After yesterday’s workshop “Fishers of Men or Keepers of the Aquarium–Reclaiming Our Call to Minister to the Unchurched, Non churchgoing and Uninvolved” I received emails with questions and requests for specific content in today’s follow up session “What Got Us Here Wont Get Us There: The New Skills Needed for the New Evangelization.” Much of it wasn’t what I had planned to say and as odd as it sounds, I was pumped about that. My favorite part of every workshop, etc is Q & A. It is an opportunity for me to hear the actual needs of folks in the ministry trenches, and offer specific help within their specific situation. And often, we get to continue the dialogue via Facebook or email after the session if I deem the content not applicable to the larger audience.
Also, since I get asked this question a lot “How do you write your talks?” I figured this would be the best way to answer. As you can see I don’t “write them” I brain dump. After this brain dump in my notebook, I’ll try to order ideas, points and stories on a yellow legal sheet of paper–all the while deciding what to leave out. What doesn’t make it into the “presentation” is just as important as what does. Then I’ll write a about ten points on a note card or some other page in my notebook that I’ll refer to if necessary during my presentation. It is at this point, and not until this point, that I begin organizing, amassing visual/audio aids. Most often I use Keynote which is very light on words and image heavy. I use LOTS of slides…because they’re free! I always use 42 pt Impact font w/ black and red text on a white background because this is easiest to see even in poor lighting–which you can almost always count on–poor lighting.
