Most of the time listeners are fairly comfortable when listening.  They may be engaged, interested and tracking along.  If that is not the case, then they may be bored, fidgety or distracted.  This is not good.  But it can also go the other way.  They might be tense, adrenaline pumping and up-tight.  Typically this extreme only occurs when the speaker does something to spark that kind of reaction.  Unlike being bored and disinterested, this heightened state can be both bad or good.

The thing we need to remember as speakers is that if we cause people to have a surge of adrenaline, then we need to be careful what we do with that effect.  It is easy to stir people and make them uncomfortable.  But to do it in a way that is loving and helpful is a bit more complicated.

I was recently in a dramatic presentation.  By definition art engages the emotions.  This was certainly the case on this occasion.  My heart was pumping, adrenaline was flowing, breath was shortened.  Somehow in that state my reactions seemed to be more intense.  If I disagreed with something said or done, then I really disagreed.  If I appreciated it, I found myself nodding and showing affirmation much more freely.  I suppose this is why many react so strongly to drama in church settings, by the way.  If it becomes uncomfortable, as art often does, then it feels very uncomfortable.

Anyway, I am not writing about drama, but about preaching.  When we raise our voices, offer snippets of dramatic monologue, present graphic images on a screen or by description, stun people with painful or angering illustrations, anything that raises the adrenaline of the listeners, then we must be extra careful.  It is easy to cause upset in that state.  It is easy to offend.  It is easy for people to miss the value of what we do and react to some element of it.  It is easy to attach good goals to falsely stirred emotions.

I am certainly not advocating for boring or dry preaching.  The Bible is very emotionally stirring.  As we represent it, we need to reach the whole person.  But when we touch people deeply, when we move people strongly, then we must be very careful and prayerful about what we do at that point.  Be a shame to waste a good message by losing the listeners due to recklessness on our part when they are in a heightened state of focus and attention!