The Message Was Good! Why Weren't They Moved?

Dear Follower of the Great Commission: I am all too well aware that those who prepare God's Word for delivery often do so with great anticipation and hope. These well-meaning men and women hear God's call in the Great Commission. They get motivated and prayerfully act on that call. Sadly, their messages have little or no impact. They are left confused and in doubt of their calling, and their paramount question is, "Why, Lord?" They want to know what happened. They truthfully studied and diligently prepared their message. In other words, they faithfully did their part, but people who heard the delivered word seemed unmoved. This, too, puzzled me. I pondered and studied this for years, and I am fully convinced that God gave me the complete answer; thus, I wrote this book. What are my credentials for doing this? I taught in high school for almost forty years. I have a Master of Education degree and more than thirty graduate hours beyond that. I started debate clubs and have been a coach and advisor, studying the process of delivering speeches. This became my cherished professional hobby. In 1972, at the age of thirty, I invited Jesus into my life and I began a personal relationship with Him. All that training in education and debate, I dedicated to His service. I began to read and study the Bible on a daily basis. Over the years, I became active in church as a deacon, Sunday school superintendent, and Sunday school teacher. Here is where I developed a special love for God's Word. In the last several years, I turned to the study of how best to deliver God's great, impacting message. There is little doubt that God Himself prepared me for this study, and God's messengers who would impact the world need to apply the findings of this study. The world today groans under the weight of many crushing problems, but it is not presidents or politicians who have the solutions. The rescue agents are those who fall under the Great Commission, and that's you! You can effectively lay out God's solutions if you follow the strategy found in the Scriptures, and you can do this with powerful influence that can change the world. A dear evangelical preacher of more than thirty years, who pastors a church on the New York - Pennsylvania border, read this book and made the following comment: "I would highly recommend this book as required reading for every minister and ministerial student. It is one of the most practical cries for and description of 'anointed preaching' that I have read. For too long the church has tried to dazzle people with new music, new technologies and methods, and missed the high calling of preaching the Word under the power of the Holy Spirit! Thanks, Louie, for your inspiring words! Pastor Dan Pickering Sr. Pastor: Buena Vista Wesleyan Church"