The Ministry of Listening (Or: Just Listen)

(This is a re-blog from January 2010) Among the countless other excellent passages in Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer is his section under "Ministry" (Christian Service; p. 97-99).  I'm especially thinking of his notes on how Christians should listen to one another.  This piggybacks from what Adam McHugh noted (in Introverts in the Church) about…

Quotes on Listening (II)

 This is a slightly edited repost from November, 2010. Studying James 1.19-25 this week led me to think long and hard about the virtue of good listening - specifically listening to God's Word (1:22; cf Ecc. 5.1-2, Prov 10.19, etc).  It is so hard to be a good listener in our noisy and entertainment-driven culture…

Why Aren’t You Listening?

One thing that I notice from time to time is the fact that some Christians don’t listen.  As a pastor, I often get questions about various topics.  Sometimes I can tell that the person is not listening to my answer because he has already mind made up his mind even before he asked the question. …

How to Listen to a Sermon

  (This post is an edited repost from May, 2008) Christopher Love (d. 1651), a Welsh Presbyterian and pastor of a church in London, manuscripted his sermons sermons on mortification and published them in The Mortified Christian (Morgan: Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 1998). The whole book is worth reading, but the last section is what…

Quotes On Listening

Studying James 1.19-25 this week led me to think long and hard about the virtue of good listening - specifically listening to God's Word (v 22; cf Ecc. 5.1-2, Prov 10.19, etc).  It is so hard to be a good listener in our noisy and entertainment-driven culture of texting and images.  I enjoy movies and…