Thoughts from the Thicket
San Jacinto Newstimes - November 2007
By Dr. Don Shannon

Back in my seminary days, preaching class was always a two-sided coin.  On the one side was the opportunity to preach, which all of us ministerial students relished.  On the other side of the coin was the dread of having to preach before our peers, not to mention the professor.  We all had the opportunity to critique one another, and believe me; some of the guys could be brutal. 
For his part, the professor was a little more gentle as he tried to hone our presentation of the gospel message.  One of the first comments he made to our class still sticks with me after all these years.  “People may not remember a thing you say,” he told us, “but you can bet they will remember how long it took you to say it.
“I was reminded of his words the other day on a flight to New Mexico.  My wife and I were on our annual fall pilgrimage to the Baptist conference center at Glorieta, and the Christian Writers’ Conference.  Being the thoughtful husband I am, I gave my wife the window seat.  That act of love and kindness left me in the middle with a woman I had never met to my left, but who proved to be rather personable.
Shortly after our flight took off the lady began to talk and our mostly one-sided conversation continued until we landed in New Mexico.  She talked about many things, her job, her family, her home in Houston, her home on the lake, and the home she hoped to buy in Santa Fe.   It was the mention of the three homes that let me know that the lady and I were not exactly in the same league.
In the midst of our conversation, as happens in the midst of most of my conversations with strangers, I revealed that I was a Baptist minister.  This revelation opened the door for the woman to make several comments about her own religious pilgrimage.  I could tell that her journey was yet to be completed and thus far the road had been filled with potholes.  She and her husband had attended a number of churches, but for the most part considered themselves Methodists.  In fact, she informed me that their all-time favorite preacher had been Methodist.
As she began to tell me about this most favorite preacher, my mind was carried back to that seminary preaching class and the professor’s warning that people may not remember what we say, but will never forget how long it took us to say it.  In telling me of her and her husband’s favorite preacher, the woman identified him only as “Jack with the wooden leg.”  Being her favorite, I was more than surprised that she never mentioned his last name.  As I recall, she said Jack had lost his leg in the war, and as it turned out, it was his artificial limb that led to his most favored status in her eyes.   As she explained it to me, Jack’s “wooden leg,” as she kept referring to it, prevented him from standing in the pulpit for more than 15 or 20 minutes at a time.  This limitation suited the woman and her husband just fine because, as she put it, “We never did like long sermons.”  So, his inability to stand on his feet for very long made Jack with the wooden leg their favorite preacher.
I found this to be a sad state of affairs; sad that Jack wasn’t remembered for his ministry to those in need and sad that he wasn’t remembered for the content of his sermons, but for their length.  Personally I would have liked to have known more about Jack with the wooden leg, but my neighbor on the flight offered no more details.  More than likely she had none to offer.  As my professor had said, she seemed to have forgotten everything she had heard Jack with the wooden leg say, but she sure remembered how long it took him to say it.
Time is a precious commodity in our fast-paced world, and not a second of it should be wasted.  When a preacher preaches he should have something to say, and he should be aware of how long it will take him to say it.  It seemed good to the lady that Jack with the wooden leg only preached for 20 minutes, but even 20 minutes is too long for a 10 minute sermon.  On the other hand, if a preacher has 30 minutes of good preaching in his heart, those in the pew should have in their hearts 30 minutes to listen.
I have no way of knowing whether Jack with the wooden leg ever had a 30 minute, or even a 45 minute sermon in him, but if he did, and he had preached it, I guess he would have never been a favorite of that woman and her husband.  Sometimes it’s hard for all of us, preachers and laity alike, to court the favor of both God and man.   
“He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”     ----Matthew 11:15