It is one of the strengths, or perhaps one of the weaknesses, of the human mind that it can have different “tracks” playing at the same time. Even as one series of words is emerging from a person’s mouth, an entirely different series of words may be flitting through his brain. He can have an entire monologue playing internally, even as another is playing externally. Preachers are especially familiar with this phenomenon and become accustomed to saying one thing even as they think another.
I sometimes wonder where this second track comes from, and especially when it is negative or discouraging. Is Satan planting thoughts into my mind that are meant to keep me from preaching with confidence or power? Or maybe Satan does not even need to, since I am plenty capable of thinking those thoughts without his intervention. I suppose it’s probably a combination of those factors and others. Regardless, if you have ever wondered what is going on in your pastor’s mind while he delivers his sermon, here are a few different possibilities—a few different options that may be playing on his second track.
“Did I already say that?” This one is most prominent among those who preach without a full manuscript or who preach at multiple services. For those who preach extemporaneously or from a mere outline, or for those who are preaching the same sermon for the second or third time in a day, that second track can often be playing in the background of the preacher’s mind and inquiring, “Did you already say that? Are you repeating yourself?” It’s a disquieting thought that you may have forgotten words you spoke just moments ago and begun to repeat them. Yet most of us have done it at one time or another.
“That person sure looks interested.” As preachers look toward their listeners and survey the people sitting there, their eye will often alight on a person who appears to be particularly interested, who is bearing down to listen better, who is nodding in appreciation, who is whispering (or, depending on the context perhaps shouting) “amen,” or who is avidly jotting down notes. The preacher can find his mind thinking about this person and appreciating the effort they are expending to listen to every word. Whole conversations or scenarios can play in his mind even as he continues to preach unabated.
“That person sure looks bored.” Of course, the preacher also looks out and sees the people who look bored, perplexed, or sometimes even angry. He sees people who look like they’d rather be anywhere else doing anything else and his mind responds by wondering why. Is it that his sermon is confusing? That his words are unclear? That he’s speaking too fast? Or is that person just having a bad day? Again, his brain and mouth will be engaged with delivering his sermon, yet at the same time, a second track will be chewing over the situation, even as he tries to get his mind under control so he can give all of his attention to his preaching.
“Did I just say something dumb?” One of the most unnerving experiences a preacher can have is when he sees a titter spread across the room and doesn’t know why. His assumption—and it’s usually a fair one—is that he has said something inadvertently funny, and if not funny, perhaps offensive or rude. He knows a week’s labor in the study might have evaporated in a moment simply because of an unintentionally errant word.
“It sure would be nice if that child would quiet down a bit.” Preachers have to learn how to maintain their focus and how not to succumb to every possible distraction. Most become pretty good at it. Yet every now and again, there is the kind of distraction that is prominent enough that the preacher can’t help but think about it even as he continues through his sermon. Often it’s something like, “I wonder what those two are whispering about?” or “That child is making a racket. Is anyone even paying attention to me?”
One of the most unnerving experiences a preacher can have is when he sees a titter spread across the room and doesn’t know why.
“This is probably the greatest sermon in the history of humanity.” I can’t say that I have ever thought this one, but I know some preachers find themselves dealing with pride as they preach—thoughts of grandeur, thoughts of accolades, thoughts of the praise and plaudits they deserve to receive as they preach this particular sermon. Personally, though, I am far more prone to the opposite:
“This is probably the worst sermon in the history of humanity.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked out at a listening audience and, even as I’m expositing and applying God’s Word, I’ve wrestled with thoughts of self-loathing, thoughts of the utter inanity of my words, conviction that what I am doing and saying is utterly futile. As I preach, I try to answer these thoughts with truth to suppress or squelch them, and usually the Lord grants that grace. But this, more than any other, is the content of the second track in my mind—a track that reflects pride as much as the man who is convinced of his talent, but pride that manifests itself in doubt and self-loathing instead of confidence and self-exaltation.
What’s important for congregants to understand is that it is not only listeners who need to remain undistracted, who need to battle to keep their minds focused and their thoughts directed. The preacher fights the same battle, though at the front of the room and much more in the public eye. So, just as we pray for undistracted minds for those who listen, we would do well to pray for undistracted minds for those who preach. For the battle rages in the pulpit just as much as in the pew.
