Engage People and Build Trust with These Three 3 Preaching Ideas

There is a relationship that exists between a speaker / teacher / preacher and his or her audience. The entire experience is built on three pillars and whether people remember what you say and act on it depends on these three factors: ethos, logos, and pathos.

Ethos refers to the speakers life off-stage. Your audience needs to know that your life supports your message. While you may not need to be fully transparent about all of the details of your life when you speak, you do need to be authentic.

Logos refers to the content of your message. Obviously, for pastors, this means accurately representing the intent of the biblical author and applying ancient principles to the context of the audience.

Pathos has to do with the suffering and agony of the speaker’s heart – the intense desire that the audience take the message and live it out. It involved emotion, passion, and the conversation between the speaker and the hearers.

All three are vital to communicating well.

Speaking, teaching, and preaching carry an enormous and weighty responsibility. People will make decisions based on what you’ve said. So watch your ethos, your logos, and your pathos carefully.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brandon Cox

Brandon Cox has been a Pastor for fifteen years and is currently planting a church in northwest Arkansas, a Saddleback-sponsored church. He also serves as Editor of Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastors' Toolbox, and authors a top 100 blog for church leaders (brandonacox.com). He's also the author of Rewired: Using Technology to Share God's Love.

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comment_post_ID); ?> Thank you for this information. I'm going to use this article to improve my work with the Lord.
 
— Abel Singbeh
 
comment_post_ID); ?> Thank you Ed for sharing your insights into the Church Growth Movement. I have my reservations with Church Growth models because it has done more damage than good in the Body of Christ. Over the years, western churches are more focused on results, formulas and processes with little or no emphasis on membership and church discipline. Pastors and vocational leaders are burnt out because they're overworked. I do believe that the Church Growth model is a catalyst to two destructive groups: The New Apostolic Reformation and the Emerging Church. Both groups overlap and have a very loose definition. They're both focus on contemporary worship, expansion of church brand (franchising), and mobilizing volunteering members as 'leaders' to grow their ministry. Little focus on biblical study, apologetics and genuine missional work with no agenda besides preaching of the gospel.
 
— Dave
 
comment_post_ID); ?> Thank you for sharing such a good article. It is a great lesson I learned from this article. I am one of the leaders in Emmanuel united church of Ethiopia (A denomination with more-than 780 local churches through out the country). I am preparing a presentation on succession planning for local church leaders. It will help me for preparation If you send me more resources and recommend me books to read on the topic. I hope we may collaborate in advancing leadership capacity of our church. God Bless You and Your Ministry.
 
— Argaw Alemu
 

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