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 …