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Pastor Rene Shlaepfer of Twin Lakes Church in Aptos, California, taught a large crowd at the 2001 National Pastors Conference how to use PowerPoint to enhance preaching. Shlaepfer produces slides that are creative, engaging, stunning, and far more professional than most PowerPoint presentations we've seen. Leadership wanted to know how he does it.

How do you make PowerPoint presentations appear professional?

My first rule is to keep the slides simple. An uncluttered slide is more likely to be memorable than a complex one. The slides also have to be readable, so maximizing visibility with large fonts and highly contrasting colors between the writing and the background is essential. The little old lady in the back row may already be predisposed against media presentations—you don't want to make it worse with slides that are difficult to read.

I encourage continuity throughout the presentation. Common elements in color, font, background, and artwork integrate the presentation seamlessly with the message.

Do you use PowerPoint with every sermon?

Most of the time. I create a title, a color scheme, and a logo for each sermon series I preach. I use them not only throughout the message, but also on the bulletin, in the foyer, and even on the sign out front. The visual elements invite the church to focus on a theme in a memorable and collective way.

Slides can also bring cohesiveness to the whole worship service. We use slides to project welcome messages and mood-setting images as the service opens.

How do you keep the medium from becoming the message?

The slides should never be obtrusive, and they should never dictate the substance of the message. Slides should underscore key words in a passage, repeat an effective quote or stat, or visually illustrate a mood or story. But any pastor who says, "You'll notice on the screen . …" has overstepped this critical rule and torn the audience's focus away from the message.

When I want the audience to really focus on what I'm saying—during stories or testimonies—I insert a black slide so the screen is blank.

I also think it is important to rehearse. Knowing what's coming and when frees me to focus on the message instead of the technology.

What should be avoided in constructing slides?

The quickest way to doom a presentation is to settle for good enough. PowerPoint enables you to pull images off the Web, incorporate movies and photos—there's a host of awesome possibilities. Don't settle for the templates and images that come with the program; everybody's seen them.

The same is true for the built-in features of the program—the wipes and flips and dissolves between slides. There's a true story of a Navy admiral who was confined to an airplane while another officer gave a video presentation that used every transition and animation in the program. When they landed, the admiral was so disgusted by it he ordered his subordinates never to use PowerPoint in his presence again!

Design the slides for people, not to show off the computer.

How do you make slides really pack a punch?

People respond best to images. Photos of faces, especially those of babies and people they recognize, leave a lasting impression. Our staff keeps a couple of digital cameras circulating to capture images of our people and ministries for my slides. The congregation really stays tuned in when they think they might see themselves in the sermon.

Copyright 2001 by the author or Christianity Today, Inc./Leadership journal.
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