Two conversations this past week made me aware that my ministry world is changing dramatically.
The first talk was with the chancellor of a major state university. I mostly listened as this educator explained some of what is happening in higher education. Students no longer just feed back what their professors teach. They are involved in the process of deciding their course of study and also how their learning will be framed.
My mind kept relating what I was hearing back to the church world and especially the Sunday morning service, where participants have little if any say in what goes on and would appear out-of-place if they interrupted a sermon with a question or comment.
The second conversation was with a seasoned Christian church leader in California who shared with me what, in truth, were marvelous breakthroughs he was experiencing in his ministry. He was interacting regularly with the kind of Millennials who would seldom ever attend a traditional worship service.
His basic approach was not one of preaching or teaching, but more one of asking questions and careful listening. Even so, he was being incredibly successful in his evangelism efforts. It was also obvious that he was enjoying his success and optimistic about the future. Most of all, he was concerned that those who attended his lessons felt loved.
I found myself wishing I could have had way more time to have learned 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.
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