Touchstones

(Source:  Nowhere,  I actually just made them up).

I looked up the words on Dictionary.com, and neither definition fit this application, so, yes, I just made up a definition.  Wow, I feel like I”m back in grade school again and didn’t do my English homework!!

What if for a small investment and a little thinking ahead (even a quick shopping trip), you could cement your message in the minds of your audience?  What if that same effort resulted in your men being equipped to share spiritual lessons with their wives, children, and friends?  These are the power of touchstones, and while effective with all audiences, they can be especially helpful with men.

There’s a similarity between these and what in many childrens and youth ministry circles are called “object lessons” – lessons which are often the most remembered part of a church service.

From a childhood trip to the Oregon Coast

Here’s the main difference – with an object lesson, you share an object and teach a Bible lesson around it.  With touchstones, you’re actually sending the reminder home with your audience.

Why?  For the same reason many people have snow globes from New York or ugly frogs made of shells from the beach.  Emotionally the trinket takes you back to the experience you had years, sometimes decades before.

We’ve added this page because we’re surprised how little this idea is shared or talked about.

Here’s how it works. In preparing your message, think of ways to connect your talk back to a small token (of minimal cost, you don’t want to be giving everybody Super Bowl tickets!)  Either during your talk or at the end, distribute this object to the audience and close by bringing their minds back to the key point you want them to remember.  Challenge them to carry the object with them that week (or longer).

Then, as your men empty their pockets at night, they will see the touchstone and what they heard. As they grab change for coffee at work, they will see it and perhaps use it to spark a conversation with their coworker(s).  Fathers can take it and share the lesson with their families.

Nails given out by Joe White.

Speaker Joe White has used touchstones with great success – most notably (in my mind) with a small nail with Galatians 2:20 on it that he uses following talks about the cross of Christ.

Some churches tie their touchstones to a “Men’s Huddle” at the end of the service, where only men of a certain age are invited forward for a final quick point (2-3 minutes tops) and the touchstone.

Some men will “collect” the touchstones and can look at the pile of miscellaneous items months later and still recall the key point or action plan of the message.  How many of these same men do you think remember the last month of acronyms, four points and an application, or 7 lessons from Scripture brought to you by the letter ‘C’?

Below are just a few ideas, to help you get started, but mainly to trigger additional thoughts and ideas of your own.  In time, a simple walk through the Dollar Store may generate more touchstone ideas than you have messages to speak!

SAMPLE TOUCHSTONE IDEAS:

1.   Nails                         -  Crucified with Christ, Sacrifice

2.   Puzzle Pieces        -  Body of Christ – we need each other for the big picture

3.   Small Stones         -  David & Goliath, trusting God with what you have

4.  Rocks                        -  Building a memorial for what God’s done
.                                              “Dad – what are those rocks for?”

5.  Green Army Men -  We are in a Battle for Men’s Souls

6.  Animal Hide            – Sacrifice, Cain’s versus Abel’s

Interested in more?  We are in the process of accumulating a larger list of ideas, including Scriptural references.  Some have been used, and others have just come up in brainstorming.

While it would be impossible to generate a complete list (that would mean there are no more creative ideas out there) we do think there is value in pulling these ideas together – if churches/groups will use them.

EMAIL US to request the list.  We hope to have a final list ready to go out by mid-March, possibly sooner depending on how preparation for several talks in February/March go.  If there is interest, we are also considering putting together a small booklet to make available as well.

If you use these ideas or the concept in general, drop us a line and let us know how it turned out.

Additional Resources on the topic:

- Read more about touchstones (and many other ideas that can help your church connect to men) in David Murrow’s “Why Men Hate Going to Church” (revised for 2012).   You can also read about one church’s experience with touchstones and the men’s huddle (along with other great teaching ideas for men) on Dave’s website, www.churchformen.com.