It’s fairly often that people apologize to me for something that happened in a church service. I’ve heard lots of great apologies.
“I’m sorry I fell asleep.”
“I’m sorry I had to rush out.”
“I’m sorry my kid lit his hair on fire.”
I love church—both the people of God and the worship services. I love the oddities that can happen during a church service. I’ve had fire alarms go off during a Father’s Day sermon (thanks to an intern who attempted to make scones in the kitchen). My first thought was, is this the way the trumpet sounds at Christ’s return? At the church I pastored in Indiana, the heating element went out for a baptism in January. The woman to be baptized insisted we go through with baptism despite the ice in the baptistery. She took the polar plunge and came up gasping a Holy Spirit language I’ve never heard before nor since.
If you’ve ever spoken to a crowd, then you probably know the feeling of looking out at everybody as a rush of thoughts consume your mind. So what exactly am I thinking while I preach?
First, I don’t notice exactly who is getting up. I learned a long time ago not to get upset when someone leaves during a worship service. It could be a bathroom break. It could be that person got an emergency text from a family member. Or it could be that you hate what I’m preaching. At any point during a sermon, someone is moving around. Unless you’re doing jumping jacks in a leotard, it’s not likely to bother me.
Second, I’ve always got something on my mind, even when I’m mid-sentence. Just like the people listening, I’m working through a spiritual battle to stay focused. Have I ever thought about what I’m going to do on Sunday afternoon while preaching? Yes. Have I ever had stray, random and distracting thoughts compete for my mind during a sermon? Yes. Sometimes I say a (very short) prayer asking God to keep me on task.
Third, with the way our lights are situated, I don’t always see your face. So it’s not often that I notice someone sleeping. However, when your wife violently jabs you in the side with her elbow while you’re snoring and you jar awake quickly, I do notice it. And like everyone around you, I chuckle inside.
Click here to read more.
SOURCE: SamRainer.com
Sam S. Rainer III serves as president of Rainer Research (rainerresearch.com), a firm dedicated to providing answers for better church health. He also serves as senior pastor at Stevens Street Baptist Church in Cookeville, TN. He writes, speaks, and consults on church health issues. You can connect with Sam at twitter.com/samrainer, or at his blog, samrainer.wordpress.com.
BCNN1 WP 