On choosing a church or church shopping: 1. Faithfulness. A church that teaches the Bible with humility and integrity. 2. Mission: A church that has a heart for at least some outsiders: the poor, immigrant, the single parent, etc. Different churches have different groups they reach out to.
3. Atmosphere. What are the values that surface on the website and especially in person regarding wealth, race, and women?
4. Proximity. Ideally there is overlap in your worlds (where you live, where kids go to school, where you shop with where you attend church).
5. Collaboration. Usually there is a board and staff and there should be accountability and collaboration.
6. Sobriety. There should be thoughtful protocols about counting the offering, annual transparency about the the finances, and precautions regarding child abuse.
7. Theological care. I want to know if the pastor(s) did seminary and where. Ideally they have an MDiv from a reputable school. The statement of faith should not be weird.
8. Resonance with the Christian tradition that this church is part of. Likely the visitor has inclinations regarding theological tradition (Pentecostal, liturgical, casual contemporary evangelical, etc).
How might preachers or public speakers interact with listeners mid-sermon in such a way as it does not go off the rails with odd audience behavior or go over the allotted time?
Some brainstorming below.
1. "Could I have a volunteer to help me?" (like a magic show). Ask them a few questions about the topic to get a baseline perspective on it.
2. "I want you to help me by shouting out an answer on this" (like at an improv show).
3. Text your answer to this number.
4. Write your answer on a piece of paper and hold it up.
5. Come to the mic in the aisle or raise hand and we'll pass you a mic.
For what it is worth, I'm thinking of Thomas Groome's Five Movement Shared Christian Praxis model of teaching based on Jesus' conversational approach in Luke 24 (walk to Emmaus).
Jesus asks two people "What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
Questions indicate the speaker is interested in what the listener has to contribute. It is humanizing. It indicates that the teacher knows teaching is not just dumping information but working to build upon what a student already knows.
It also keeps a teacher on their toes. And the improvisation and uncertainty keeps audiences engaged. Humor is possible. It is risky because of the uncertainty but is usually a net positive.
The challenge with a big group is you are keeping the interaction with the audience delimited. You are just dipping in to audience interaction. You are not giving them the floor to pontificate or take over. So you may be cutting them off. You have to ignore some contributions.
The other thing people worry about of course is opening up a can of worms. People giving a message should do so with accuracy and precision so as to not mislead or steer people in the wrong direction. Interaction can draw a teacher into material they don't know well.
The other way to get "real interaction" is by doing it beforehand during the preparation with a focus group or sermon-preparation team who interact about the message topic. That input seasons and strengthens and grounds the sermon. Great or humorous comments can even be quoted.
See also this additional thread about what questions I would ask listeners to answer aloud in a sermon.
– I would ask: diagnosis questions. How did we get here?
– And I would ask later: application questions. How might this text intersect with our lives?
I like Thomas Groome's Five Movement flow in teaching. Here is a summary from him. https://t.co/TRTwVltKl3
I'm trying to give pastors *who are pastoral toward people* ideas. If they are insecure, defensive, aloof, and hurried, just asking questions in sermon is not going to solve that.
Ah yes, this is a great point. Asking questions to your congregation in a sermon is not going to build trust. Rather that warmth, graciousness, love for people, curiosity about what they think has to be there first in the pastor.
There is a lack of courage in pastors borne of a fear of what people will think and a misunderstanding of "reverence" in church. Striking honesty is a sign a church is healthy and it will actually draw people who are seeking (1 Cor 14:24-25).
Yes, good point. Thank you. Indeed, I have been saying that sermons should be PG-13. They are too milquetoast because the church building is seen as a holy, sanctuary, rather than a place to look candidly at human problems and imagine how Jesus might act. https://t.co/S2dmocx0A1
Some tweets reflecting on the sociological dimensions of baptism for pastors revisiting their practice of it; that might also function as responses to the understandable question from a non-Christian:
"Baptism seems very silly and weird and religious. Why would someone do that?"
This is obvious once I point it out but: Baptism (infant, believer's, or the similar practice of confirmation) is much less of a decisive public choice if a lot of other people are doing it too. If you're the only one among your peers, it is much more awkward / courageous.
Some of the audience at a baptism secretly cringes because the teen has no idea what it will mean to live as a Christian or the couple has no idea what it will mean to raise their child as a Christian. But baptism indicates they have the faith of a mustard seed, which is enough.
The conscientious person, the sober person is hesitant about baptism. "Can I make this commitment? Should I not do more research?" But baptism is not having all your ducks in a row. It's about saying: "I know I don't want that old way of life, I want this new way. Let's do this."
Baptism is like registering for a marathon or going to an AA meeting or buying a house or accepting that college admission or joining the military or getting engaged. “I know enough. I don't know all that this means but let’s do this. I’m in. I want to try this. Let's go.”
This is how Christians should respond to a baptism. "Woo-hoo! Good for you! We don’t expect that you know everything! Though we too are just fellow travelers, we'll try to support you with love and resources!”
Baptism is a tiny bit embarrassing because normally people don't see you wet. With umbrellas, we are rarely soaked. Most people only swim with family or other swimmers. So getting dunked is slightly humorous. Baby's eyes widen when they get wet. The laughter is socially bonding.