I'm Listening

Jerry - late 20's

Do you think most preachers are good listeners?

I got more than I bargained for when I asked Jerry, late-20’s, if he would be willing to talk about his beliefs about life after death. I really had to put my listening skills to good use as he did most of the talking and I couldn’t do much more than just actively listen, ask a few good questions now and then and allow him to verbally process his own spiritual journey.

I’m learning just how different people are in response to my question about their beliefs. For some, a conversation can be like trying to wring a few drops out of a dry sponge, while for others it can be like trying to drink from an open fire hydrant. For Jerry, a few comments he made let me know I could best be of help to him by simply being a sounding board.

At one point Jerry told me how he would at times write things down in order to process his thoughts. I could relate because journaling has been an important discipline for me as I have sorted out my thoughts by getting them down on paper and starting to see them from a different point of view. I really felt like God counseled me through the process, helping me to get outside of myself and look in, seeing things differently, looking through the eyes of others and, hopefully, of God. This helped give me advice where needed, encouraged me at lessons learned, and often helped me rediscover my way and get back on track.

In the same way, later on in the “conversation”, Jerry told me how just getting these thoughts out there and putting them into words was helping him think things through. He is the type of thinker who quickly jumps from one topic to the next, so it was helpful for me to keep asking him some basic questions to keep him focused or get him back on track, without expecting to really dig too deeply about any one topic.

Paul wrote to Timothy to “preach the Word…with great patience…”, (2 Timothy 4) and sometimes the required patience involves a whole lot of listening. This gives me the opportunity to show by example the importance of the art (and humility) of being a good listener as we strive to proclaim the Gospel.

PS – Jerry graciously allowed me to record our conversation, which can be seen at https://youtu.be/SamLHZQfUKk on my YouTube channel.