Task 5: Revise and refine the manuscript at all levels
Essence of the task
Revise and perfect the manuscript at all levels, so that now, with the benefit of a comprehensive view of the whole, you can achieve a refined outline or manuscript that has extraordinary structural coordination, dynamic development and memorable expression.
Detailed description
My experience is that performing this task is often what separates a good sermon from a superior one. It is not an absolutely necessary task. The outline or manuscript is already finished. You could go into the pulpit with what you already have. It wouldn’t necessarily be a big deal.
However, any writing manual would tell us that there is something different and important about being able to edit the text once the draft is completed. Besides, if we think that (on a human level) the difference between good and excellent preaching can turn out to be the difference between a rebellious youngster yawning or paying attention, or an old lady deciding to spend the rest of her days watching soap operas or actively supporting missionary work, one realizes that one more effort given to the whole thing may well be worth it.
I do not mean to inflict, with this, a sense of guilt if we do not devote every spare moment to the thorough improvement of our sermon. I doubt that the Lord will judge us for not polishing and polishing and polishing our manuscript until we can polish no more. However, I do want to affirm, from my own experience as well, that there is something different about the kind of revision and refinement one can perform on one’s sermon once it is completed. Therefore, if you have the energy and time, it may well be worth the extra effort.
To Do
As a minimum, it can be very useful to think of three kinds of revision: (1) revision of the argument, (2) revision of the development, and (3) revision of the style. I detail each of these in summary form below.
1. Plot revision (outline level).
- Look at your outline again.
- Is its development clear?
- Does it follow a logical sequence?
- Does it effectively meet the objective you set for the sermon?
- If someone were to read only your main points, would they know exactly what the passage teaches?
- Based on this walkthrough, adjust, redistribute, and clarify any elements of the outline or structure that need it.
2. Developmental revision (paragraph level).
- One of the most interesting skills at this point is to learn how long it takes you to preach one page of your manuscript.
- In particular, it is helpful to monitor how long it takes to preach a page that has a certain font size, a certain number of lines per page, and so on.
- Alternatively, there is the possibility of monitoring this issue with the word count feature of your word processor that tells you how many words your manuscript has, and knowing how many words per minute is your normal speed of communication.
- Why is this interesting to know?
- For polishing.
- Some of my most dynamic sermons have been the result of having a draft that was 10 minutes longer than the time I had available for the sermon.
- This has forced me to go through the entire manuscript asking myself the following questions:
- Where am I repeating myself?
- Is this paragraph really necessary?
- Does this sentence advance the argument as I originally thought it would?
- And even if our draft is not too long, a general revision to iron out, improve, or even change sections comes in handy.
3. Style revision (sentence level).
- The task here is to improve expression.
- As you go through your manuscript, see if you can find five to ten expressions that lack life and express them with other words that will give them more punch.
- If you have a synonym tool in your word processor that may help.
- For example, instead of saying, “very hot,” say “boiling.” Instead of “very interesting,” try “witty.” (See Robinson, p. 190)
- You often hear hackneyed phrases in sermons. By way of sample and practice, try to find a metaphor for each of the following that will give them more strength. (See Robinson pp. 190-191)
- man without God is lost
- salvation is the most precious gift
- the just shall live by faith
- sin ruins man
- God is sovereign
To Keep in Mind
To repeat what I said above, we must be careful not to fall victim to the idea that we must perfect and perfect and perfect. That notion might even suggest that deep down we think that everything depends on us.
Besides, there are other responsibilities we have in the ministry, and we must keep everything in proper balance. It would certainly be better to make a pastoral visit to some members of the congregation than to invest yet another half hour in the fifth revision of an already perfected manuscript.