Preconceived

Rene Laennec is the guy who invented the stethoscope. (I knew you’d been wondering.) He is famous for exhorting doctors to, “Listen, listen, listen to your patient! He is giving you the diagnosis.” Sounds stupid, doesn’t it? It’s a “duh” moment. “Really?! You don’t say. If I’m a doctor and want to know what’s wrong with my patient, it might be helpful to actually examine the patient? I never would have thought of that. Thanks!”

Seems stupid, but it’s the kind of stupidity that run rampant in Christians and churches and pastors. It’s the stupidity of the church planter who moves into a new town he’s never lived in, already knowing what kind of church he wants to start. It’s the stupidity of a pastor who only has one way of presenting the gospel, and uses it regardless of who he’s talking to. It’s the stupidity of the church who carbon copies their vision and methodology from another church, without stopping to consider if it applies effectively to the people God has called them to in the place where God has put them. It’s the stupidity of Christians who go in protesting or debating or giving answers without ever taking time to know who they’re talking to or listen to their questions.

“Listen, listen, listen to your patient! He is giving you the diagnosis.”