Posted 22 February 2023 - This interview gives valuable insight to some of the skills that pastor Andy Stanley uses to communicate with his audience. In many ways it's an update of his excellent book Communicating for a Change, published over 15 years ago. - His "Map" of ME-WE-GOD-YOU-WE is a proven effective stepwise method to identify with his target audience, capture their attention, seek the answers in Biblical text, and then suggest both individual and global application. Most of his messages still follow this basic formula today. - Other techniques to hold his audience are also mentioned: - making each message about ONE point or topic. If you have more than one point, then it becomes a series, over several weeks. - carefully worded Introductory statements, which may include a "tease", to capture interest. - Summary questions, to help the audience remember the message. But this interview is certainly not the whole picture of Andy Stanley. There's a lot more to what makes him so effective as a communicator: - when preaching a series of messages, he is careful, in his introduction, to craft a succinct yet very complete synopsis of prior talks in the same series. This brings the new listener on board, as well as refreshes the audience's memory. - his delivery is conversational, more guiding than preaching. - he focuses on persons in the room, even when knowing his true and eventual audience is far wider. - he draws in his audience with respectful inclusion, using statements like - "hey, you already know this, but..." - "haven't you sometimes felt the same way?" - he creatively reads Biblical text in the present tense, with interjections and asides, making the words come alive to the listener. - he uses occasional gestures and gentle self-admonishing chuckles to emphasize his point. - in his book, Andy suggests the preacher avoid using acrostics in a message. Yet he does enjoy other elements of wordplay, and uses them often. Some examples, from his book Not in It, to Win It: - "pay attention, to the tension" - "Jesus came to replace, what was in place" - "Jesus neither commanded nor commended" - "Jesus liked people who were nothing like him, and they liked him back" Perhaps most importantly, Andy Stanley is a credible, believable person. He dresses modestly, has a comfortable but not ostentatious lifestyle, and freely admits owning the same human feelings as the rest of us. He acknowledges his mistakes, confesses his weaknesses (I'm not a very good pastoral counselor), and continues to learn from others he admires. In short, he is viewed as trusting, and thus worthy of my attention. Couple all that with a close, sincere, and humble relationship with God and Jesus, and it's easy to understand why many people find his insights valuable and worth a listen.
"Craft a message"? Stanley is more a Twister of Scripture. Not once in this did he speak of studying in context and give examples of how to find the meaning. Not once did he offer citations of known quality expositors of scripture or places to go study to mine out the meanings of scripture. Not once does he encourage people to study deeper in a way to become close with God. But what he does offer are his own strawman arguments and assessments and his own philosophy of life then goes full speed and in an uncaring manor to twist Gods plain word to make scripture say something that it actually doesn't say. Beware of this wolf in sheeps clothing.
