I told you that to tell you this

I grew up in church. My father is a preacher and pastor. Growing up, hearing him preach or teach every week, I picked up on patterns or repetition in his speech pretty quick. One thing he would say just about every week, multiple times even was "I told you that to tell you this" or some variation of that phrase.

He would say this in order to be as simple and strait forward in his presentation as possible. This phrase became a mechanism he used to explain the foundation he was building as he spoke before going on to the application or takeaway. When I was younger, it was just "a thing my dad always said." As I look back, I see it as more than that. I see it as a lesson on the importance of building a foundation.

From that I draw two applications. The first has served me well as a public speaker, teacher and minister. 1) I learned the value of developing a good introduction. Whether I am delivering a speech to a group of students or leaders, teaching a class or sharing the gospel, I've learned that building a foundational introduction helps prepare the audience for the main portion of the talk. It also prepares the hearts and minds of the hearer to act.

The second has served me in many other areas of life and has a much broader application. 2) I've learned that establishing strong foundations enable us to move forward. "That" comes before "this." So, practice comes before performance. Study comes before understanding. Financial literacy comes before financial freedom. You see where this can go. In order to grow, expand, and move up, a strong foundation is required. So, what foundations are you building?