Creating a verbal landscape
In my previous post I was talking about the use of language to create landscape. That landscape can be anything from a rolling vista of hills tumbling down to the sea, to the built environment of a labyrinth. Carefully used, language can introduce heights, depths, texture and even weather to the audio environment. The catch, of course, is the words ‘carefully used’. Without it, language can create a flat and uninteresting environment under a leaden sky.
I have just finished reading an excellent post by Church in a Circle about active learning. The ideas range from physical movement to sensory perception and should be read by any communicator. I use many of the techniques outlined in the context of a teaching environment, such as The Disciple’s Way, the Lent Course or the Lifeshapes course. Often when I preach on a Sunday, though, I simply speak. Occasionally I use video, and often I use projected images on powerpoint, but little beyond that.
Have I abandoned my communicative principles? Not at all. However, there can be a ‘novelty threshold’ in given environments, and it pays to know where it lies. This may well apply in a Sunday morning service. Not only that, but the onus is on the preacher to ensure that the language used in preaching embraces exactly the principles outlined in the Church in a circle post. The preacher’s language should touch on all the senses, it should encourage discovery rather than dictating certainty and it should get people talking. This is a big ask of the preacher – but listening is a big ask of the congregation too.
Having said all that, I intend to conclude my worship service today by inviting people to paint a little water onto the pages of a book like the one below. This comes at the end of a sermon on John 10 v.10.
Care to guess why?
Image: 4.bp.blogspot.com
