What They Didn’t Teach You in Seminary
RECENTLY, after preaching in my church, a person came up to me and complimented me: “That was a good sermon!” I was pleasantly overjoyed and so I asked, “What’s so good about the sermon?” expecting the person to give me a few pointers as I am always in the quest for improvement.
That remark caused a rift in our relationship – for the person perceived that I was insensitive – instead of thanks, I returned the compliment with a question that is taken as “interrogation” – whether the person really meant it when complimenting me.
This sets me thinking – and realizing that for all the homiletics lessons and classes – homiletics means “preaching”; and what was covered in the syllabus includes the theological understanding as well as areas of delivery, posture, diction, and many other aspects of communication.
However, what was not taught was “how to respond to people’s comments – positive as well as negative comments. While it is relatively easy to handle a negative comment – apology and a curt thanks for their putting up with us; a positive comment is trickier – should we just say thanks and move on? Or should we dwell longer on which aspects of the sermon was “good” and how the person was ministered, etc?
I learned from this episode that the one thing to do is to thank the person and allow the person to respond – if there is no response, we should move on our way. It is not wise to try and “engage” the person, because the reality is that the person’s head, heart and will had been impacted somehow but the reality of the sermon had not sunk in quite yet.
After listening for 20-30 minutes of sermon, the person is in the process of unpacking what was said. Those compliments are the “positive vibes” the person had experienced – but for the person to be able to pinpoint which particular area in his or her person is really impossible or at best what you will hear will be a jumble of thoughts and perceptions.
Perhaps you might say this is “common sense” but this episode has taught me that the “common sense” I ought to have known does not necessarily translated into “common practice.”
But there is a happy ending to the episode - I apologised the next Sunday and now, the relationship is mended - and I have a roaring fan on my side!
Till next time…
That remark caused a rift in our relationship – for the person perceived that I was insensitive – instead of thanks, I returned the compliment with a question that is taken as “interrogation” – whether the person really meant it when complimenting me.
This sets me thinking – and realizing that for all the homiletics lessons and classes – homiletics means “preaching”; and what was covered in the syllabus includes the theological understanding as well as areas of delivery, posture, diction, and many other aspects of communication.
However, what was not taught was “how to respond to people’s comments – positive as well as negative comments. While it is relatively easy to handle a negative comment – apology and a curt thanks for their putting up with us; a positive comment is trickier – should we just say thanks and move on? Or should we dwell longer on which aspects of the sermon was “good” and how the person was ministered, etc?
I learned from this episode that the one thing to do is to thank the person and allow the person to respond – if there is no response, we should move on our way. It is not wise to try and “engage” the person, because the reality is that the person’s head, heart and will had been impacted somehow but the reality of the sermon had not sunk in quite yet.
After listening for 20-30 minutes of sermon, the person is in the process of unpacking what was said. Those compliments are the “positive vibes” the person had experienced – but for the person to be able to pinpoint which particular area in his or her person is really impossible or at best what you will hear will be a jumble of thoughts and perceptions.
Perhaps you might say this is “common sense” but this episode has taught me that the “common sense” I ought to have known does not necessarily translated into “common practice.”
But there is a happy ending to the episode - I apologised the next Sunday and now, the relationship is mended - and I have a roaring fan on my side!
Till next time…
posted by Bobby Lee at
12:00 AM
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