Paul Levy writes at Reformation 21 about why it’s a good idea to move forward and fill up the vacant seats at the front of the church.
In doing so he makes the following observation about preaching as a two-way communication:
Somebody recently defined preaching to me as a sustained monologue to a group of people. Isn’t that horrific? As minimalist definitions go it’s diabolical. Preaching is always, always dialogical. The faces of people talk. There are people praying for you while you speak. Most preachers can tell when they are not being understood and so need to state something more clearly. The smiles and nods and appreciative noises people make are important. The children who look at their parents and smile and their mother or father nods at them is a massive encouragement whilst you’re preaching, or the time they look up at you with utter bewilderment – there is a dialogue going on between preacher and people. The person whose eyes shut and head drops, you know you need to raise your voice or at least make a banging noise.
I think he’s right.
The hearers of a sermon are actively communicating all the time it’s being delivered.
And effective preachers engage with that communication.
Go read the whole article here, and you’ll get the bonus of a stunning anecdote involving a preacher who invited the congregation to come to the front, and what happened when they did not.
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