Andy Rowell

Church Leadership Conversations

  • Interaction with listeners during a sermon

    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.

    In general, I am dismayed at how little experimentation I see with interaction with listeners in preaching despite the books by @pagitt
    https://www.amazon.com/Preaching-Re-Imagined-Sermon-Communities-Faith/dp/0310263638/
    and @timconder @rhodesdanp

    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'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.

    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).

    Originally tweeted by Andy Rowell (@AndyRowell) on July 5, 2021.

  • Trying to explain Baptism

    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?"

    Originally tweeted by Andy Rowell (@AndyRowell) on June 17, 2021.

  • You should throw a party and have people over. The value of gatherings.

    I asked eight students in my worship class whether they were the kind of person who plans and hosts parties and celebrations (Super Bowl, Halloween, birthday, anniversary, graduation, Academy Awards, hockey playoffs) and family gatherings (Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter).

    Or were they more of a party pooper or kill joy or wet blanket.
    All eight men said they were not much of a planner. The one woman present said she was more of a party-planner.

    Martin Short Franck GIF

    "But," I asked, "what about Sunday morning church worship services, baptisms, the Lord's Supper, weddings, and funerals? Do you think those are valuable? Are you interested in planning those and getting people together for those?"
    "Oh, yes," they said, "*those* are important!"

    The question is how those other human celebratory gatherings relate to the explicitly Christian gatherings. Is it concerning that a seminary student sees the value in the latter but not so much in the former?

    It seems to me, after a year more isolated from big gatherings because of the pandemic, that people are asking about both secular and Christian events: "Why should we gather together for events and celebrations? Did we really miss them?"

    These face-to-face gatherings in groups jostle us out of our logical, self-centered, routine lives and inject some sort of unexpected conversations, interactions, and insights. They are messy emotionally and mess up the house and kitchen too but we are enriched emotionally.

    The logical "Spock" person says: "Why get together to eat? I have food to eat at home."
    Often the social person is not able to articulate why we should gather and gives poor explanations like "We should" or "We were invited" or "It's tradition."

    There is a better explanation but it is still somewhat mysterious. Human beings are social animals. We don't function at our best alone. Solitary confinement is among the worst punishments.

    In the Bible, Adam was lonely by himself until Eve was created. The Jewish people gathered in Jerusalem a few times year for festivals and feasts. The stories about Jesus have to do with his interactions with strangers and crowds and his time at meals with his 12 or so disciples.

    And numerous studies show that church attendance correlates with happiness and health.

    So, yes, Hebrews 10:25 says Christians should "not [be] giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing." But that is not because "it's tradition" but because it is good for us. It's healthy. And the gatherings can "spur one another on toward love and good deeds."

    I grant that some gatherings are more important than others.
    – "Dudes, let's go to the bar and get hammered!"
    – "Come to my baby's gender reveal party!"
    BUT, I still think the convener, the gatherer, the host, the partier is on the right track. It is good for people to gather.

    Originally tweeted by Andy Rowell (@AndyRowell) on June 1, 2021.