There was once a young man who aspired to reach great heights. In order to make it to the very top, he planned carefully to make sure he was prepared for the journey. He started by carefully researching the trip. He considered the many risks and began to gather the necessary provisions for the journey.

He spent time budgeting for the experience, carefully researching the possible providers of the provisions, after which he then encouraged the suppliers to improve the price they quoted. He then began the long and arduous task of fundraising, asking every friend, family member and colleague to contribute to his dream of climbing the pinnacle of his hopes. When he had received enough money, he began to dutifully acquire the many items on his list, paying careful attention to ensure that he remained within his original budget.

Then, when he was confident he had collected enough items for his journey, he then began to make the appropriate bookings for the trip. He compared the costs of different airlines and evaluated the different routes that were available for the journey. When he had committed to one carrier, he then finally started to pack for the journey. He gathered together all of the things he had purchased, and then placed them within the backpack, taking care to minimise wasted space.

Finally, the day arrived when he headed off to the train station to travel to the airport. After he arrived at the airport, he boarded the plane and embarked on his journey of a lifetime. After a day on the plane he arrived at the destination, and hopped into a taxi to take him to the foot of the mountain. He then prepared to climb the mountain. He was pleased that his planning had paid off, as he was able to meet all of his requirements. He worked hard, day and night, climbing to the peak. And after three days, he reached the very top of the mountain. Do you aspire to reach great heights?

Missed the point?

Have you heard a talk that starts like this? It seems all too common for our preachers to use the first two or three minutes to give an illustration or story that captures the attention of the hearer, and then try and segue them into the main point of the talk.

However, in this culture of shorter-than-ever attention spans, are we failing to achieve our objective?

Are we using up the most valuable time in a talk with filler, only to deliver our important material later in the talk when people have mentally left the building?

Instead, what if our preachers tried dropping the opening story, and launching straight into the main point? Or what if they began by announcing the passage, stating the big idea, and then getting straight into the text?