| Suppose you are visiting a church and the pastor becomes ill. He knows you will speak in churches, when given an opportunity. Or, suppose that it's Saturday night, and your pastor calls, saying that he cannot speak on Sunday and needs a fill-in. Or, suppose you are at a civic club meeting, and you are asked to speak for ten minutes about the upcoming fundraiser. If you choose to speak, you have little time to come up with appropriate words. What can you do? If you consistently practice the following disciplines, you can learn to speak extemporaneously, or on the spur of the moment. While we prefer more time to prepare for sermons, we sometimes are asked to speak with little notice. I remember visiting my grandmother's church as a young preacher boy. Her pastor, an older gentleman, would ask me to give the message. I asked him why he would ask me on such short notice. He quoted 2 Timothy 4:2a: "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season...." Therefore, here are some tips I have learned along the way after fifteen years of preaching and speaking. They will work at churches, synagogues, civic groups, political rallies, or wherever you have to give an impromptu speech. 1. Study, study, study. This was Charles Haddon Spurgeon's secret of preparation. He would read and absorb information during the week. On Saturdays, he would go into his study and pray for a sermon. Sometimes, he wouldn't know what he would preach until he stepped into the pulpit. The process worked ... |
