“Mark Twain said the difference between the right word and the almost right word is “the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” Twain had an incredible knack for nicely summing it all up, didn’t he?” (50 Trigger Words and Phrases for Powerful Multimedia Content, by Brian Clark).
I’ve just read “50 Trigger Words,” by Brian Clark, from www.CopyBlogger.com. While Mr. Clark is certainly not writing from the perspective of a preacher, or for preachers, I found the article to be very interesting.
There is no doubt that certain words evoke specific emotional reactions. As preachers, our goal is to present a message from God’s word in such a way that people will be motivated to respond. Every time we preach we are issuing a call to action. We want our audience to act on the Gospel’s call to salvation. We want them to be motivated in maintaining the Christian lifestyle. We want them to be moved to action in the cause of Christ. Knowing the right words to use in the right context cannot but help in our efforts to call people to action.
Again, Mr. Clark is not writing as a preacher or for preachers but the information he presents is certainly helpful to preachers. Read it with this understanding and take from it what is helpful to you in your work of preaching the Gospel.
