Free From the Fear Of Repetition

Rev. Mark Hankins says that Kenneth E. Hagin (or Dad Hagin as many refer to him) set him free from the fear of repetition. Dad Hagin could tell a story, and you may have heard it a thousand times before, but he always managed to captivate you with it.

So many times as speakers, pastors, preachers and teachers we fear repeating our vision, message, or story.

Here’s how I believe we can be FREE to share our timeless message in fresh ways:

1. Study: Find out how someone else is telling it. Know every facet of it. Become an expert on your message. Dig deeper and find the treasures. You can never over-study or know too much about what you are sharing.
2. Tell it in a new way: Say it another way. Make it a game. Make it a song. Make it your creed. Be creative. You have the same God that created the universe on the inside of you. Tap into HIS creativity. You  have God’s ability on the inside of  me! You are creative because I serve the creator!
3. Have confidence in your message: If you don’t believe it no one else will. Teach with authority. Be bold, don’t EVER apologize for the message or repeating the message. Don’t ever belittle yourself and your ability before your audience. (This is not to say we aren’t transparent about our mistakes.) If you get up and tell everyone that you are sorry they have to listen to you, etc: they will be sorry they have to listen to you. I am reminded of a story about Lester Sumrall who was a mentor to my former Pastor, Brian Bohrer. The movie “Glory” was shooting near the town in Arkansas where Pastor Brian was pastoring at the time.  Lester Sumrall had preached at his church that week and wanted Pastor Brian to take him down to the set so he could go talk to Johnny Cash. Pastor Brian reluctantly did so and when they got there he just follow Lester’s lead. He walked right through the barricades with authority, no one in security stopped them because he looked like he belonged there because he acted like he belonged there. YOU belong sharing the message and vision you have.
4. Practice, practice, practice: I’ve heard it said that if you haven’t gotten tired of hearing yourself share the vision you have not shared it enough. I believe that is the same with a good message.

Update: since I just got back from my Infuse 5 retreat I thought it would be good to repost this. Brother Jim Wideman has been known to repeat his stories to get his point across. I loved the refresher course this weekend.