Felt Board Prank (part 2: the mullet)

So, while cleaning from my birthday prank, I realized our felt board has a disturbing number of disembodied human parts:

And, more terrifying, also a mullet. A seperate, removable (addable) hair piece:

So of course I played with it:

And then we learn that God forbade the mullet:

And the people were afraid

(Animals not so much)

The end. 

Birthday Prank 2014: Felt Board Overload

One of the things I love most about my church is the team of pranksters that surprise each other (especially around birthdays). This post is super late in the making, but last year I walked in to find my office COVERED with felt board Bible characters. 

And they weren't just randomly strewn! There was some incredible attention to detail:

Things were organized by likeness:

And some of them even told new stories. Like the harem that gathered around my brother:

And ALL the people who found my theogy books so boring that they fell asleep:

And the satan worshippers who threatened the goodness of the church:

And the invredible family with superpowers (they obviously rule):

I was also quite partial of the rapture scene:

And the touch-up job they did on my photos:

Overall, it was incredible impressive! And completely touching. The latte on my desk came from a congregant. The flowers came from the staff. And that might be my new favorite shirt.

 All in all, the people I work with and do ministry with are hilarious. And I love them. And I'm blessed to be here. (And I've learned that bible stories can be creepy when you dismantle them). 

A deeply honest prayer for a man in a coma

God, he squeezed my hand last week and I almost cried with joy!
And today, he opened his eyes
..but they didn't see. didn't focus.

Is this what it's like for you to wait on your people to be faithful?
Is this how you feel about the church, sometimes?
...waiting for us to wake up?

When I heard about the accident, I thought he had died.
I thought perhaps this is peace for him--freedom from his addictions

And then, when he made it through the first couple of surgeries, I thought Lord! What an opportunity! What a great way to bring restoration and power and testimony into his life!

And then I was afraid.
What happens if he DOES wake up?
What kind of therapy will he get?
What kind of pain will he be in?
How will the rehab facilities treat a homeless man without insurance or income?

But I prayed through it, God.
You know 'cause you were there:
           at that altar with Darryl.
           praying strength and hope and faith and resurrection.
          "We know you're not done working miracles." prayed Darryl.
                                                                                                   Amen!
                                                                                                   (I echoed)


But today, staring into those blank eyes,
                    seeing his un-seeing,
                    I am shaken again.

I DID have a moment of Holy Week connection:
Is he experiencing Holy Saturday?
That middle place between death and life?
...that in-between place of not-quite and still waiting? 

If so, then it means his resurrection still coming!

I want him awake and well.

I want him to know freedom and life in the fullest.

I want him back in our church with the powerful taste of grace on his lips.

And I know that you CAN.

God almighty,
Creator and redeemer of all things,
I know that you CAN bring restoration and healing.

...I just don't know if you will.

Lord have mercy!

I'm not sure that I know the difference between lack of faith and "Your will--not mine--be done"
(because sometimes they feel the same)

...and I don't want you to tell me 'no'

I don't want to be disappointed.

Because I want resurrection my way and in my timing...

So it might be selfish. I know.

But I want him to miraculously wake up.

So I'm asking. 

Please, Lord?

Converging Thoughts On Preaching

There's a LOT going on in my head right now, so here's my attempt to delineate the intersections of influence...

---

1) I received some honest criticism about my preaching a few weeks back (from someone I really respect):

Your presentation and delivery is good, but your sermons are pretty... like mosaics with lots to see. Or like monorail tours at Disney. There's a lot to see--and you show a lot, but at some point, you need to get off the tram. Step down. Go deep.
(i.e. be more specific about the text)

--> incidentally, a different incredible person said I "spend too much time telling people what they should feel--when you should be sharing the story that encourages them to feel that way. You should trust more in the Holy Spirit. --let the seeds sink in. "  (i.e. be less specific about the text)

...So I'm not quite sure where to go with both of these, but I'm holding them. For now.

2)  I'm currently reading  Giving Blood: A Fresh Paradigm for Preaching by Leonard Sweet who remembers his mother shaking her head and muttering "there' no blood on the pulpit today" whenever the sermon was dull or void of deep life. For Sweet, preaching is metaphorical and image-driven (like I generally try to preach) but it's also deeply experiential. He likens preaching "giving blood."

...pouring yourself out. (interestingly, the notion of "pouring ourselves out to others" was one of the themes at a recent missions/ministry retreat)
Sweet says the preacher should be spent and exhausted after preaching.

3) I recently preached a "personal testimony" sermon and found the experience way more terrifying than I expected. I was wiped. For days.   
Esther (friend and fellow clergy) says this phenomenon is what Brene Brown calls a "vulnerability hangover."
[it might also be worth noting that I was hesitant about this kind of sermon. I didn't want to make the sermon about me, but I was mostly nervous that sharing a testimony from my childhood would make me seem permanently young... Allen assured me that it would not]

4) I kept reading Giving Blood and found this quote by George Bernard Shaw on preaching: “Some is like coffee, stimulates but does not nourish; some is like wine, has sparkle but no lasting value; some is like seltzer water, a big fuss over nothing; and some is like spring water—good, but hard to get!”

5) I've been listening to Nadia Boltz-Weber sermons that are incredible. OMG, they're so good!!! Deeply theological, rich with resonant biblical imagery... AND incredibly personal, open, and vulnerable. AND chock-full of current cultural/political references

In one sermon, she flat-out admits that she doesn't know what to do with the transfiguration story: 
"I did go to seminary," she says, "so I could write 1500 words about how the word glory is used in the Bible or about who Moses and Elijah were and what they likely represented to Peter James and John, but I couldn't figure out why any of that mattered to you or me…. I couldn't find anything in the text that breaks my heart."

And my thought was "oh no!! Do I do that? Are my sermons  theoretically theological without any real meat? In the words of another great quote I recently heard--are they so spiritual that they're no earthly good?

---

So I'm wrestling with this thing that I thought was my strength.
(and I'm concerned that I might simply be 'writing pretty words' that sparkle)
(or that my natural energy level and preaching style stimulates, but doesn't transform)

 

 ...and I've come at least to this conclusion:

I want to preach good sermons.
Good, deep, bold, biblical proclamations
Not for my glory or remembrance...
(honestly. Jim Cymbala's Fresh Wind Fresh Fire already challenged me on that; the difference between worship leaders who 'entertain' and get accolades and worship services that genuinely make space for people to experience God.)
...but because I genuinely want God's people to encounter grace and transformation. 

So I'm praying for that.

For all of that.

Return.

“O begin! Fix some part of every day for private exercises....

Do justice to your own soul; give it time and means to grow.
Do not starve yourself any longer. Take up your cross and be a Christian altogether.”

-- John Wesley

 Lent begins tomorrow with Ash Wednesday!
(Ash Wednesday Service is in the Sanctuary at 6:30pm)

Word for the Week: Return

The Hebrew and Greek words for “repent” literally mean to turn around;
to turn away from sin and evil and to turn back to where we belong.

Repentance is a return to God.

Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand;
repent and believe in the gospel." ~Mark 1:14-15

Hospitality: The Good Bad and Ugly

Walking into our church's Wednesday night dinner, I was immediately pulled aside by our church's much-beloved retired minister.

"See that couple over there?" he said. "You should probably go and say hello to them because they were really upset when you asked them to move seats last week. They left the church once when someone told them they couldn't sit in their pew--but they're back now, so you should be very nice to them. [And please don't say anything to them about moving.]"

In other words, if these people are not happy, they will leave the church.
And when I asked them to share their table with others, I upset them.
So I should go out of my way to apologize. Because the purpose of church is to keep people happy.

Seriously?

I kind of felt like this on the inside:

First of all, I did NOT ask them to move last Wednesday. We had a family of five who were brand new to the church; here for their very first church dinner and none of the tables had five empty spaces...except one. One table had two people at it (our tables seat eight) and as I walked over to speak with them, they were getting up to put their plates away.

My memory might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure I said, "Oh? Are you guys leaving? Because we have a brand new family who needs five spaces to sit..."

And then when the family started sitting down, (and I KNOW I'm remembering this part right) the young mom looked at the elderly lady and said "please don't leave--we'd love to talk with you."
...but the elderly lady said "No, it's fine. We were leaving anyways."
NO ONE ASKED THEM TO MOVE!!!!!

More importantly. who cares if we did?? If you're a member of this church, I expect you to be friendly enough and Christ-like enough to give your seat to someone else who needs it more--especially if they are new and there is no where else for them to go. We have an open communion table for a reason. Share your space. 

I wanted to march over and chew them out. make it a teaching lesson.

Instead, I went with grace (see Proverbs 25:21-22) and walked to their table with a warm smile--at least on the outside. I was still inwardly seething. They answered with biting words and angry glares, but I was proud of myself for being a better person than them.

...until I remembered that my lunch conversation was about Jesus' words from the cross: "Father, forgive them. They know not what they do."
I realized later that they probably DON'T know how much hurt they're causing. Their sin--their blind selfishness--wasn't allowing them to see others. ...and I realitzed that an existence like that must be lonely.
So I DID pray for them--and this time I really meant it.
And I repented of my own Pharisaical prayer (c.f Luke 18:11)

On a positive note, we also had a little girl who came to the children's ministry for the first time. Our kids gather in the dining space and then migrate (duck-like) to the children's area, so as we started to make our way over, I introduced her to a few of the kids. Most of them said 'hello' and smiled, but ONE little girl in particular--a beautiful and occasionally awkward little girl who doesn't always know how she, herself, fits in-- she took the time to murmur a delighted "oh! you're new! Would you like me to show you the way?" ...and they walked away hand-in-hand.

I melted.
MELTED.

Almost burst into tears on the spot.

THAT, my friends, is the kingdom of God.
Aand why children will always ALWAYS be welcome there.

(and why we should welcome others)

Canadian Bacon

I'm late posting this, but I preached last Sunday on 1 Corinthians 8 (Paul's discussion about food sacrificed to idols:

Food. Meat. Thus the bacon...)

Per Allen's suggestion, I'm working hard to keep my sermons focused on ONE idea--which is hard since every text has twenty possible implications.  And even then I struggle over whether I'm faithfully preaching 'the text' or 'the theme'.And whether I'm picking the right theme for the needs of my congregation ...still struggling through all that, actually.

But last week week, there were two implications that stuck to the drawing board: 

1) faith isn't something we do alone. ("look beyond the bacon question and notice the person sitting next to you. Community is important.")

2) sometimes being right is less important than being love. ("we may have to sacrifice/inconvenience ourselves in order to welcome everyone to the table. You can have all the right answers and still miss the point. Community is important.")

The second idea is particularly relevant considering our church still has some fiesty divisions over worship etiquette (coffee refills during the sermon ruffle feathers at one service. Coffee at all would be a sacrilege at the other)--but I went with the first theme, because you have to SEE the person beside you before you're willing to sacrifice for them.  

--> full disclosure, my sermon still tried to straddle both themes a bit, but the similarity held then together. And the main idea was clearly the first theme. 

Images that resonated:

Pushing to be first. To be right. And causing others to stumble. Found online: http://www.gbcdecatur.org/sermons/Trippin.html

And my painted meditation:

In this case, painting was a LAST process (a reflection--not early exegesis) so it affirmed the direction and solidified the theme. 

"Notice the big picture. Don't get caught in black and white questions or 'choosing sides' because you'll miss the green spaces and areas of growth. Our call is to abide in Christ, the vine, and grow in faith together."

Grace upon Grace

I celebrated communion this morning with an interdenominational group of ladies--women who have long been meeting together for Bible study and prayer--women who know and love each other--women who just finished a study of Henri Nouwen's With Burning Hearts (a book about communion/eucharist and how it should shapes the Christian life).

...and it was beautiful.
holy.
Deep.

It took my breath away to see women calling each other by name and sharing Christ with each other--women who previously shared the words "in the name of Christ, you are forgiven" with smiles that spoke more deeply of peace than any handshake.

It was touching to see the prayer of confession settle into silently closed eyes--and the "holy holy" words of Isaiah echo in joyful voices.

And it was powerful to remember that I AM deeply thankful for the Holy mystery of communion.
...and I'm craving the day when deep, loving, joyful community will sweep over the entire earth and the Kingdom of God will reign.

I crave it because I got a taste of it this morning.
...and it was GOOD.

Praise be to God, indeed!

Idioms and Allen

One of the things I appreciate about my senior pastor is that he reads the Bible. I mean really reads it.
Not in a showy "three hours a day" thing he brags about, but in a way that allows scripture intrinsically seeps into his language. I know this because he pops out with these incredibly appropriate but off-hand metaphors:

• once, he described early ministry as "runnin' around cuttin' off ears"  (Mark 14:47; John 18:20) meaning he thought he was doing the right thing, but it was all in his intentions--not Christ's--and it ended up causing more busyness than good.
• This morning we were talking about my preaching style and he gave some great critique (in general,my sermons tend to cover a lot of beautiful ground rather than drive a single point home. My sermons are mosaics or tram-tours rather than specific invitations)--but he also warned me to keep preaching in a way that is authentic to me. "now don't run around in Saul's armor if it doesn't fit..." (1 Samuel 17:39)

...mmm and there was another one that I can't remember now, but the whole thing makes me think of Kavin Rowe's (and Duke's) theological push for the "scriptural imagination." And James K.A. Smith's insistence that worship, scripture, liturgy, prayer--these things shape what we think about (i.e. the actual content of our thoughts) but they're far more effective when they shape how we think. In other words, true worship is a fundamental re-working of the very system that hold thoughts and ideas together. Our behavior and our lives are only surrendered when the Word of God (when Christ) takes root in the deep cortex of our imagination.

And I know that it's there for Allen. Christ is there.

(here's more from James K.A. Smith about the difference between Christian formation and education)