Thoughts on preaching from the new Dean Powery

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Preach as if it's your last sermon.

You can't preach as if nothing is at stake.

When the gospel is preached, EVERYTHING IS AT STAKE.

Every time we preach, we're telling death to go to hell!!

How do we, as preachers, proclaim a word of hope and life?

At a funeral, the other preacher is death. But it's this way every day.
Every day, we encounter Christian  zombies--walking dead.

Sermons begin in prayer. Before having anything to say, we must listen.

There's a jazz singer in Raleigh; she sings her sermon and preaches her songs. Singing is preaching and preaching is song!

In the face of death, there is a song. God will have the final word.

Much in the same way, when we preach, we are singing over dead places--dead people--and we are breathing breath.

We are preaching death's funeral.

Dean Powery's goal for Duke Chapel: To bridge together that which has never been together.

Fishin and Mission

I think most churches tend to be islands. Church is treated as an entity which is separate from the world--images of hope or salvation. Church is where the sacraments are....and then mission becomes this "build it and the people will come" idea. (ie, build the right program, get the right worship, invite a friend to worship...) The idea is that if we can only get people into the church, salvation will happen.

But you can't fish on an island. You can't cast a net on dry land.

Fishing for men can't happen in the church.

And half the point of fishing is to get out of the house anyways, right? 

Moreover, these models tend to put the agency of 'catching' on our side--when it's not. I find words like 'catch' or 'bait' or 'reeling in'--these are problematic where mission is concerned. But the point is the same. We just have to remember that disciples don't hold the pole. If anything, we're an extension of the line--and we need to go where God casts us.

Or maybe Jesus' point wasn't about 'catching' at all. Maybe he said that 'cause he was talking to a bunch of fisherman. Maybe he was saying that mission is now what you do. Mission is your livelihood.

Tangible--or digital--grace?

Farhad Manjoo's article about i-books for children got me thinking about physical vs. digital reading in general. Is digital media shifting the way we think about reading--and the Bible? Certainly the syntax is changing. Participating in a young adult Bible study a year ago, I was amused when someone urged the group to open their Bibles and "pull up" a particular verse. I have even heard a persons speak of "downloading" truth from Scripture.

My worship precept recently had a lengthy discussion about the necessity (or lack therein) of reading from a physical Bible in the pulpit. On one hand, holding the whole book nods towards the entire biblical narrative. It is "this" --the whole Bible and not just the individually googled verse which "is the word of God for the people of God." Especially if a Bible is delightfully worn and threatens to turn into dust at the slightest touch, physical Bibles remind us that our faith is ancient and must be handled with reverence.  On the other hand, reading from an iphone shows that Scripture is still relevent and present in modern culture. (Moses had a tablet, right?)

Bible aps are handy in worship too. Maneuvering through chapters and verses can make seekers feel like outsiders, but a handy app is easily accessible and quickly gets the whole congregation on the same wavelength if not page. People are also more likely to carry a phone with them than a Bible and teaching people how to locate scripture gives them constant access to the Word.

...but what gets lost? For one, isolating a single verse to "look up" doesn't give access to the larger context. Certainly, the biblical order was not canonized randomly, but is this noticeable on biblegateway.com? If Revelation is not a physical telos at the end of a book, does that change its interpretation? More importantly--and here I might just be old fashioned--does the internet make Scripture just another search? Is the Bible as obviously special and unique when it's one of many, many, easily downloaded bits of information? Am I old fashioned for not wanting Scripture to be just part of the internet?

I have no doubt that the Holy Spirit can and does work online, (this reflection was my first post) but surely the digital era is missing a touch of incarnate theology. There is something troubling about a congregation who urges television viewers to put a glass of water next to the TV so that it can be "blessed by remote control." (Philip Jenkins, The Next Christendom. pg 82)

A student's Prayer by Thomas Aquinas

Creator of all things,
true source of light and wisdom,
origin of all being,
graciously let a ray of your light penetrate
the darkness of my understanding.

Take from me the double darkness
in which I have been born,
an obscurity of sin and ignorance.

Give me a keen understanding,
a retentive memory, and
the ability to grasp things
correctly and fundamentally.

Grant me the talent
of being exact in my explanations
and the ability to express myself
with thoroughness and charm.

Point out the beginning,
direct the progress,
and help in the completion.

I ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Mother's Day LIturgy

When one in six couples struggles with infertility, mother's day can be a painful time for many women in the church. This blog post (from "The Messy Middle") addresses the topic beautifully and includes this fabulous liturgy:

To those who gave birth this year to their first child—we celebrate with you
To those who lost a child this year – we mourn with you
To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badge of food stains – we appreciate you
To those who experienced loss this year through miscarriage, failed adoptions, or running away—we mourn with you
To those who walk the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears, and disappointment – we walk with you. Forgive us when we say foolish things. We don’t mean to make this harder than it is.
To those who are foster moms, mentor moms, and spiritual moms – we need you
To those who have warm and close relationships with your children – we celebrate with you
To those who have disappointment, heart ache, and distance with your children – we sit with you
To those who lost their mothers this year – we grieve with you
To those who experienced abuse at the hands of your own mother – we acknowledge your experience
To those who lived through driving tests, medical tests, and the overall testing of motherhood – we are better for having you in our midst
To those who will have emptier nests in the upcoming year – we grieve and rejoice with you
And to those who are pregnant with new life, both expected and surprising –we anticipate with you
This Mother’s Day, we walk with you. Mothering is not for the faint of heart and we have real warriors in our midst. We remember you.

I love Greek!!!

I love how words speak more clearly when we hear them in a different context!

The scripture passage for this Sunday is the one where Paul begs God to remove the "thorn in his flesh" and, instead, God says "My grace is sufficient for you."

Usually when I read God's response, the tone of voice (in my mind) is the same one I use when talking to my cat before bedtime. "No, Mia. I'm not feeding you again. Once is enough....your dinner is sufficient."

It's like God is saying, "I've already given you so much grace! Be satisfied with what you've got." (translation: stop whining, Paul! Toughen up.)

.....BUT THEN I looked at the Greek.

Instead of "(My grace--subject) (IS--verb) (sufficient--adj),"  the Greek actually looks more like this: "(the grace of me--MY OWN grace--subject) (suffices--verb) (to/for you--direct object)"

...God's grace makes us sufficient!!!

ἀρκέω (I'll want to look this up in my own Strong's)...but Biblos.com defines the verb thusly:
"to be possessed of unfailing strength; to be strong, to suffice, to be enough (as against any danger; hence, to defend, ward off) ...my grace is sufficient for thee, namely, to enable thee to bear the evil manfully; there is, therefore, no reason why thou shouldst ask for its removal."

THEN, the "for" (as in "for power is made perfect in weakness) is more like a "because" (and it works better the other way around--like a dependent clause. A modifyer):
          "Strength is made perfect in weakness. (Because of this...just like this...) My grace is enough for you."

...strength coming out of weakness like like the Holy Spirit who helps us pray in our weakness (Romans 8:26)

Thomas Merton Prayer

My Lord God,

I have no idea where I am going
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.

Nor do I really know myself,
And the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing.
And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore will I trust you always
though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death, 

I will not fear, 

for you are ever with me
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

17th Century Nun's Prayer

Lord, Thou knowest better than I know myself, that I am growing older and will someday be old. Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion. Release me from craving to straighten out everybody’s affairs. Make me thoughtful but not moody; helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all, but Thou knowest Lord that I want a few friends at the end.
Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point. Seal my lips on my aches and pains. They are increasing, and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by. I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others’ pains, but help me to endure them with patience.
I dare not ask for improved memory, but for a growing humility and a lessing cocksureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.
Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to be a Saint – some of them are so hard to live with – but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil. Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places, and talents in unexpected people. And, give me, O Lord, the grace to tell them so.
AMEN

Cancer is So Limited...

It cannot cripple Love

It cannot shatter Hope

It cannot corrode Faith

It cannot destroy Peace

It cannot kill Friendship

It cannot suppress Memories

It cannot silence Courage

It cannot invade the Soul

It cannot steal Eternal Life

It cannot quench the Spirit.

-Author Unknown

Yup. Funny

THIS is my new favorite website!!

and ...this one is funny too

And....let's not forget this old classic favorite!

Power and Authority

Another great article from my super sup.: Power Games.

The section on table-space reminds me of Morse's book, Making Room for Leadership.

And Merritt's article brings mixed feelings and highlights a little of my own uncertainty. On one hand, as a young, 5'2" female, I'm very conscious of being "less powered" (I refuse to use 'powerless!'). On the other, I'm not really sure that I want it! I don't want to not do things out of fear...Like clearing the table at a previous potluck. Should I not do that in the future? Will that servant-image shake my already tenuous authority? Isn't the servant-image (exemplified by passing papers and pouring coffee)--isn't that EXACTLY what pastors should be emulating? Or is such an example only effective when it's done from one who already HAS authority?

The story of Jesus washing the disciples' feet is hailed as a wondrous example of servanthood and hospitality! ....and yet Abigail washes servants' feet in1 Samuel 25:40-42. Why is that less remarkable?

Samuel and the Sermon Project

Julie (my 2012 field ed. supervisor) has asked me to write a sermon every week.

"You need to learn how to write a sermon when you've had a bad day--or when you're swamped." she says.

And she's right. After all, one of my summer goals is to experience the "rhythm of pastoral life" and if I have my own church next summer (I can't believe I can write that!!) I could easily spend all my Saturday nights on last-minute sermons.

So it's good that I'm writing a sermon each week.

But I'm indecisive and time is of the essence. (That's one of the reasons why procrastination is so wonderful. I don't have time to deliberate, so the process takes half the time...).
  
So my decision this week is to draw lots. I wrote my four sermon directions on post-it notes, shuffled them, and begged the Spirit to guide my hand!

My options (for 1 Samuel 8)

•   Focus on God in this text (instead of the sinful crowd who rejected God)-- preach God's ability and willingess to work all things for good. (sure, kingship wasn't God's plan, and the Israelites messed up, but God redirected their kingship. Eventually, we get back to "Jesus is Lord!" (We can't mess anything up beyond God's ability to reconcile) :. Mosaic. Justification. ...free will means God lets us make mistakes.  (but eschatology means redemption)
• Focus on God as the One who doesn't leave us--despite our constant rejection; God as longsuffering, patient, and forgiving (looking at God's outcry in Hosea 11 and the story of the prodigal son)
• Focus on Samuel and study the implications for leadership in this text. How do you lead a group of people who won't listen to God? (one key element here is recognizing that lay people ARE called to lead--in work environments and social groups. So how?)...God tells Samuel not to be offended, to listen to the people. (perhaps even loving them?)
• God's REASONS for not wanting a king. A king means war. (this would be an overt AGAINST the 'angry and violent' stereotype for the OT). God's way is peace and reconciliation.  

The lots pushed me towards the first option, but the others are worth at least contemplating...

Clash of Calendars

This past weekend was Pentecost and Memorial Day--a phenomenon that inspired this post and a great conversation with my new field ed supervisor, Julie. "In the church, what do you do with secular holidays?" she asked.


Essentially, the question is about secular/Christian perspectives on time (Do holidays mark and measure the creeping monotony of human time or should they break into it--shading our chronology with hues of eschatology and reminding us that God defines time?). Likewise, there are two calendars in tension; the Christian calendar (lectionary, Advent, Easter, Pentecost, etc...) and the secular one that every American hangs on their wall. ....but which one should shape our worship?

1. Only the Christian calendar! That's the only true Christian way of life!

• (Julie asked people to wear red/yellow/orange on Petecost in order to avoid the red/white/blue of memorial day)
• Immediately, this may seem right, but it's not so easy. Some secular holidays are conceived as Christian. (What's more Christian than giving thanks on Thanksgiving? And isn't it a commandment to honor our mother's and fathers? So Mother's day is biblical.) Plus, as Julie pointed out, it's important to recognize (and preach to) a congregation's context. If your congregation is thinking in terms of memorial day, then why not give people a way to think about God IN the reality of that life? Besides, in completely ignoring secular holidays, worship runs the risk of being disjointed from life...And even holidays that are Christian have been tainted by the secular world. Advent has become the season of shopping

2. Embrace the secular holidays! Preach to the People.  Christmas and Easter were pagan holidays that Christians used to infuse the narrative of Christ. Celebrations of spring and new life became reminders of Jesus' resurrection.

•  But so many holidays are problematic
• Is 'Thanksgiving' the same as giving thanks? (No, because it's a political holiday and it oppressed the natives...
• Mother's Day run danger of painfully excluding so many....'mothering' isn't limited women and being a woman cannot be reduced to mothering 
• In addition risking false celebration (ie, honoring soldier sacrifices insread of Jesus' sacrifice), secular holidays are often times of false joy ("Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year" so the implication is that if you're not happy, something is wrong with you. Holidays often bring financial/emotional burdens and highlight brokenness rather than invite us into life...
• Plus, "to celebrate a holiday in the worship service is to baptize it. Transformation is needed, but the secular context doesn't always get transformed in worship." -JP
• You could preach them from the fliip side. Preach right at them, "here's what this holiday actually is...here's what we miss...here's the Christian lens and how we SHOULD celebrate them"
• Preaching is a conversion--moving us away from memorial day and death into Pentecost and life!
• If you try this, make sure to alert the person doing the children's message. There's nothing like following a children's message by saying how it was wrong...
• But...Are they really worth 1/52 Sundays? Every year? (when the lectionary is a 3-year cycle). Are these holidays THAT important?

 3. Incorporate one into the other. 

• You can preach lectionary, but nod towards the holiday in a pastoral prayer...

"Storytelling is a battle. For Christians are living waist-deep in competing narratives--stories of empire, nation, progress, and self-actualization, each of which whispers in our ear, 'This is who you really are. You belong to us.'" Lischer

"Let me Be Laid Aside For Thee"

I'll be honest: the loss of guaranteed appointments scares me.

I mean, ministry is scary enough, right? You put yourself out there. You jump through ordination hoops. You open your future to an itinerant system--not knowing WHERE you'll end up--but knowing, at least, that you'll have SOME kind of job. And that, no matter how tiny or creepy the parsonage, your family will have a place to live. 

More than that, I liked knowing that I would always have a place to do ministry.

I can handle moving around. I've reconciled with that idea. But the possibility of NOT having a church? Or doing sixteen years of church ministry and then getting 'assigned' to unpaid church leave just because the conference needs to cut back on the budget? THAT thought is terrifying.

And I HATE the thought of doing local church ministry with one hand behind my back--one hand feverishly waving to the bishop and cabinet to make sure I get noticed.

Will I have to learn Spanish for the sake of job retention? (instead of learning Spanish for the sake of sharing the Gospel?)  If something goes wrong in the conference, will I have to play it safe instead of speaking out? 
Will this make us more competitive against one another? Will this become an excuse for ditching us before retirement? What if they simply don't like me?

...Some of these fears, I'll admit, are unwarranted and my rational heart knows good and well that this tiny detail is not going to derail the whole seeking-faith UMC system. Other jobs don't come with a guarantee, so why should this one?

However, the notion of 'popular ministry' where golden, vivacious, pastors rise to the top and the quiet faithful ones falls through the cracks and lose their appointments... THAT is a real and scary possibility (The United Methodist Church will have to work hard to avoid that) but if I'm walking out on faith, a little fear is probably a good thing, right?

It certainly makes the covenant prayer a more frighteningly beautiful reality.

A letter for Prison Ministry...Following a conversation about being "soft"

To John and Chad and Tim and Bobby:

It’s been a while since we met at Yokefellows (I apologize for not writing earlier) but I want you to know that I havn’t forgotten. I can’t claim to know  you after such a brief time, but the met that I met seemed remarkable real and I pray for you often—thanking God for your faith, your strength, and your courage.

I want you to know that our conversation made me think, especially during Christmas. (Imagine that! A Divinity student thinking!) Christmas: it’s all about the manger and the birth of Jesus, right? Rather than a fighting saviour, we have Emmanuel—God who comes to us (with us) in an amazing act of grace. He’s a baby for Christ’s sake (literally).

Doesn’t this seem kind of weak? …soft even?

And it doesn’t end with Christmas. It’s all through the Bible:

“Blessed are the meek.” Matt 5:5
“When I am weak, I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:10
“Turn the other cheek.” Luke 6:29
“Forgive others.” Colossians 3:12-14

How does it fit? You can’t get much stronger than the all-powerful creator of the universe, but a man can be the biggest beefcake in the gym and still lack heart and guts, right? Behind all the power and the miracles, was Jesus just a wuss?

“Maybe Christianity is soft.” I started to think.

But I wasn’t satisfied with that. Growing up around carpenters, Jesus must have been physically strong. Heck, Jesus flipped tables in the temple and the soldiers in Gethsemene trembled just at the sight of him--falling to the ground (John 18:6). And he stood his ground when he was persecuted. He faced the cross like a man. Nothing weak about that.

And I keep thinking about the whole power thing and the miracle thing. God certainly had (has) the power. Why the manger? Why mercy? Why grace?

The more I think about it, the more I realize that it takes more strength to have power and choose not to use it (like self control takes more strength than acting out of anger) –the manger was a matter of choice. Rather than raging in anger towards us, God chooses to forgive. Rather than wiping us out, God chooses to wipe away our sins—and gives us the strength to move beyond them.

There’s nothing soft about that.

There is nothing weak about our God!

(and if it weren’t for our time together, I never would have thought about all of that. So thank you.)
Know that you are prayed for and that you all have touched this future-pastor’s heart.

With Christ’s Love,