Organizing Your Talk
Problem/Solution
Using James 4:1-10
Here is a tool to help you organize your thoughts for a more powerful and engaging presentation of your message.
This tool is one way to organize your talk. For you it may be a great start or it may offer an alternative to a method you've been using. It’s based on a written message from the Bible book of James. Follow along in James 4:1-10. As you will see, James presents a logical outline to his message in six simple steps.
Step 1: Raise a problem.
Step 2: Reveal the source of the problem.
Step 3: Explain the problem.
Step 4: Lay out the consequences of the problem.
Step 5: Propose a solution to the problem.
Step 6: Call the audience to take action.
Let's look at these steps in more detail.
I. Raise a problem by making a statement, telling a story or asking a question.
James uses a question. He asked about their quarrels and fights in verse 1a. They knew what he was talking about and he named it like he saw it – fighting among Christians. The problem could have been something else. In your presentation it would be something that your particular audience recognizes or would quickly recognize if you were to raise it.
Maybe your message is on the problem of broken marriages or the problem of Bible illiteracy in the American church. Raise the problem with a question, an engaging statement, a story or a combination thereof.
II. Reveal the source. In verse 1b James reveals the source of the problem. Here is where you reveal the source of the problem you raised. James says, "Don’t these fights and quarrels come from the battle within you?" Now you know where he’s going. You could use a story, quotes from an expert, statistics or Bible passages to help you reveal the source of your problem. If your topic is broken marriages you could give results of a survey that point to the source of the problem, or the works of a reputable author. On the topic of Bible illiteracy you could probably get some quotes from a Bible society suggesting the source or you might want to talk about the effects of post-modernism or television on Bible reading.
III. Explain the problem. "Mine" its depth and breadth. James, in verses 2-3 gets down to the root of the problem. Here is where you can expound on why you feel that the problem came from that source. Talk about it in more detail. Show how it has spread or increased or become more insidious. Give a clear description of it. On the topic of broken marriages you could explain how communication has gotten worse in our society so that even married couples don’t know each other or selfishness has become so insipid that it tears couples apart. On the topic of Bible illiteracy you could explain that many church attendees don’t even know an apostle from an epistle. If you haven't used a story yet, this would be a good place.
IV. Lay out the consequences of the problem. So there are consequences we need to know about if we don’t solve the problem. Here is another good place for a story that illustrates how one family experienced disaster through a broken marriage or how Bible illiteracy resulted in severe consequences.
V. Propose a solution to the problem. If you have a ministry that addresses the problem, here's where you talk about the mission and programs of your ministry. If you've written a book, talk about the content here. In any case, this is where you give them the meat of the message.
VI. Call the audience to take action. See James 1:7-10. This is the place to bring it home. You’ve convinced them there is a problem, you’ve shown them the source of the problem and explained it, along with its consequences, in detail so they can’t ignore it, you’ve proposed a workable solution and now you’re entreating them to act on that solution. You may suggest they use the services of your ministry. You may suggest they read your book. It all depends on the purpose of your presentation. The solution for James’ audience was to humble themselves. Solutions for the marriage and illiteracy problems could come as a program of help from your organization. You can see that this approach to organizing your talk would work well for almost any message.
How to use this presentational method as a novelist.
1. Raise a problem, something from your book(s).
2. Reveal the source of the problem. (Give illustrations from your book.)
3. Explain the problem, perhaps giving some of the background research that helped you write the book.
4. Reveal the consequences of the problem. Describe the consequences your characters encounter or options you considered and didn’t use.
5. Propose a solution to the problem or several possible ones – good and bad ones – without indicating which one your characters took.
6. Lay out a call to action. Here’s where you turn it back to the audience and personalize the problem as their own, challenge them to respond and to read your book.
