A Difference-Making Ministry for Any Christian
The experience of preaching is very different from the front than from the back, when facing the congregation than when facing the preacher. The congregation faces one man who is doing his utmost to be engaging, to hold their attention, and to apply truths that will impact their hearts and transform their lives.
The pastor, meanwhile, faces many people who are doing many different things. Some are scolding their children, some are checking their email, some are staring into space, some are taking a good nap. A man does not need to preach many sermons before he realizes he can have two tracks playing in his mind at the same time, one of them preaching and the other observing and analyzing what’s going on around him.
But what a preacher loves to see when he looks toward the congregation is listeners who are thoroughly engaged with his preaching. He loves to see people who are doing their utmost to fight through distractions, to set aside imperfections, or even to forgive downright boredom. He loves to see people who mean to glean all they can from his sermon, who mean to wring every little drop of goodness out of his feeble words. He comes to learn that some congregants minister to him even while he ministers to them.
It can seem at times like the communication during a sermon goes in only one direction—that the preacher only gives and the people only receive. But that’s not the case. The congregation also gives and the preacher also receives. He receives the messages they communicate through their posture, through their body language, and even through the words or sounds they verbalize. Many a preacher has been discouraged in his preaching only to be encouraged by a barely audible “amen.” Many a preacher has heard an internal whisper telling him he is preaching the worst sermon anyone has ever heard only to find himself buoyed by a nodding head or a grunted “mmhmm.” Many a preacher has learned that certain listeners are key encouragers.
Not all of us can preach, but all of us can listen. Not all of us can apply ourselves to diligently expositing the Word, but all of us can apply ourselves to diligently receiving it.
And this is a ministry for any Christian—the ministry of engaged listening. It is one way that any Christian can be involved with the preaching and one way any Christian can minister to the preacher. You can listen deliberately and attentively. You can bear down and lean in. You can hold your Bible open in your lap and hold a pen ready in your hand. You can make eye contact and share a smile. You can nod your head in agreement and (if appropriate in your context) utter a subtle or resounding “amen.” In these ways and more, you can take up your part in the preaching.
Not all of us can preach, but all of us can listen. Not all of us can apply ourselves to diligently expositing the Word, but all of us can apply ourselves to diligently receiving it. And preaching is at its very best when the preacher and the listener alike take their role seriously and do their utmost to bless and serve the other.
So why not make it your goal to be an engaged listener? Why not make it your ministry to listen attentively and well? The preacher will thank you for it.
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A La Carte (September 13)
Good morning, my friends. May grace and peace be with you today.
(Yesterday on the blog: The Stranger in Smokeland)
5 Reasons to Read Your Bible Beyond Practical Application
“Treat personal application as the only consistent outcome for your Bible reading, and you may simply miss out on these other benefits the Lord wishes for you.” Here are some good reasons, beyond practical application, to be committed to reading your Bible.
What Fills the Earth
What fills the earth? It’s a good and valid question with a number of answers.
Getty Music Sing! Conference Today
The Getty Music Sing! Conference begins this afternoon and is available via livestream. Today’s speakers include Alistair Begg and H.B. Charles. There is also an interview with Voddie Baucham, a talk from Dane Ortlund and, of course, lots of music with the Gettys, Shane & Shane, and others. It will be quite a day! You’ll need a Viewing Pass to watch the livestream. (Sponsored)
Transcript of Todd Beamer on Flight 93
Denny Burk shares the transcript of Todd Beamer on Flight 93. It gets me every time, especially because of his steadfast faith. “Todd Beamer was and evangelical Christian and one of the heroes of Flight 93 on September 11, 2001. His last conversation with a telephone operator named Lisa bears witness to great courage and grace. He left behind a pregnant wife and two children. Read every bit of this, and remember.”
The Overcommitment Cycle
“Overcommitment is a perennial problem for me. And I’m betting it is for you too.” Reagan Rose discusses a very common problem.
Kindness
On the one hand this is obvious, but on the other, we need to be continually reminded. “If we want a kinder world, we can’t wait for everyone else to make the first move.”
Serve Outside the Spotlight
“The antidote to hypocrisy is humility. What good deeds do you do that are seen by few or none? When did you last volunteer for a menial task?” This one is geared primarily toward pastors, but will apply to others as well.
Flashback: 3 Types of Fool
Os Guinness portrays three types of fools in the Bible: The Fool Proper, The Fool Bearer, and The Fool Maker. I found it a fascinating discussion.No sorrow is too great to endure if it reveals to us some new beauty in Christ, or brings out in us some new feature of Christ-likeness. —J.R. Miller
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A La Carte (November 28)
May the Lord be with you and bless you on this fine day.
There is a good little list of Kindle deals today. I have also included a list of some popular general market titles that have been discounted for the day.
(Yesterday on the blog: How Long Has It Been Like This?)
On Culture War, Doug Wilson, and the Moscow Mood
This is a really solid, helpful article from Kevin DeYoung in which he expresses his concerns with Doug Wilson and the movement he has built. “My concerns are not so much with one or two conclusions that Christians may reach if Wilson becomes their intellectual mentor. My bigger concern is with the long-term spiritual effects of admiring and imitating the Moscow mood. For the mood that attracts people to Moscow is too often incompatible with Christian virtue, inconsiderate of other Christians, and ultimately inconsistent with the stated aims of Wilson’s Christendom project.”
Instagram Addicted Your Teenager Because She’s Worth $270 to Them
Some newly redacted documents related to Meta show that the company studies teen biology in order to promote addiction and that it gladly chooses profits over mental health. Chris Martin explains. (See also the WSJ covering how Instagram’s algorithm promotes sexualized content to adults who follow children.)
Christianity vs Everybody
How could a good God allow evil? Is the Bible homophobic? Is Christ really the only way? Whether you’re new to the faith or have been raised in Christianity your whole life, these questions have most likely crossed your mind, perhaps even creating serious doubts for yourself or someone you know. If you want to deepen your own faith or help those who are struggling, we invite you to join us for our weekend seminar, “Christianity vs. Everybody,” hosted by DBTS. (Sponsored Link)
I struggle with dark intrusive thoughts that scare me. What do I do? (Video)
Mike Emlet provides some counsel for people who battle with intrusive thoughts.
Jesus was not born in a stable—and it really matters!
I have read a number of explanations as to why the common understanding that Jesus was born in a barn is not exactly accurate. This article lays out the argument with clarity.
Turning Your Complaints into Gratitude – A Great Challenge
Kevin lays down a great challenge—to deliberately labor to turn your complaints into gratitude. You will know, of course, that only one of those comes naturally!
The Complementarian compass
“When we think about questions relating to the relationship between husbands and wives in the home and the role of men and women in the church, we tend to think of the debate being primarily between complementarians and egalitarians with a binary choice. I want to suggest that there are good reasons for not seeing the conversation in those terms.” This one is worth reading and considering.
Flashback: The Sad, Sad Story You Need To Tell God
You have lost the light of God’s face, not because He has arbitrarily withdrawn it, but because your iniquities have come between you and your God; and your sins, like a cloud before the sun, have hid His face from you.Pastor, do not let your vision for the church you want get in the way of God’s vision for the church you actually have! —Jared C. Wilson
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All the Compassions of All the Tender Fathers
We refer to the first person of the Trinity as “God the Father,” and it is important to understand that God’s fatherhood comes before any fatherhood among human beings. In other words, God did not create human fathers and then begin to describe himself in reference to them. Rather, God has always been Father and created human fathers in reference to him.
Thus, when our earthly fathers act in compassion toward their children, they are merely imitating the compassion of the heavenly Father. “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:13-14).
Yet only God is infinitely, eternally, and unchangeably compassionate, which is why Matthew Henry can say that “all the compassions of all the tender fathers in the world compared with the tender mercies of our God would be but as a candle to the sun or a drop to the ocean.” Even at our finest moment, we are only ever the palest imitations of the perfectly and wondrously compassionate God.
And yet what a joy, what a blessing, what an honor that we can be that—that we can be even a pale imitation of One so marvelous, so compassionate, and so lovely as our Father. No wonder, then, that we pause on this day to celebrate our fathers and our Father.
(Excerpted from my forthcoming book Understanding and Trusting Our Great God (Words from the Wise))
