First Gospel Message

I attend church at the Denver Gospel Hall, where there are gospel meetings in the morning and evening on Sundays. The gentlemen who attend the Denver Gospel Hall are asked every month or so to preach during these meetings. After participating for a little over a year, I was deemed ready to speak, and I was asked to speak on May 12th, 2013. While it was only going to be a 15-minute message, I was still very nervous. Due to my reserved personality, I have never been very comfortable speaking in front of people, especially large groups. I would much rather sit in the audience and listen to someone else give a message. I do not enjoy having an entire congregation of people staring at me while I speak. However, I felt like I was ready to take on the challenge of public speaking, and this was the perfect venue.

 

I still remember what it felt like to give my first message. As the clock ticked closer to 11:30 am, I remember being extremely nervous and my hands shaking. I said a short prayer prior to heading up to the platform and then it was time. As I walked to the platform, I was hoping I would not mess up or forget anything. As I began to speak, the nerves slowly went away. I made my way through the outline and delivered a clear message. Before I knew it, the 15 minutes was over. I did it. I was so relieved to be finished speaking and I knew I had the ability to speak again in the future.

 

This artifact definitely represents growth in my life, as well as the development of a skill. Before this process of self-actualization, I would have likely said “no” to the offer to speak because it would be avoiding risk and putting myself out there. I would not want to have to take the time to prepare a 15-minute message and deliver it in front of a congregation of 75 people. However, something inside told me to go for it, so I did. Then I quickly realized how much work this task was going to take. After accepting the offer to speak, I was left with nothing but a deadline: May 12th, 2013. Having very little prior experience in the realm of public speaking, I began to wonder how I was going to craft a message and eventually deliver it in front of a room of people. I initially struggled to find a subject to base my message on, and I was running out of time. Eventually, I searched the Internet to find some verses to use as examples to further my points. I worked for the better part of the Saturday before my message to iron out the details. I found out that I have a preferred way of planning out my speeches. Most people tend to make an outline of their speeches so they can refer to it as they move through their presentation. I make an outline, but I also write down almost every single word I am going to say. I find this comforting because, in case I lose my train of thought, I can look down and be right back on track, reminding myself of what I am supposed to say next.

 

 Here is a small excerpt of my outline:

 

• 2 Kings 5:1-14

• Story of the commander of the Syrian army, Naaman

• Story points out that he was a very important man

  • He was the commander of the army of Syria

  • Imagine being in charge of the army of the United States and what type of power and influence and fame you would have

  • Everyone knew who Naaman was and I’m sure he could get about whatever he wanted

  • It also says that Naaman was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper

  • Leprosy is an awful disease that was a big deal back then

  • Today it can be treated with antibiotics and will go away

  • It’s a white and scaly disease that causes body parts to become numb and diseased

  • It pulls the cartilage back into the body which can shorten or deform fingers, toes, and other body parts

  • Doesn’t cause them to fall off

  • If you had leprosy you were considered an outcast (Gospel Message 5/12/2013)

 

As you can see, I wrote out almost every word in my outline. I think this is a direct reflection of my personality in the sense that I like to be secure. In the event that I forget where I am in my speech, I have every word I need to say right in front of me. This is both a positive and a negative. On the positive side, I will deliver an effective message because it is planned out and secure. On the negative side, sticking to the script leaves less room for reading the cues of the audience and altering my tone or content, and fewer opportunities to ad-lib if I find it necessary. Since this first gospel message, I have given about fifteen more, as well as leading Bible studies with the whole congregation. If I never took that first opportunity, I find it hard to believe that I would be as comfortable speaking in front of audiences as I am today. I am much better at public speaking than I was before because I voluntarily jumped into the proverbial deep end. As I speak publicly more and more, my outlines contain fewer and fewer words. I am significantly better at reading the visual responses of the audience and tailoring my message to cater to what I believe they want or need to hear. As this process of self-actualization continues, I hope to get to the point where I have a skeleton of an outline and I can speak clearly and freely but claiming my viewpoints and knowing that I have something valuable to share has already been a profound lesson for me.