On Intros
Seriously, I am with Mike----I don't really approach intros as attention-getters for non-Christians. I do use them, though, even if they're somewhat cursory.
I think a good intro acts like the cast of a spear: It directs the congregation's mind in the direction you want it to go and sets the agenda for the sermon. In other words, it puts the congregation's minds on the ideas you want their minds on. If you do it well, you can actually get your congregation thinking about, for example, whether a commitment to truth necessarily undercuts love, rather than whatever it was they were thinking about before they started listening to you.
I don't think it's useful, though, to use an introduction just to grab attention. People try that all the time by telling a joke or something that has little or nothing to do with what they are about to preach. Yes, that grabs attention, but only for as long as the joke is going on. After the laugh, when you say, alright, let's talk about love and truth, you lose them again immediately.
Ideally, I'd say, an intro will get your congregation thinking about a certain set of questions, and promise a thoughtful answer to those questions coming up in the rest of the sermon.
This is why I like Ligon Duncan's introductions. He has started you thinking before he has really begun. I heard him say in an interview that he did not think he did introductions well. I had to email him and humbly disagree with him. I always find his introductions enlighting.
Posted by: Wayne Roberts | Jun 15, 2009 3:01:37 PM
How about the way Matt Chandler begins his sermons? He says something like - All right, how are we? We good? Let's get going.
Posted by: Mark Lamprecht | Jun 16, 2009 10:42:24 PM