Interrupting The Pastor UP DATE!

[post]

1 hour ago, Yowm said:

I don't know if your church assembly has an adult Sunday school, but it seems that is the time and place for added questions and comments.

Every sermon I've ever heard has been one way, from the pulpit to the people.

i'm sure that's the case for 95% of us as well, but just because every "service" almost every American has ever attended has been composed of a single person giving a sermon where everyone else is expected not to have any input or anything to share, but to sit primly with their hands folded, doesn't mean this is the Biblical model or what the Spirit intends. that's just human tradition -- and it may be wrong. 
but what does scripture say? 

you're right to bring up "sunday school' -- this, 'bible study' and other 'small group' settings are where i believe the real fellowship and action of the 'church' takes place among us, not in what's sometimes called 'the sunday morning big show' 

in a certain manner of speaking, it's almost as if in some ways in the church today, we really only expect a handful of people to 'be Christians' while the great lot of us go once a week to observe them doing so, listen to a small concert, with a bit of sing-a-long

 

[kwikphilly]

Dear Lady

   Agreed,it is unacceptable & very discourteous,the Pastor should address this privately with the fellow                 With love-in Christ,.Kwik

[Omegaman 3.0]

At our church, there is a place where we have mail slots, Each slot is lettered to indicate last names. For example, there is a J for people with the last name of Jones or Johnson. It is used for various things. For example, at Christmas time, I lot of people use it for Christmas cards. They may not know the person's address, so this is a way for others to communicate. Sometimes, some might give someone a helping hand, like a gift card for groceries, and can do to anonymously.

Now, one possible use for something like this, would be to include a transcript of posts of this thread, to show a person what sorts of things other think about the practice of interrupting sermons. Just a thought.

I am thinking that it might be better to not have the pastor involved in having to deal with this issue. Seems to me that puts a burden on the pastor to essentially hurt the man's feelings, but that is just one opinion. On the other hand, it it bothers others, and they lack the courage and conviction to take the man aside, maybe they should bring it up to the pastor, and let him deal with it or not, as he sees fit.

[kwikphilly]

Hey Mega!

  Brilliant suggestion    The Pastor really does not need to be burdened or put in the position where it would be most difficult to say something without sounding offensive(coming from him),you're right

   Personally,I would have asked the man to refrain in the future as a consideration for everyone & as a courtesy to the Pastor,it is just disrespectful,imo    However,your idea would definitely get the message across & alleviate the Pastor of the issue at hand,,,,,,,good thinking!                      With love-in Christ,Kwik

[Qnts2]

I know that some churches not only allow but encourage those listening to the sermon to vocally respond with out loud amens, or other statements of affirmation of what the pastor is saying. So, vocalization during a sermon is perfectly acceptable, encouraged, and common in some church services.

I have never really attended a church which had people speaking or shouting during the sermon, but know that they exist from TV shows of such services. Before calling what a person does as rude, I would check to see if he came from a church where talking during a sermon is considered proper. 

[kwikphilly]

Blessings Qnts

      I certainly understand where you are coming from,I attend a VERY vocal church,I think this is a little more than that from what I understand,perhaps I am not reading correctly,,,,,,,Lady said it is almost like :"dialogue",adding in his interpretations of what the Pastor is saying,continuously,,,,,,,,that seems a lot more than vocal,it sounds extremely annoying & distracting to everyone..............maybe I've misread what Lady said,I'm sure she will let us know-lol         

    Missed you,I have not seen you lately,,,,good to see you again                                    With love-in Christ,Kwik

[Ezra]

13 hours ago, post said:

a single person giving a sermon where everyone else is expected not to have any input or anything to share, but to sit primly with their hands folded, doesn't mean this is the Biblical model or what the Spirit intends.

If you are looking for a *biblical* model Paul preached for possibly 6-8 hours once without interruption (Acts 20:6-12).  So did Jesus, Peter, Stephen, and others.  So you are mistaken about the biblical model.

When a man is proclaiming the Gospel or teaching Bible truth, the least he can expect is no interruptions. Questions can certainly be asked later, and an "Amen" or two along the way should be acceptable. 

[post]

1 hour ago, Ezra said:

If you are looking for a *biblical* model Paul preached for possibly 6-8 hours once without interruption (Acts 20:6-12).  So did Jesus, Peter, Stephen, and others.  So you are mistaken about the biblical model.

When a man is proclaiming the Gospel or teaching Bible truth, the least he can expect is no interruptions. Questions can certainly be asked later, and an "Amen" or two along the way should be acceptable. 

certainly "interruption" in the rude sense you connote is not encouraged by what we have written about how church meetings should operate. but the example of Paul speaking till midnight is not evidence that he did not answer questions or entertain objections or hear people giving explanations of their own understanding while he spoke. the scripture does not record the transcript. the teachings recorded that Jesus gave can all be read aloud in a matter of a few minutes - try reading Peter or Stevens speeches at pentecost or before he was stoned, and timing it. or even 'the sermon on the mount' 

but these are examples of certain things - they are not the 'model' given in the scripture for how congregational meetings should be arranged, and the scripture actually does give a model. have a look at what Willa referred us to again. it's just a portion of a larger section of Paul's epistle in which he explains how they ought to order their meetings ((how fortunate! there is an instruction book! )). here's some of it again: 

Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.
(1 Corinthians 14:29-32)

this does not describe a single individual speaking and no one else interacting, but the Spirit working among the people and all who the Spirit gives wisdom and teaching to, edifying the others -- because that is what every manifestation of the gift of the Spirit is for: all are for each other, to build each other up. 
notice what it says about prophesying here - and prophesying here doesn't just mean 'telling the future' - that's not the way this word is used in the NT - but when the Spirit moves one, the first should keep silent, and hear the second. and all those present should judge. that's not a 'spectator' event; that's participatory. 
of course it is not encouraging "interruption" -- not rudeness, and not disorder. but it is not giving the model by which just about all of us attend by these days. this is actually much closer to what goes on in 'small groups" or "bible studies" -- and so i greatly encourage everyone to take part on those. 

 

[Ezra]

3 hours ago, post said:

For you can all prophesy one by one...

This pretty much sums it up.

[post]

all this is not to excuse the man the OP is talking about -- without being there and understanding what he's doing in context, how could any of us? but it's not to necessarily condemn his actions either -- it's to 2^nd and to expound on what Willa reminds us of -- that what this man is doing sounds like what the 1st century church was: what the congregational meetings of the church  were like, after the way that Paul describes how they should organized. that's the model; not Peter addressing the crowd at Pentecost, or the descriptions of one evangelist or another given in the scripture, or even Christ on the mount. all of these are shortened versions of the complete truth of what this was like; after Peter stood up and spoke that day, did they sing the doxology and walk out of the market square, that was it? or was there further discussion? and all we hear is that Paul spoke until very late one night; was there interaction and discussion or none at all? it isn't recorded. but judging from how Paul himself wrote that we should order our meetings, i think it's very reasonable to assume that there was a lot of interaction. 

now the man in the OP in particular - maybe he is speaking out of place, and maybe just the fact that he's speaking at all rattles people who have this sense of 'propriety' from the traditions of men. i don't know. 

it is certainly true that the Lord by His spirit has granted gifts of teaching to certain individuals. but i think it is fairly misjudged to believe that in every local church, only one person, or at most two if you are a particularly blessed group, are given to teach or given wisdom or prophecy that should be shared with the entire body. and the format by which almost every church in America is run does not make room for that. 

i'm not 'knocking' what we all do once a weekend. it has its purpose. but i am strongly encouraging every believer to involve themselves in smaller groups studying the scriptures together, where you can all be used of God with the gifts the Spirit gives -- because those gifts are for each other, not to bury in the sand and use only for yourself and the furtherance of your own understanding. if the Spirit has given you understanding, it is so that you can by the spirit give it to others; simply attending a spectator service once a week, it is very likely that you are not being used by God in the full capacity that He means to use you, and we are all potentially missing out on blessing and being blessed.