8 Reasons It’s Tough for Some Folks to Hear Us When We Preach

Not everyone listens to us when we preach, even when we’re in the same room. Here are some reasons some people struggle to listen:

Something’s happened during the week that’s captured all their attention. It’s usually a difficulty, and it’s usually something that consumes their mind so much it’s tough to hear anything else. I think particularly of family and work issues.
They’re typically so busy that just sitting still for any length of time—much less listening—is hard. Frankly, I’m one of those persons. I have to make myself listen, and it’s seldom easy.
Distractions in the worship service have already diverted their attention. The distraction can be anything, especially as the enemy wants people not to hear the Word (see #8 below). Anything from a cold room temperature to a crackling sound system to a crying baby or a sleeping adult can turn our attention elsewhere.
In some cases, we’ve hurt them in the past (or, at least that’s their perception), and they’ve never moved beyond that. They still come to church because it’s their church, but they find it hard to listen to us without remembering yesterday’s situation.
Sometimes we’re boring. The problem is that we usually don’t recognize it, and few people are honest enough to tell us. They love us as their pastor. They wouldn’t want to hurt us—so they tolerate boredom but don’t listen.
They’re frustrated with the music part of the worship service. In some cases, they cling to their personal preferences and create division; in other cases, the music portion of the service really isn’t good. In either case, it’s hard to redirect their attention to the preaching.
We give meaty content with no application. That is, our listeners can recognize we’ve studied, and they’ll talk about how knowledgeable their preacher is—but they don’t expect to hear anything they can readily apply to their lives.
Satan and his forces are snatching the Word from them. Jesus warned us that would happen (Mark 4:15). Satan’s snatching the entire time we’re sowing. For that reason, I encourage preachers to help listeners know what the enemy’s doing—and challenge them to listen more intentionally.

What reasons would you add?

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