Danny Goddard

Multi-sensory Preaching

It looked like a typical Sunday morning in a suburb of Oklahoma City.  People entered the foyer of First Church of the Nazarene as they did each and every week but on this Sunday morning they were welcomed by the aroma of freshly baked bread.  Coming into the sanctuary, they noticed the two side walls were lined with small ovens that were in the process of bread-baking.  A glance at the worship folder brought it all together: The order of service announced that the pastor would be preaching on “Jesus, the Bread of Life.”  The message was delivered, as always, in a most eloquent manner, then the service was closed with communion served—from the very bread that had been baking throughout worship.  According to Rick Blackwood, this method of communication is called “multi-sensory preaching” because “… it interfaces with multiple senses.  Unlike conventional preaching, which stimulates only the sense of hearing, multi-sensory communication stimulates multiple senses, i.e. the senses of hearing, seeing, touching and sometimes even smell and taste.” (Blackwood, p. 13)

Ministry at a Time of Death: What Do You Say When You Don’t Know What to Say?

Just yesterday I visited a dear lady in the Henry County Hospital in New Castle, Indiana.  Her frail, emaciated body housed the positive spirit of a beautiful person, one who is strong in her unbending faith.   Unlike the wishes of her family, this woman is ready for her four-year battle with lung cancer to be over.  "I'm ready to go," she told me in front of her husband and adult grandson.  "I want to go," she added.  I held her hand and prayed a prayer of encouragement, not for her healing but for the Will of God to be accomplished.  Being a child of the King, that is the first and foremost desire of this dear lady.  Though we did not express it, we both knew that within a few weeks I will be standing by her casket.

Death is never a welcomed guest but most of us have known someone who has lost a loved one.  Perhaps you were called to one's side at the time of death, especially if you are a good friend or even the pastor, or maybe you were visiting the funeral home during the designated calling hours.  Regardless of who you are, what your position is, or what the situation may be, if you are in ministry, you are confronted with the awkward task of "saying the right thing" when you greet your grieving friend.