Tom Meadley: The Congregation Must Play Its Part Too

The following is a quote from a pamphlet written by my grandfather, Tom Meadley, who was a Methodist minister, called Attending a Service (Epworth Press, 1965). It is taken from a booklet which is a compilation of extracts from his writings called Speaking for Himself (Cliff College Publishing, 1999). [The emphasis in this passage is mine.]


"An essential element in the effectiveness of preaching is in the attitude of the congregation. The folk are not meant to be huddled in pews to absorb passively from a solo performer in the pulpit. Preaching is a corporate business. The preacher is not just imparting a privately received message; he is the appointed mouthpiece of the Church reminding the Christian community of its essential convictions. There is an element in the preacher's effectiveness which only the congregation can supply. No preacher expects to preach perfectly, or to be above criticism, but every Christian preacher has a right to expect considerate & prayerful hearing when he proclaims God's Word to God's People. If someone says that he has got nothing from a service, it is usually a self-condemnation: 'To him that hath shall be given, & from him that hath not shall be taken away, even that which he hath !' Our spiritual attitude is reflected & affected by our posture as we settle to listen. Some folk slump in the pew as if to let the preachers know that they do not expect very much from him, & intend to be critical or indifferent towards his mouthings. Others adjust themselves comfortably for a spell of sermon-tasting, sometimes with the help of a sweet - a reprehensible habit, more appropriate to the cinema. Sometimes a preacher can feel a hindrance to effectiveness as he mounts the pulpit steps. Alexander Whyte remarked of a certain congregation: 'It took me two years to get the chill out of my bones'."


The key proposition here is that the congregation as a whole, & its individual members, have a vital part to play in creating the experience of the service. This is surely true also for an audience, be it at a concert, a play, an opera, an exhibition, a film, wherever.