Brevity
It amuses me that the comments here spend a lot of time talking about the length of a sermon and about my need to parse my sermon down to its bare bones and about how difficult that may be for me. You all are right to challenge me on that issue.
I was especially amused by the note one dear friend sent me privately via e-mail. She wrote: "Lisa, my friend, some of us have heard you explain how to boil water ... and know it's a trial for you to do it in less than 15 minutes."
She is so, so right! I know I am a long-winded Southerner. Everything in my bones and genes and tradition holds that truth comes from a story well told.
As I responded to my friend: I know the sermon has to be brief; I didn't claim it would be easy for me to be brief!
Brevity may be the soul of wit, but I confess it's not a gift that comes easily to me.
Photo Credit: Thanks to this site for the graphic above.
I was especially amused by the note one dear friend sent me privately via e-mail. She wrote: "Lisa, my friend, some of us have heard you explain how to boil water ... and know it's a trial for you to do it in less than 15 minutes."
She is so, so right! I know I am a long-winded Southerner. Everything in my bones and genes and tradition holds that truth comes from a story well told.
As I responded to my friend: I know the sermon has to be brief; I didn't claim it would be easy for me to be brief!
Brevity may be the soul of wit, but I confess it's not a gift that comes easily to me.
Photo Credit: Thanks to this site for the graphic above.
posted by Lisa Fox at 5/04/2009 10:13:00 PM
5 Comments:
You will be fine. I'm betting your inner anal-retentive will see to the brevity part.
What you do in a planned talk is different than conversational life.
If it's any consolation, when I was on staff at the University of Missouri, I once overheard my residents talking about having to tag along with me, and one said, "My God. Doc can't even walk across the street from the U. hospital to the VA in less than 15 minutes. Doc sees two people from Macon and three from Kirksville and has to stop and talk to all of them...and knows the names of everyone in their family, and their dogs."
LOLOL, KirkE! Love that anecdote!
And thanks for the encouragement.
Praying for you! And I love Kirkespicatoid's comment!!!
You know I am just a New Yorker, not southern, but let me tell you, brevity is no gift of mine either.
Share your secrets with me once you figure them out... please!
Count on it, Fran. If I discover the Secret Elixir of Brevity, I'll share it with you all ... but become rich off the proceeds of the patent to others. ;-)
A sermon should be about God and about ten minutes.
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