Why do Christians need to be preached at?

The Christian family, according to the apostle Paul, is compared to a body. It's a living network of different but equal members and all their resulting relationships. What I find interesting is the idea that's developed somewhere along the way, that the Body needs to be constantly on the receiving end of "professional" monologues delivered by a select few. The assumption seems to be that these speeches are what nourish, guide, and protect the Body spiritually.

Scripture portrays micro shots of the story of how Jesus preached the gospel of the Kingdom of God. Indeed, there was some lecturing (these were, at times, responses to questions and need/situation specific), but it didn't appear to consume the bulk of His activity. Service type activities and conversations appear to have received His greatest attention and through those mediums He "preached" non-stop!

I wonder if speaching (a term coined by Doug Pagitt to refer to preaching as speeches) has it's place, but not as a regular discipline? Maybe it works best for the initial presentation of ideas and topics to a broad audience?

So much of the New Testament seems to focus on the idea of "one another". We are edified by one another. We are rebuked by one another. We are taught by one another. We are loved by one another. And these networks of "one anothers" are influenced and guided by the Holy Spirit.

I wonder how many members of the Body of Christ see themselves as preachers? Not many in terms of a traditional view of preachers as professional clergy.

Lighter reading material.....of sorts

After yesterday's emotionally charged day, it was time to read about someone else's emotionally charged life.

I was tempted to bring home the previous book that I've started to read, Preaching Reimagined, but felt strongly that I should leave it at my church office until Monday. This weekend I need things not so closely related to my work.

Having had a long standing interest in emergency work and currently enjoying the role of a part time rookie firefighter, this book (among several on this topic) is of increasing interest to me. While the stories bound between its covers are high stress to the characters involved, for me, from an outside perspective, it's a relaxing, entertaining, and therapeutic read.

The writer is very talented, in my opinion, at bringing you into his world behind popular public perception. Being a naturally very curious person, I love learning about real life behind the scenes.

So far, the stories have been quite sad, as most involve death and tragedy. But, I'm only a few chapters in. I hope to get back to the book tonight. For now, I'm off to try to extend my yard barrier (fence) upward in hopes of retaining my energetic Blue Heeler, thus sparing the neighbors from her curiosity with their trash.

ugh

This is one of my frequent feelings following the presentation of a sermon (or coordinating the sermon time).

The sermon hour is such an inexplainable thing for me at times.

It's riddled with a complex web of emotions. I too easily ride the approval wave of whether the people that I want to be impressed actually are or not.

Today, I felt like the experiment, mentioned in the previous post, was a flop! Input was not free flowing. I had to keep prompting people with different ideas. It felt like milking an almost dry cow. People were nervously looking around with little smirks (God only knows what the real reasons were, but my eager imagination was ready to surmise). I took this to mean they didn't know what to do with the down time and were uncomfortable with "nothing" happening. Maybe it's me that was the one that was really uncomfortable? I tried to allow extended moments of silence after asking questions to allow people to have time to think of feedback.

Maybe it's just my expectations of what I wanted to see happen. I hoped to have a lively discussion take off with profound insights or stories shared by a wide cross section of the group that would leave most visibly wanting to participate in such an experience again. I would love to see something happen in a more relaxed type of gathering that is obviously God's Spirit taking over.

I long to see church gatherings be a more relational experience. And yet, it's hard to make relational stuff happen in a prescribed way. It's kind of like the silly little exercise that some groups do where they say, "Now is the time where you turn around and say 'hi' to your neighbor". Then you watch everyone (except the Sanguines) try to venture out of their pews and awkwardly say "hi" to the person they just greeted at the door 20 minutes ago. It's so artificial.

I wonder if it's worth it trying to do new and creative things in church?

So, I press on. I need time to process my emotions (as I usually do after every speaking engagement). I know (although it's hard to believe in the moment) that change takes time. I need to stay focused and worry less (ha ha) about what people think. I need to keep following the visions in my heart.

The interesting thing is that, during the meal downstairs, in the midst of my "ugh" feeling, someone shared with me how the insights shared by a couple of other people, during our discussion sermon time, actually answered some questions for her and tied into what she was teaching in the children's classroom. So there you go, maybe I just gotta do what I gotta do. Keep trying to trust that God does what He wants to with our efforts. Sometimes they appear great (BIG) and sometimes they appear insignificant, or don't even hit our human awareness radar.

Community Preaching

As I mentioned earlier, Santa Amazon delivered a box load of great new reads for Christmas. Yesterday I started reading Doug Pagitt's "Preaching Re-imagined". This has special significance for me as a pastor.

My eyes were nearly flying over the words while my hands trembled attempting to turn the pages fast enough. What Doug has to say is so refreshing to a pastor very frustrated for the last few years with preaching. While I love public speaking (when I have a clear presentation in my head that I'm fired up about), I too often not only struggle to know what to share, I ever wonder what good it does. What difference does it make? Why do we do it the way we do? Why does one person (or a few select "talented" ones) always do the sharing of God's word? Does God only speak through professionals (plenty of Scripture stories to argue that idea).

I'm nowhere near done with the book. I'm just pumped about what I've read so far. Doug identifies the need for preaching (defined as proclaiming). However, he takes issue with the way we most often do it. Speaching (a term he coins) is the act of proclaiming only through one way speech monolgues. These are given regularly from one person, prepared in isolation from others, given to people known largely on an acquaintance level, presented in a manner that keeps the presenter in control of what's said, keeps listeners passive, unintentionally trains the Body of Christ to think that God primarily speaks only through certain people, creates a desire for ever "better" presentations, and does little to encourage transformational relationships!

Doug suggests a more conversational approach called progressional dialogue. This is where preaching grows out of community conversation. It's also where the act of preaching is seen more as conversation amongst the Body that enriches each other. This form assumes that God's Spirit is active in each member of the Body and that we can all participate in proclaiming God's good work from the perspective of each of our own experiences, thus adding a level of depth and richness that one person can never provide.

This has my excited creative juices flowing like a river. Today I will be attempting to apply this. I'll talk a bit about this whole idea. Then, I'll be asking a couple of people to read 2 different Scriptural stories (Creation account in Genesis and Incarnation account in John 1). After that, I will begin opening the floor for the sharing of triggers (things that the Scripture brings to mind-stories, experiences, impressions, longings, questions, etc.). I'm excited to learn what God may teach me from other people today.

Anyway-I'm giving it a shot...

Happy New Year....and what about Hell?

2008! Here we are!

This holiday season was, for me, like a cup of hot chocolate on a cozy wintry evening or a cold glass of iced tea on a sultry summer afternoon-refreshing. It included fun, family, relax time, and-of course-reading! My primary reading diet consisted of Brian McLaren’s “The Last Word and the Word after That”. This enjoyable piece of fiction, which is the last in a trilogy series entitled “A New Kind of Christianity”, was dealing primarily with the issue of Hell (not as a piece of profanity, but as a place, concept, and/or doctrine). He compared various perspectives on hell ( everything from Eternal Torment to Universalism) gathering some value from each and pointing out serious issues with each and how they color our picture of God and what He really wants for His Kingdom-healing, re-creative, restorative justice for all!

The teaching is set in a story format which portrays others wresting with this subject. I could so often relate to some of the struggles. I too have felt attracted by Universalism, but been disturbed with what it seems to do with some Scriptural ideas. Along the way, Brian gave the perspective that maybe Jesus wasn’t the promoter of the concept of hell that it so often appears. Maybe He was simply using a popular concept of His day and flipping it on its head to motivate and teach a greater message about His Kingdom-a kingdom of love and grace.

In the end, maybe Hell is not God’s last word-His last great act? Maybe the Devil doesn’t have the last say? Maybe love and grace really do conquer? May God is greater than Hell? Maybe Hell (in some part) is what we experience to greater/lesser degrees when living in contrast to and apart from God’s kingdom of grace?

So where does this leave me doctrinally speaking? What do I believe in terms of popularly spelled out beliefs systems on this subject?

I DON’T KNOW!

I was inspired by how Brian seemed to indicate in this volume that “I don’t know” is a valuable and liberating tool. While there’s good in having an answer for what we believe, I think there’s also great merit in being able to say in relation to matters about God, I don’t know, even if others and denominations think that they do know.

The world is full of Hell! Maybe the calling upon Jesus’ followers is to be His hands and feet in seeking to liberate people from Hellish experiences now, not just in the afterlife!

oh to be strong!

Okay, the picture has nothing to do with what I want to say. I just think it's adorable! And it reflects one of my hobbies-paddling. Winter is the time to dream and plan about summer paddling.

Last night I watched "We Are Marshall" with my family. Initially I kinda rolled my eyes at another sports movie with some hero strong leader type bringing a team to victory and teaching great lessons. However, I really enjoyed this movie and found it tugging at my own desires to be a stronger person. A leader! Someone with a clear sense of calling and direction that no one or nothing can shake. I reflect on my own personality (in fact, many times, I don't even have to reflect as my personality stares me in the face all too often) and find it to be so weak many times. I can easily vacillate in the winds of others ideas and approval/disapproval like the little boat in the picture would likley do in the slightest of breezes.

Some times, I simply feel that God has made me with my shifting personality and that through it I can minister to people in ways that "strong leader" types may not be able to do. But then I experience things that stir up these desires in me to be "stronger". To be visionary. To be wise. To have deep conviction.

Thinking about this last night again, I began to journal. As I clicked away on the keyboard spewing my feelings out as digits on the screen, I began to wonder and be impressed that maybe God has made me the way I am, but also has put these desires and longings in me to be a stronger person too. I sensed that if I ever became a stronger leader, it would be through something that God developes in me (possibly through greater life experience), not something I grit my teeth striving to achieve.

So, again I rest momentarily in the peace of realizing that God has made me the way I am and is continuing to grow me more and more. Who knows what He will do with/through me down the road.

Huh! Maybe the little picture does relate to these thoughts?

aaaaaaahhhhhhh! eeeeeehhhhhh! gggggrrrrrrr!

My intention is that this blog would be reflections that I have as a result of reading and listening to other's thoughts (i.e. books, articles, podcasts, etc.). Well, today the thoughts of my children, among many, often ended up sounding like aaaaaaahhhhhhh!, eeeeeehhhhhh!, or ggggrrrrrrr! as they delightfully peeled open their gifts. Later I went outdoors with them and built a sled run up behind the house. After multiple trips up the hill to get the trail packed down with laborioulsy slow runs, the sounds mentioned above began again to be free flowing. (The kids weren't the only ones making such utterances as I clearly contributed my own share of shrieking "noise".)

This reminds me of how it says in Scripture something to the effect, "The Holy Spirit interprets our groanings as prayers." Maybe prayer is more about what's said in the heart than what's said with the lips?

I wonder how such conclusions about prayer could affect group prayer?