Task 4: Add a second or third level of detail to the outline
Essence of the task
Add a second or third level of detail to the outline that begins to pick up the more detailed study you have done so far with supporting material that explains, demonstrates, applies or expands on each point.
Detailed description
From here on, everything we do to complete the sermon (in one way or another) will be filling in. We already have the definitive skeleton of our outline. Now it is time to flesh out the content.
However, when filling out content, it is important to do so strategically. We must incorporate what the biblical text requires of us (everything we have studied) and do it in such a way that it advances the argument of the main idea (homiletical idea) of the sermon and achieves the established purposes.
For this, a good word processor, such as Microsoft Word, which has magnificent features for the development of outlines, can be extremely useful. As we add content, it allows us to visualize more easily whether we are giving similar importance to our second-level points. The same is true for our third level points. This also helps us to scrutinize the logic of the argument of each section of the outline.
To Do
The content of the second and third level of the outline will obviously be taken from the notes that we have been compiling in our exegetical study of the passage. It is everything that we have prepared that is important to include from…
- Advance Preparation
- Context
- Structure
- Content
Above all, we should include any material that, at the time, we specifically prepared to be included in the outline. Material such as our introductory and contextual summaries, didactic descriptions, and applied interpretations. The task is to gather, from our previous work, everything of relevance that needs to be incorporated to support the argument we have mapped out with our outline.
If it helps, you can also think about this task in two steps.
Step A: Determine what to include.
Go through your outline point by point, asking what content needs to be included to fill in that point adequately. Chances are that you have content on hand that is ready to be inserted from your previous exegetical and hermeneutical study.
If it is not so clear just what to include from all that, the following questions may lend some clarity to the matter. As you will see, this is a new application of the developmental questions we saw in Thursday’s Task 2.
- What needs to be done here at this point?
- Does anything need to be restated? What?
- Does something need to be defined or explained? What?
- Does something need to be proven or defended? What?
- Do I need to apply something? What?
- With what kind of material will I strive to do this?
- Do I have exegetical material to include?
- Should I incorporate an interpretation?
- Should I get additional factual information about something?
- Should I introduce a quote?
- Should I narrate something?
- Should I include an illustration?
- Would a joke be good?
Step B: Incorporate what needs to be included or a note about it.
Once you are clear about what to include, you need to incorporate it into the outline. This can take several forms.
- Expansion of the outline. This can be a second-, third-, or fourth-level subpoint that you will develop further in a short while or, if you are writing a manuscript, that you will develop fully on Saturday.
- Content already prepared. If it is content that you have already prepared, such as one of the summaries “for repeated future use” prepared in previous days, you can include it in its entirety, right away.
- A note about some content you already have. If you know you have content but do not want to incorporate it fully at this time, add a note about it in the appropriate place (e.g., “Include the quote from Sanjaime, p. 76, here”).
- A note about something that still needs to be researched. If you see that additional study is still needed on a particular point, leave a note at that point in the outline to remind you of it. Then, when you find the right moment, set about researching that question and your conclusions once you have studied it.
What you want to have when you finish this task is to have gone from a minimal outline to an amplified outline. You will probably go from a one-page outline to a 3-4 page outline.
The important thing is that while the outline you have at the end of tasks 2 or 3 gives you a clear idea of the general direction of the sermon, the outline you have at the end of task 4 will be one that – if necessary – you could use to preach extemporaneously, because all of the ideas are represented, even if they may not fully developed, yet.
To Keep in Mind
It is important not to write too much at this point in time. There are two main reasons for this.
Both of them have a common purpose.
- To not lose sight of anything important. You have done a lot of study in the previous days. You have a lot of material. Therefore, you should make an effort to ensure that all of that work has a balanced representation in your sermon. The surest way to ensure that this happens is not to go into too much detail on any specific point until every point has received some initial development – at the outline level.
- To not write too much on any one point. In a moment of “inspiration” it is possible to write and write and write, only to realize, later, that you have not left yourself enough time to develop other equally important points of the passage. When that happens, you end up wasting valuable time removing content that you have already written.
However, there are certain times when you feel “inspired” and it may be prudent to capture that inspiration «cover to cover». You have to use good judgment, and with time you learn to know when to let yourself be carried away by a burst of inspiration and when not to.