This past week, I visited a church I’ve never attended before. I’ve driven by it many times, but never gone inside. The sanctuary was larger than I expected and breathtakingly beautiful. The pews were filled even though this was the second of three Sunday morning services.
To the speaker’s credit, he had a great voice, and at times he was quite funny. He also involved the congregation in his presentation, and as a storyteller I would give him an “A.” I also credit him for clearly stating what his overall subject was. You would have to have been asleep to have missed it. He also worked at making people feel good about being in church.
On the negative side, he failed to open the Scripture, and he came nowhere near identifying what I would call a text. I thought about what kind of response his sermon might be calling for, but I couldn’t come up with one. Maybe that’s why he didn’t make any kind of suggestions or “How To’s.”
As I left the sanctuary, I asked myself, “What was that all about?” The best conclusion I could come up with was that this minister had a great need to be liked and he truly was a nice, articulate, happy person.
Will I ever go back? No! I need something more than a nice, articulate, congenial storyteller! I believe, above all else, that people attend church because they want to encounter God and to hear a word from Him.
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Please click here to visit David Mains’ Sermon-Coach.com website.
You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Please click here.
