Talking to a friend the other day I was reminded of a childhood memory and how the preacher has two voices. (confession time)
There’s this distinct voice mode *southern Baptist preachers go into at a certain point in their message (or sermon) … as a child when he hit the genesis of that sound he was heading into the highway of preaching, which meant it was my time to travel the roadway of mental imagery and enter into daydream mode. I always made sure I had a hand-fan with beautiful scenery conducive to allowing my imagination to soar. Staring into the scene on that fan my world would transform. The visions of my mind’s eye took me to variant places, adventures and experiences I hoped to one day fulfill.
I lived for the moment when that sound came; it meant my body would still be in church, but my mind was teleported into a conscious state of excitement traveling the world over; being the character in my latest book or creating one I wanted to be. Now as an adult when I hear that sound I tend to zone out, no longer daydreaming but wondering—what is the purpose for that sound. It would excite the church people into all kinds of amen noises, some would even rise to their feet and commence into the spirit mode known as "shouting". I half-watched in amused curiosity but was more drawn to my fantasy and never really heard or understood the point the message or the emotions that voice evoked from the congregants.
However, before the preacher reached that mode he would introduce his topic and give scriptural and/or personal examples; he would talk—and I would hear him, I listened and was interested; that was the voice mode that held my focus on the preacher and what he was saying; it is the voice I would now call—the teaching voice. I’ve already confessed what happens when he goes into the other mode; which I call—the preaching voice. Growing up I liked both voices, they afforded me the opportunity to do two things in church—to learn, and to daydream.
As I matured in my walk with the Lord, I realized I gained more from a teaching voice than a preaching voice.
What about you...
*I say “southern Baptist preacher” because I grew up in the south and it is the basis of my experience.
