This is from Thom S. Rainer.
I’ve actually assembled more than ten things church members have
told pastors immediately after they preached. But these are ten
responses where pastors have had the most visceral reactions.
These ten responses are close approximations of what pastors have actually told me. I am sure there are many more. Let us hear what they are.
- “I am going to be late for lunch because you preached so
long.”
- “You must not have had much time to prepare that sermon.”
- “My former pastor preached a much better sermon from that
text.”
- “I wish {fill in the blank} would have heard that sermon.”
- “You act like you weren’t feeling well while you
preached.”
- “I’m sorry I fell asleep while you were preaching. Your
voice just puts me to sleep.”
- “Your subject/verb agreement was incorrect three times in
your sermon.”
- “I wish you wouldn’t preach from the Old Testament.”
- “Let me tell you what you missed in your sermon.”
- “Are we ever going to be done with this sermon series?”
These ten responses are close approximations of what pastors have actually told me. I am sure there are many more. Let us hear what they are.
One thing I hear to often, "We don't have much time we must hurry along." This applies not only to the Sermons but also to all the classes including Sunday school. With so much to comprehend, such as unfamiliar words, phrases and context I feel myself getting overwhelmed and anxious of falling behind. As I become more familiar with my ESV Bible I become quicker in finding the subject that's being discussed. But still as I'm looking I find myself distracted and fail to follow what is being said. The Bible app. on my phone is helpful in that I can find the subject matter somewhat quicker, but still find myself rushing to keep up. Even jotting down notes becomes a challenge. When my mind becomes overwhelmed. and hopefully before I snore, I catch myself nodding off. To process the information coming in, takes time which seems to be in short supply.
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