DarenWride.com

The Art of Plain Talk

February 18, 2021 by Admin

Way back when I was a young pastor, I came across a book called “The Art of Plain Talk” by Rudolph Flesch. You might recognize the name Flesch from hearing of the Flesch Kincaid scale for reading levels that is used by speakers, copywriters and others to check the level of their communications. It’s also not a bad thing for preachers to use as well.

I found this book by Rudolph Flesch in a library somewhere. In fact, in my mind, I found a discarded copy, but I don’t have it on me now. It highlighted some of the principles of just talking plainly and clearly.

Who Are The Fish?

February 8, 2021 by Admin

The big question of the day is who are the fish? Who are you fishing for? I was going to call this topic, who are you hunting, but the appropriate bit of biblical metaphor is fishing. He calls us to fish for people, not hunt for people though. Perhaps if Jesus was in a different cultural context, he would have used the phraseology of hunting and made it work.

But we will stick with the biblical picture of fishing and ask the question who are the fish, you know, in business and marketing. There’s a lot of talk about target audience and customer avatar. It almost sounds like a new agey kind of thing.

You Won’t Like The Answer

February 1, 2021 by Admin

Today’s topic is a question: what is the greatest challenge, the greatest need of churches, large and small right now? What is the thing that is bottle-necking, hindering, or in some way slowing down churches of every size from moving ahead?

Unprecedented Pivot to the New Normal

January 26, 2021 by Admin

Do you have a growing list of words you never want to hear again?

This past fall, I very quickly ran out of patience for the words “pivot” and “unprecedented” and “new normal.” These words have gotten old pretty quick partly from over-use, but also because when reflecting on life and history and the nature of the world, the fact is that things are always changing. There are events almost every year, and certainly every decade, that have completely changed everything.

Plans and Interruptions

January 18, 2021 by Admin

This is just a short thought at the start of a new year. Probably by the time you see this it will at least be the middle of January of 2021, but I think the thought is relevant no matter when it is.

Here’s the thought: sometimes ministry, sometimes life is about a plan; making a plan, following the plan, working the plan. In fact, probably it’s true most of the time.

We see Jesus who, when you pay attention to what He was up to in the gospels, wasn’t just wandering aimlessly. He had a plan to develop a core group of disciples to prepare them for the reception of the Spirit and the birth of the Church. He, at different points, talks about how He was working His way towards Jerusalem. He had a plan. He was going to the cross and He was going to rise from the grave.