This past weekend I had the
privilege of leading a seminar in
Audience orientation refers to
a speaker’s sensitivity to listener need and response. It is not the same thing
as being audience driven. This is where the audience is controlling what it
gets. An audience orientated ministry is aimed at meeting real needs without
being dictated by listener demand.
This factor is often missing
in conservative evangelical settings. It is particularly so where there is a
high view of Scripture and a commitment to systematic Bible study or
consecutive expository preaching. While these things are good in themselves
they can dominate a preacher or Bible study leader to the point that all they think
of is communicating the message of the Bible. The nature and needs of the
audience are barely considered. Where that is the case the message ends up
making little impression. As true as it may be it just doesn’t connect with
real life.
Some years ago I read an
interesting story of a young preacher who had reached a point of desperation in
his ministry. Week by week he tried his utmost to feed people with the Word of
God. Yet, the harder he tried, the more discontent they got. They seemed to
choke on the good things he delivered each week. Deeply distressed he travelled
to London to get the help of a renowned preacher, Dr. Joseph Parker. Upon
hearing of the younger man’s plight, Dr. Parker said, “Preach to me the sermon
you delivered yesterday, young man.” His visitor duly complied, doing his best
to recall and deliver his sermon of the day before. When he had finished, the veteran preacher
cleared his throat and said, “Young man, you have just spent twenty minutes
trying to get something out of your head instead of into mine.”
That captures the problem that
plagues many of us. We are more concerned to get what is in our minds – our
carefully prepared sermon or Bible insights – than we are with getting it into
the minds of those who hear us. We know
that what we have to say is truth and that it is important for people to hear.
So we go ahead and tell them, irrespective of whether or not it is addressing
their present needs. A recent writer has described this as the “pedant’s
stance” in public speaking – the attitude that views what we have to say as
more important than those we are trying to say it to.
Of course, what we have to
say, when it is derived from the Bible, is important. And in one sense, it
applies to all people in all places at all times. That’s the nature of biblical
truth – it is timeless. Effective
ministry of that truth, however, is another thing. That means serving
people with the truth of God’s word in ways that are pertinent to their present
circumstances. It’s especially that kind of ministry that gets beyond the heads
of people to their hearts. Through the blessing of the Holy Spirit, it meets
needs and changes lives.
What’s the key to being
“audience orientated” in our ministry of the Word, in whatever setting that may
be (Sunday preaching, Bible studies, one-on-one encounters)? Above all it
requires that we know people. And that means that we must take time to be with
them and listen to them. We have to get close to them and understand them. In
the words of James, we need to be “quick to listen, slow to speak” (James
1:19). Our tendency is just the opposite – to be quick to speak and slow to
listen.
Jesus is our perfect example.
Much of his ministry was what we might call “close-quarters ministry.” He met
people at public wells, in busy streets, in remote desert regions, and in
private homes. Wherever he encountered them he addressed their present
circumstances and real needs. That kind of ministry hit home. It was “audience
orientated.” It didn’t require an elaborate process of reasoning to see how it
applied – it went like an arrow to the heart. It’s that kind of ministry that
is so much needed today.