Relentlessly Interesting

I’m somewhere near my 6 month anniversary of preaching to the community of McKendree Faith Church.   I have realized that my preaching style is not necessarily traditional.  I have a tendency to talk to application rather than dissertation. My primary goal is to get the congregation engaged in the message.   A lot of my brothers and sisters emphasize a priority of conversion, but in this congregation the audience is saved, so that specific message is saved for when I see the eyes of non-believers or fence sitters.

I came across this quote from John Stott.

The most moving experience a preacher can ever have is when, in the middle of the sermon, a strange hush descends upon the congregation. The sleepers have woken up, the coughers have stopped coughing, and the fidgeters are sitting still. No eyes or minds are wandering. Everybody is listening, but not to the preacher. The preacher is forgotten, and the people are face to face with the living God, listening to his still, small voice.

I’ve always wondered how to measure success from a message.  I have usually stuck with documented action by the audience from the message.  But I think the better measurement is by monitoring the actions of the congregants themselves during the message.  Does it appear that they have gone beyond me and are now listening to the Holy Spirit? 

Tim Keller

Hearing a sermon is not like hearing a lecture. It is your meeting with the living Christ. It is you seeing his glory, so that you can feel it and be changed by it. Let’s pay attention to him and what he means a sermon to be, lest we miss him.

There is a line, “less of me, more of Him”.  This applies to my delivery as well.  If I’m looking for accolades, I missed the point.  If I’m looking for a change in messenger, I’m on the right track.

Can I consistently be relentlessly interesting?