I’ve gone to church my whole life. I’ve heard lots of sermons on what we should do or not do, what we should believe or not believe, etc. Lots to work on every week. Endless things to study and be disciplined about.

Then we moved and started attending a new church. The pastor was masterful at leading us into repentance and freedom. I’d never experienced anything like it. And he was doing it consistently. How was he doing it?

It took me two years of studying his leadership and comparing it with the Bible to understand the flow of his talks. Then finally at a men’s retreat I was able to predict his process.

1. We came in numb, not thinking we were too far from God, or too close to the world.
2. He showed us the gap between our reality and what God has for us, creating the tension needed for change.
3. He invited us to surrender our lives and receive what Jesus offers.
4. Then we had ministry time, where we got set free of this world and received the love and power of God

I call it “The Fish Diagram”. It helps me every time I prepare a talk.

I use it to make sure that I’m not preaching self-improvement. If there’s no exchange in my talk, there’s no gospel: