The Need for Sticky Ideas
By Trevin Wax on Jun 18, 2009 in Book Reviews | 
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Think back to the most memorable sermon you have ever heard. Now think about what it was that made that sermon memorable. Chances are, it was an illustration. Some analogy or story gripped your attention.
I remember attending a youth event where the preacher delivered a message about the dangers of thinking you can control your sin. The illustration he used was so powerful and vivid that fifteen years later I still remember them both – the point of the sermon and the illustration he used to make his point.
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
Made to Stick is not a Christian book. Anyone entrusted with the task of communicating concepts to others can benefit from the insights here. But having read Made to Stick, I cannot help but see the practicality of these principles for preachers and teachers of God’s Word.
According to the Heath brothers, there are six principles for “stickiness” in communication:
- Simplicity
- Unexpectedness
- Concreteness
- Credibility
- Emotions
- Stories
In expounding upon each of these principles, Chip and Dan provide us with a wealth of stories and examples. They show the difference between an “un-sticky” and a “sticky” idea. Most of the time, the packaging of a concept or idea is what makes it sticky, not the idea itself.
Chip and Dan also warn against some of the dangers in communication. One villain is what they call “The Curse of Knowledge.”
“This is the Curse of Knowledge. Once we know something, we find it hard to imagine what it was like not to know it. Our knowledge has ‘cursed’ us. And it becomes difficult for us to share our knowledge with others, because we can’t readily re-create our listeners’ state of mind.” (20)
Many pastors and teachers struggle here. We know the biblical text and the context, but many of our listeners do not. We must take great care to avoid the Curse of Knowledge as we preach, and Made to Stick helps us figure out ways to circumvent this natural tendency.
There is much food for thought in this book:
“An accurate but useless idea is still useless.” (57)
“Common sense is the enemy of sticky messages. When messages sound like common sense, they float gently in on ear and out the other.” (72)
Chip and Dan also tell stories of people who have succeeded at making sticky messages. I love the story about the Subway guy – the man who lost weight from eating sub sandwiches. This personal story helped boost Subway’s sales by giving them a new advertising campaign.
The Heath brothers believe we should be concrete and specific in our communication. Church leaders need to heed this challenge. As a discipleship pastor, I have seen mission statements that are hopelessly broad. Take this one for example: “We exist to make full fledged disciples of Jesus.” Sounds great, right? But what does it mean? What does a full-fledged disciple of Jesus look like?
If we are truly passionate for seeing lives changed by the power of God’s Word, delivered through our sermons and teaching, then we should desire that our messages to be remembered. We want our teaching to “stick,” not because our teaching is our own, but because we are setting before our hearers the Word of God.
If there are ways to faithfully present the truth of God’s Word memorably, then we should benefit from them. Made to Stick is a book that helps us fulfill our calling.
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Hi Trevin
Is it true that Jesus was no longer a Jew when after the resurrection? I’m engaging in a debate with some of my extreme liberal friends unfortunately its in our native language (Tongan)and I claimed that Jesus was still a Jew though he had a resurrected body
Seni Penitani | Jun 18, 2009 | Reply
Somewhat off topic for this post, Seni…
Anyhow, I would argue that Jesus is still a Jew after his resurrection, just like he is still a male after his resurrection.
Trevin Wax | Jun 18, 2009 | Reply
thanks for the review. anything that will help us make the gospel STICK is worthy of consideration. often, however … it is the powerful illustration or story that tends to overtake the text. wish someone would write a book about how to use effective illustrations that leave the TEXT sticking to heart and mind.
ie: ever see a really captivating commercial on t.v. but not be able to recall the product it was trying to sell?
pastor jim sharp | Jun 18, 2009 | Reply
another thot comes to mind. study the illustrations of Jesus to discover the common charateristics of a good illustration. btw … how come the epistles have next to no illustrations, parables or interesting stories?
pastor jim sharp | Jun 18, 2009 | Reply
Jim,
Pastors should be careful to not let stories overtake the text. But you must, at some level, wrestle with the fact that for Jesus, often the stories WERE the sermon. I’m not saying we should do away with our preaching and just tell stories; I’m only pointing out that we have precedent for using stories in our sermons.
Regarding the epistles, I think we have to make sure we’re not comparing apples to oranges.
First off, the epistles are not sermons, so to speak. Different medium, so the message is packaged a little differently. I know that if I were writing a letter to my church, it would look different than a manuscript of my sermon.
Secondly, I find many illustrations in the epistles.
The examples of Abraham, Hagar, etc. in Paul.
The story of Paul and Peter’s showdown in Galatians.
The soldier picture in Ephesians 6.
The picture of a Christian who needs help in the epistles of John.
The rich man taking the front seat at the poor man’s expense in James.
The Bible stories recalled in Romans 9-11.
The athletic metaphors of Paul.
Simply put, I don’t think the epistles can be classified as having next to no illustrations, parables, or interesting stories. They may not have parabolic material like Jesus’ sermons, but they are demonstrably illustrative.
Trevin Wax | Jun 18, 2009 | Reply
thanks brother! i am instructed (and corrected) by your response. one thing is certain (to me at least) … everything we do in a sermon that is “extra biblical” must be subservient to the text.
pastor jim sharp | Jun 18, 2009 | Reply
Trevin, thanks for this review. I’ve seen this book and had some interest. I may take a closer look now.
Jim, have you ever listened to Byran Chapell, Pres. of Cov. Sem. preach? I just saw him live at Advance09 and he was also at the Gospel Coalition this year. He is a master at using sermon illustrations and tying them into Scripture. He also has a daily podcast and his Cov. Sem. class on preaching is all online with lesson notes, handouts and mp3’s.
Mark | hereiblog | Jun 18, 2009 | Reply
mark ~ thank you for the chapell resource. i will check it out … also will take a look at your blog. we both have trevin to thank for these discussions and connections.
pastor jim sharp | Jun 18, 2009 | Reply
Jim, you’re more than welcome. Chapell’s class on Christ centered sermons is great! If you have trouble finding it please let me know.
Hope you like my blog.
Trevin, please forgive me if you find this intrusive.
Mark | hereiblog | Jun 18, 2009 | Reply
Not a problem, Mark. I love Chappell’s stuff, and his book Christ-Centered Preaching is a must-read.
Trevin Wax | Jun 18, 2009 | Reply
I had put this book on my wishlist ages ago, thanks for the debrief, Trev!
I wonder, would you mind sharing the details of this with us?: “I remember attending a youth event where the preacher delivered a message about the dangers of thinking you can control your sin. The illustration he used was so powerful and vivid that fifteen years later I still remember them both – the point of the sermon and the illustration he used to make his point.”
I am very interested to hear it! And perhaps it would be a good followup example to the principles you’ve outlined here.
Thanks!
Aaron Rathburn | Jul 6, 2009 | Reply
Sure… Here it is:
A story is told about a certain animal trainer that worked under the circus big top.
The spotlight hit the man in the center ring, standing boldly with his legs slightly spread and his fists clenched and resting on each hip.
Another light immediately hit off to his side enabling the crowd to sight a slithering boa constrictor moving along the ground toward the trainer.
As the man stood still, the snake began to wind its way around the man’s leg and then across to the other; and then to his torso and around his chest; then through and around each arm until the man’s body was totally entwined and the snake reared its ugly head above him as though peering at the crowd.
The audience stood in amazement and broke out into thunderous applause, which was almost immediately interrupted by a blood-curdling scream.
The boa constrictor had flexed, squeezed the trainer to death, and caused him to collapse with almost every bone and organ in his body reduced to pulp.
The trainer had owned this snake from birth. At any time in infancy, he could have crushed it between finger and thumb, but instead:
He took it in and allowed it to live with him.
He petted it.
He fed it and
He convinced himself he could control it.
Then, in one moment, it crushed the very life out of him.
Trevin Wax | Jul 6, 2009 | Reply
Wow, very visual indeed! Excellent.
Aaron Rathburn | Jul 6, 2009 | Reply