Those of us who are married to preachers usually discover early on that listening to your spouse’s sermon becomes a job all in itself. For the newly initiated, or for those who’ve always wondered why preacher’s spouses are sitting near the front, perfectly straight, with pleasant expressions on their face week after week, here’s a look the the rules going on behind the scenes…
1. Concentrate very hard on what your spouse is saying so that your mind doesn’t wander. A wandering mind can lead to funny faces during the sermon, and they might get distracted.
2. Sit up straight. Other people might be watching you and if you’re slouching, they might think you’re not interested.
3. Maintain an interested expression for the people on the other side of the church and for your spouse (see #1 and 2 above).
4. Nod occasionally when they look your direction. This does not necessarily indicate agreement with a particular point, so much as general encouragement (keep talking, honey, you’re too far in to stop now).
5. Don’t, under any circumstances, wrinkle your forehead, even if that just means you’re thinking about what was just said because it can indicate confusion, or even distaste, and can throw off the preacher (see #1 above).
7 Comments
I usually have a hard time paying attention when my father-in-law is preaching. Unless he is using me as a sermon illustration. Then he gets both my attention and my dirty looks.
So true, so true. Your mother sat in the front row with you kids and did the exact same thing. Very important, the smile and no frown, sparkling eye contact.
I like it when my wife seems like she is thinking. I hope others do the same
cracks me up.
I love it. Remind me to save it for my *possible* future pastor’s husband.
I tell you what, I do not envy pastor’s wives. It’s nice to have some anonymity in church and not always feel like EVERYONE is watching you. More power to you.
This made me smile! My husband has asked me many times, “How can I be helpful while you’re preaching?” Usually I tell him to pray for me. This list is a great framework. One time a friend of mine was listening to me preach, and her forhead was wrinkled nearly the whole time. I spent the entire sermon wondering if I was doing a bad job - only to find out later she had just been praying for me really hard!
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