Why Collect Materials?

Welcome to Packrat Week! This is the first in a series of posts about the art and science of gathering material for sermon prep:

Why Collect Materials?

At the root of any Bible lesson or message is an exposition and application of a Biblical text. But most people are not willing to sit through a lecture (unless they are paying $20k a year for Bible College). That is why pastors and teachers use illustrations, personal anecdotes, pictures, videos, and other types of material designed to enrich the message.

No one wants to hear stock jokes or illustrations that you got from “10001 Sermon Illustrations.” Nor does anyone want to hear about your friend’s uncle’s friend or some other outlandish (and unbelievable) story. The best type of stories and material for a message are those that are personal and authentic (to the speaker or the audience).

While in High School, my youth pastor enlisted me to teach the 3rd and 4th Grade boys lesson on Wednesday nights. This was where I cut my ministry teeth, learning how to prep and present a message to boys whose attention span was smaller than a gnat. At first, I presented the lessons almost word for word from the curriculum, which caused the students (and myself) to go crazy with boredom. Over time, however, I was able to add my own personal stories and illustrations to the lessons, making them slightly more bearable.

It was at this time that I started keeping track of personal stories and illustrations. Funny stories my friends would tell, personal experiences, bizarre stories I saw online, they would all go into a filing system. Eventually this developed into a “packrat” mentality, where I actively tried to collect anything I saw as potentially useful. As I continued with this habit, my lessons would contain less of the stock material and more of my personal touch. I was able to shape my message for the intended audience, making it more relative and personal.

In their book Speaking to Teenagers, Duffy Robbins and Doug Fields write on the importance of collecting material (and touching on the “packrat” mentality):

“Every effective speaker understands the need for more ideas, statements, ads, illustrations, phrases, titles, cartoons, graphics, articles, books, and quotes – anything that might contain potential content for your messages (the keyword is might) The goal of gathering is to have on hand plenty of material that you might use when you begin to prepare a message.” (p. 95).

Tomorrow, I will discuss sources you can use to find materials and to start your sermon material “packrat” mentality.