Introduction

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 . . .