"And by the way, lest you think that Jesus taught some wishy-washy, "can't we all just get along" kind-of-message, let me just say it this way: Nobody ever crucified Big Bird."
Paul Risler
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I wrote that line for my sermon this weekend. For some reason, I just like it. But this afternoon, I cut it out of my message (as well as the whole larger section of which it was a part).
I hated to see it go.
People often ask me what's the hardest part of preparing a sermon. I think most people expect me to say that it's the research, or coming up with illustrations, or getting started, or ending the message...
For me it has always been the edit.
Almost without exception, every message I write (a finished message is approximately 20 half-sheets of paper long) is whittled down from about 40 pages. Usually the Tuesday before I preach a message, I have this 2-hour-long message that I run through. I take it on the treadmill, on the elliptical... I carry a copy of it in my coat pocket. I have even been known to read the entire thing into a voice recorder and play it in my car on long trips. I work on it whenever I have an extra couple of minutes.
And with each section, each paragraph, each line, I try to ask myself, does this REALLY support the main point? Does this REALLY make people wrestle with this text? Does this REALLY shed any extra light on anything?
Or do I just like it?
See, here's the thing: I think some of my best stuff ends up on the cutting room floor.
It's stuff I WANT to say, but I have to discipline myself not to say it.
Sometimes it's stuff I have poured hours into finding, wrestled with theologically and personally, mulled over anywhere from 6 weeks to a year or more. It stuff that I think is funny, or clever, or illuminating...
And it never gets said.
At least in that message. At least for now. Maybe there will be a time. Maybe there will be a season and I will give it a shot. But not now. Even if I WANT to say it.
Discipline.
Focus.
Wait.
It's good... but is it the best thing I can say?
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I think some of the best stuff in life ends up on the cutting room floor.
Or at least it should.
Each of us has so much to do and so many options. And sometimes, the hardest part in life is the edit. It is asking ourselves, "Is this REALLY going to add to my life? Is this the right thing for my life right now? Maybe it will fit better later, but given my priorities and what God is calling me to do... is this really what I should do? Is this really something to add to my schedule? Do I really need to take this on?"
Discipline.
Focus.
Wait.
It's good... but is it the best way I can live?
I think some of the best stuff in life ends up on the cutting room floor.
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6 comments:
Can I put some of it back in the Director's Cut?
I love reading your thoughts. I always find some treasure that I can take away and make into my own. Thanks for sharing.
i like patrick's comment.
we could do director's cut podcasts!
saturday is a bit of that at times!
I also vote for Director's cut podcasts. :o)
Very good thoughts here, Paul.
I also wrestle with how to tell the difference between things that are good but distracting or just too much, and things that are more central to my life and purpose. I'm not sure I know how to tell the difference at this point.
Perhaps that means I need to refocus my thesis statement. :o)
My Dad always used to tell me regarding writing: "That sentence you love so much that you feel like you can't cut is the one you should cut." I think the point being the flourishes are often just that, flourishes. And if the flourish is more about how smart you are or how funny you are than it is about the main point, then it should go.
And yes, that definitely applies in life too. Although I'd never really thought of that before you pointed it out.
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