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Excerpt from Chapter 2 Excerpt from Preaching and Intimacy by Charles B. Bugg We all remember people who paid attention to us and caused us to see the value in ourselves. On the other hand, few things are more painful than to be overlooked. I am convinced that listening is a discipline we can develop. By nature some folks may be better at offering the gift of their listening. However, all of us can work more at sharing this wonderful gift that brings such value to people when they feel they are being heard. Those of us who are activistic and who often say, "One day when things slow down, Ill smell the roses," can begin by recognizing that much of our churning is inside us. We need to be still on the inside because our feverish, frenetic lives are a reflection of our feverish, frenetic spirits. Recently, I saw reflected beautifully the gift of attention. I was preaching a series of sermons at a church in Kentucky. This church has a ministry to a large number of deaf persons. Before the Sunday evening service, I walked into the sanctuary to greet them. What a warm group of folks they were. I knew that some of them could not hear me when I thanked them for their presence. Maybe they read my lips. I dont know. That part of the story is not nearly as important as what they did for me. As I shook their hands and said a few words to each of them, I saw faces that looked deeply into mine, and everything about them communicated they were present to me. I felt so valued and loved. Contrast that with a minister who greets you and me in the line after the service. "How are you?" he says, as he scans the rest of the people who are behind us in the line. I know what I am going to do. Ill say, "Fine," and drift through the rotunda and to my car. What I know, however, is that if I ever really need the gift of someones presence, and I really need to be heard, I will not be back to see that minister. Speaking to the needs of people grows out of our listening to them. Part of that presence is a product of discipline, but much of that flowers from the value we place on persons. I am convinced that this is a component of the whole preaching transaction that has received far too little attention. A preacher may be articulate; she may be trained to exegete a text; she may be able to craft an imaginative, intelligent message. But that message has to be spoken to persons. How we speak that message and the attitude we bring to proclamation are shaped significantly by our view of the hearers. Do we respect them? Do we speak to them as if we have all the knowledge, and they are sponges whose only purpose is to absorb what we say? Do we talk to them as if they are children, or do we see them as pilgrims with us in the journey? Frankly, some people are intimidated by the knowledge they think we ministers have, and we do little to bridge the distance between them and us if we appear arrogant. |
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