It’s not just, “Christians should obey God,” but rather, “Am I obeying Him?”
We often receive requests from readers who wish to copy this section to share with others, or to hand out to their congregations. (And we always grant such requests! Feel free to use “Making It Personal” without contacting us for special permission.)
I think this particular feature in Revive gets extra notice because we know, instinctively, that knowledge alone isn’t the answer. Without application, all of the observation, interpretation, inspiration, and even perspiration we can muster won’t change anything.
Christ’s kingdom doesn’t advance when we preach a great sermon or tell a compelling story; it advances when people step forward in obedience to the truth they’ve learned. So we as pastors want to offer tools that help people take what they know and apply it to what they do. We want our churches to be full of “wise builders” according to Luke 6:46-49.
Here are four questions I try to answer when I’m preparing to deliver life application content (spoken or written):
1. What outcome do I hope to see in people’s lives as they respond to this?
This past summer, Life Action Camp focused its attention on the Great Commission. I recall when we were meeting to discuss the outcome goals of the Commissioned theme, we made a list of what we hoped we’d see. (A few items on the list: teens being called to full-time service, families ramping up mission giving, people deciding to reach each house on their street with the gospel, children focusing their prayers and attention on worldwide missions, families working together toward community evangelism.) It was exciting to see that many of the post-camp feedback testimonials reflected those hoped-for outcomes.
An example, then, in the pastorate might be that ahead of a sermon series, rather than just listing the “big idea” of each message, also do a little dreaming. What would people specifically start to do if they really got the big idea? As in, “My church just finished a series on __________, so now I’m starting to __________.”
2. What barriers are holding people back from making it personal?
There is a reason people aren’t already obeying God—what is it? Lack of information? Lack of strategy? Lack of will? Negative peer pressure? Absence of genuine salvation? A persistent sin pattern? Lack of training? By listing out the barriers keeping a person from obedience in a given area, we can become more precise in our exhortations.
For example, one thing I’ve always appreciated about Life Action’s church events is that they anticipate where average people are starting from. The goal is that people would joyfully seek God’s kingdom first in their lives, families, and communities.
The barriers most people face are pride, unconfessed sin, lack of repentance, bitterness, and lack of personal obedience. And these barriers are compounded by negative family and church relationship issues. So, in our events, we address these barriers head-on—not as messages in and of themselves, but as part of a larger vision to get people from the sidelines to the front lines of Great Commission living.
3. What examples could I show of others making it personal?
We’re all inspired by those who really put their faith into action; more than just inspired, we are also informed. How did they do it? What barriers did they have to overcome? What have the results been?
I’m sure your experience is similar to mine in this regard. Even if people forget the message points, they don’t forget the stories we tell!
Once I’ve identified the outcome goal and the barriers people face, I ask questions like these: Is there a biblical or historical character who walked through this? How about contemporary examples, or even personal examples from my life or from our church family? Is there a creative way I could showcase this, beyond just telling a story (pictures, video, live interview, etc.)?
4. How will I ask them to start making it personal?
In many cases, this may be as simple as inviting people to obey what they’ve learned. (“So how about you? Will you repent?”) In other situations, it may be that new ministries or strategies need to be employed to give people specific on-ramps to application (e.g. a community outreach strategy to help people start evangelizing).
This is worthy of prayer and consideration, and to me, this really gets to the core definition of what it means to lead people. It’s not just about telling them where to go; it’s about walking with them, and sometimes forging a path in front of them (like Jesus did for His disciples). That makes a sermon really personal!