There is no ‘I’
in ‘TEAM.’
—Author Unknown
There is no ‘I’
in ‘CHURCH.’
—Keith Drury
This blog is about congregational
sermon-listening. It answers the question: How do ‘sermon-listening’ and
‘fellowship’ go together?
For many Christians, listening to sermons
has become an individualistic exercise. Today’s Internet technology and ability
to travel has made it very easy for us to select the very best of the
rockstar-preachers rather than commit ourselves to the faithful pastor who
preaches week-in and week-out in our own congregation. We choose for ourselves
what and who we listen to. Our sermon-listening is a little more self-serving
than it used to be. Some no longer see the local church as a necessary element
in their spiritual growth because they can get their spiritual sustenance from
outside the local church. Neither do they see the fellowship and accountability
provided in the local church to be necessary in their spiritual progress. While
easy Internet access to great sermons preached by great preachers has indeed
been a blessing, there has also been a downside. It’s been detrimental to the
life of the local church, and therefore detrimental to our own personal growth.
Preaching, genuine fellowship, and local church accountability go hand-in-hand.
If you see it—if I see it—and if we both commit to practice it—we all win.
Community-oriented listening to God’s Word
is what we need.
In the past twenty years technological
developments have changed the way we listen to sermons. The Internet, MP3s,
MP4s, Facebook, SimChurch, Christian conferences, long haul domestic and
international flight, blogs, chat rooms, television, fuel efficient cars,
Twitter, the virtual church—technology has revamped the way Christians ‘do
church.’ It started years ago with inventions such as the printing press, the
Ford Model A motor car, and the cassette tape.
Technological advances are good. I’m
connected. I have a smart phone. I like new gadgets. I have a blog. I convinced
my wife that I needed the new iPad. Some of my sermons are available online. I
download other preacher’s sermons and listen to them. I’m certainly not against
using technology for the sake of the spread of the gospel. But here’s the
thing—the impact of technology in the church needs to be evaluated every step
of the way. If we’re not careful the very thing we believe is helping could
also be having a negative effect on the church. For instance, is it helpful to
attend an online church conducting your ‘Christian’ experience through the
representative life of your own personal avatar? Maybe it comes as a shock, but
that’s exactly how some people ‘do church.’
So with recent technological developments
in mind, the first set of posts will describe recent sermon-listening trends. The
second and third set of posts will establish helpful sermon-listening
principles. The main body of blog posts will focus specifically on the
corporate elements of sermon-listening. We need to find ways to experience
church-wide impact from our pastor’s sermons. The next set of posts is for your
pastor. It will encourage him to find ways to connect with the entire
congregation making church-wide sermon-response a possibility. Finally, the
last set of posts will provide pointers for church-goers who find themselves
wanting for biblical sermons.
A subtle and devastating trend is emerging
and it must be seen for what it is—the relegation of preaching in the local
church to an optional extra. This blog solidly connects the preaching event to
local church practice and necessary body-life dynamics. We need to recover
congregational sermon-listening. Will you join me on this journey? We are on
the same team. Let me show you why. Let me show you how.
Catch you again in a week . . .
