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.Share
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.

For as long as there has been truth, there has been division over the truth—over what is consistent with God’s revelation and what is aberrant, over what pleases him and what grieves his heart. Richard Baxter was no stranger to this reality and, aware of his own sinfulness, penned a prayer meant to plead God’s help in times of controversy.

Lord God, when controversies occasion division among your people, may I look first to the interest of the common good and to the exercise of charity.
May I not become a passionate contender for any party or censure the peaceable.
May I not overreach my understanding or try to win esteem for my orthodoxy or zeal.
May I suspect my own unripe evaluation and silence my opinions until I am clear and certain.
May I join the moderates and the peacemakers rather than the contenders and dividers.
For division leads to the ruin of the church, the hindrance of the gospel and injury to the interests of true religion.
Keep me, I pray, from being misguided; from being carried away by passion or discontent; from worldly interests; from thinking too highly of my own opinion.
May my zeal be more for faith, charity and unity than for my opinions.

(Drawn from Into His Presence)

Good morning from very hot very humid Cambodia. I arrived safely yesterday and today have little on the schedule for today but an 8-hour drive to our filming location in the northern part of the country.

Today’s Kindle deals include a good number of interesting titles.
(Yesterday on the blog: Follow Without Seeing, Die Without Receiving)
Watch and pray
Susan Lafferty reflects on Jesus words to his disciples: “Watch and pray.”
Why Did Jesus Institute the Lord’s Supper on the Passover?
Keith Mathison explains what the Lord’s Supper has to do with Passover.
Did Jesus Rise From the Dead? Three Historical Facts (+ Four Explanations That Don’t Work)
I’d say that the title of Justin Taylor’s article gives a pretty good idea of its content!
A Simple Step in Building Relationships
“What are some ways that you can stop right now and be present and attentive to those you love? How can you respond to the simple bids they are prompting you with?” Lara tells what she has begun doing in hers.
Four Reasons to Be Early to the Sunday Gathering
“What if you showed up to the Sunday gathering just 10-minutes early? Here are some reasons that I think it would be a good idea to give it a try.”
Beware of Those Who Make a Virtue of Doubt
“Christianity Today has published an article about doubt that, if true, would make Jesus into a sinner.” Denny Burk offers an important correction.
Flashback: The Joy of Forgetting What You Need To Remember
One of the great difficulties many of us wish to overcome in life is the fear that we will miss something, neglect something, forget something. We fear that we will miss an appointment, neglect a responsibility, forget a deadline. And as long as such fears remain present, we have trouble relaxing, we have trouble setting our minds at ease.

Repentance requires that we draw near to Jesus, no matter what. And sometimes we all have to crawl there on our hands and knees. —Rosaria Butterfield