What's It Like To Preach A Sermon?

Since 1968 I've stood before local church assemblies of all sizes and compositions and in various locations. At the risk of someone thinking I'm seeking pity (and I'm not) here what it's been like many times over the years to preach a sermon. You stand before the group with material prepared only to see...

People so sleepy they can barely (and sometimes don't) keep their eyes open (and I'm not talking about those who do this because of age, physical condition or medication). The sermon is lost on them. That's what it's like to preach a sermon.

Young people who talk to one another and pass notes or just "have to" get a drink of water or go to the bathroom. They stand up, crawl over several people, walk out the aisle, slam the door and then repeat the whole process coming back in...and sometimes more than once during a sermon. They, and those distracted by all of this, get very little from the lesson. That's what it's like to preach a sermon.

Parents who allow babies and young children to cry loudly without taking them from the auditorium, or let them climb over, under and around the benches. Those sitting behind or nearby are so distracted by all of this commotion that few are looking at or listening to the preacher and some couldn't if they wanted to because of the noise. That's what it's like to preach a sermon.

Mothers and father whose children have trained them to be taken to the nursery, for a stroll or some other form of diversion when they become restless or misbehave. These parents visit with other moms and dads who are doing the same thing with their children, the children play with one another, and a good time is being had by all. But none are listening to or learning from what the preacher is saying. That's what it's like to preach a sermon.

People who sit at the back of the auditorium where they are distracted by all that is going on in front of them and hear and see everything and everyone but the preacher. That's what it's like to preach a sermon.

There have been times in both meetings and local work, when I've seen every scenario just described take place during the same sermon and wondered what in the world I'm doing up here. That's what it's like to preach a sermon.

When things such as these are going on I've got three choices: (a) quit preaching that sermon and explain why, (b) publicly make a suggestion to someone about what they should or should not be doing, or (c) say nothing and allow the distractions to continue. But whatever choice I make (and it will always, except in glaring cases of misbehavior, be "c"), the sermon is ruined. That's what it's like to preach a sermon.

Now read Nehemiah 8:1-9 and try to imagine all of this taking place on that occasion.

Some Suggestions

There are some solutions for the problem areas we've mentioned and, at the risk of sounding like Scrooge (or worse), I'd like to discuss a few of them.

1-One remedy for the kind of sleepiness I'm talking about is not to stay up late on Saturday night watching television. There's no excuse for perpetual sleepiness on Sunday mornings due to late hours of having fun every Saturday night. Worship is serious business that needs serious preparation, and having fun until all hours of every Saturday night is not quite the way to prepare to worship God on Sunday morning. it would be better if more were as serious about worshipping God on Sunday morning as they are in regard to having fun on the night before.

2-Young people should sit away from their parents when they are old enough to act maturely (and having them sit where parents can seem even then isn't a bad idea.) Reprimand behavior. One good distraction is seeing parents correcting misconduct. A few years ago I was in a tent meeting and every night a young 13-14 year old boy sat on the front row, just three or four feet from where I stood. One night he began to misbehave to the point that it became a distraction. His non-Christian mother saw it, got up, came down and sat next to him and whispered rather sternly in his ear some words of warning, then got up and went back to her seat. In a few moments the distractions resumed and I saw the woman looking around on the ground and reaching for something. In a moment it became clear what it was: she had found just the rock she needed and drew back and bounced it off of the head of her son. It got his (and mine, and the congregation's) attention but she never had a problem with that young man the rest of the week. I went back to this place a couple of years later and both she and her son had become Christians. The rock might have hurt his pride but that was all.

3-Take care of bathroom visits and water fountain trips before assemblies begin. Few bad habits are as easily stopped as getting a drink during assemblies: just say "no!" and mean it. And if children just "have to go" to the bathroom ask them if they can wait if they are given a piece of candy. If they say they can, they'll be able to wait if they aren't given the candy. Try it some time.

4-Remove misbehaving youngsters from the auditorium and make every such trip a very unpleasant (i.e., painful) experience the child never want to repeat. Let Solomon spell it out for you (Prov. 23:13; 29:15,17): place a few red marks on the well-padded parts of the anatomy. Don't reward misconduct with play-time in the nursery, or a stroll in the foyer or outside. Kids are smart and will figure out very quickly what to do in order to go outside and have fun. And they'll also figure out quicker than you can imagine that a trip outside for unacceptable conduct will result in their shedding a lot of tears because of the "distress" it produces. Whenever a child doesn't mind or even looks forward to being taken out of the auditorium when they are not acting properly parents are not doing something right. And train children not to wander around during an assembly. They can be taught to sit relatively still if we try. Not, it's not easy--no worthwhile training is--but it has been and can be done. Parents need to train children instead of allowing children to train them.

5-I realize not everyone can sit toward the front, but try to sit as close to the front as possible; you'll be amazed at how much easier it is to concentrate on what's being said. Try having a conversation with someone standing 20 feet away from them and you'll know what it's like trying to teach a class or preach to people who sit far away from the speaker. It is disheartening for a teacher to walk into an auditorium or classroom and find most people sitting at the back. It's a bad habit many develop when children are young and then never break.

Conclusion

But someone is thinking, "during all the years you've preached you've had little experience with listening to sermons and all that goes with that." True, but that doesn't disqualify me from critiquing audiences and their conduct and making suggestions that can improve behavior in our assemblies. If those who've never preached a sermon have a right to critique a preacher (and they do) and if those who've never gambled can point to the folly and dangers of the lottery (and they can), I believe I can critique audiences although I'm rarely a part of one. "But you don't understand how hard it is to implement the things you've suggested; it's not easy." I'm quite sure that's true, but others have done and you can also. I do know and understand something most in the audience don't: how hard, discouraging and frustrating it is to prepare a lesson and then attempt to deliver it to people who can't or don't listen for whatever reason; that's not easy either.

All one needs to do is stand where many preachers stand week after week and see what they see and hear what they hear to know that oftentimes little edification takes place and the time spent in preparing and presenting a sermon is wasted as far as they are concerned. And that's what it's like to preach a sermon.

David Smitherman