And the Winnner Is...

The Top Borrower at the presbytery Resource Center for the month of April is John Barlow. Congratulations John! Since we could not find a picture of you, we celebrate your achievement with an image of a true American hero.

My Two Cents on Preaching

I have heard (and preached) a few sermons in my day. Below are my current thoughts on the art of proclamation.

A sermon needs to have a point. Retelling the scripture lesson is not a sermon. A series of random thoughts which include an incident from the preacher's life, something he or she has read in a commentary, a piece of news, and a quote from the Christian Century is not a sermon. A sermon without a clear point is vague and leaves the hearer wondering what the point of the sermon actually was.

There are several possible points that can be developed in each scripture passage. Pick one.

A sermon needs to have a story. Please don't obtain this story from a book of illustrations. Unearth something from your reading. Or, mine your own life. Pay attention to your day. Live with the text. What is God saying to you this week in coversation with this text?

A sermon is different from an essay or an article. It does not develop a point. A sermon illustrates the point the preacher is trying to make. I like to think of a sermon as having four scenes. The different scenes include the point of the sermon, the connection of your point with the text, a good story, and a bit of nuance that comes from something the preacher has read in a commentary, theology text, or novel. The creativity comes in as the preacher arranges the four scenes to fit the message of the day.

Caring for Children as Spiritual Practice

Caring for and raising children is an extremely demanding job. One of the many difficulties it raises is finding the time to practice one's spirituality. If we think of the spiritual life in terms of silence and solitude, does this mean that parents with children must postpone life with God until the kids have left the nest? Renowned practical theologian Bonnie Miller-McLemore's newest book examines how parents can reconceptualize the spiritual life to find God in the midst of all the demands of life with children.

The difficulty of this work is that it is targeted at a group of people who have little time to read! I think this book can serve as the basis of a fantastic study for parents at your church.

Pray as You Go

Looking for something to help you practice your spirituality, but simply too busy to find five minutes of quiet time? If you have an mp3 player, the Jesuits of Great Britain offer an incredible resource at http://www.pray-as-you-go.org/. This site has free, downloadable audio files for each weekday. The files contain soothing music, a scripture lesson, and a questions to help you reflect on the passage. Perfect for commuters and other busy people who need to take their spirituality with them (rather than leaving it at home).

Need Some Help with Spiritual Formation?

Do you think that your congregation needs to work on spiritual formation? Do you feel inadequate leading groups in spiritual practices? The Office of Spiritual Formation has your back. Their publication Lord, Teach Us to Pray is a very good resource that teaches you in very simple terms how to teach and lead groups in simple spiritual practices.

Preaching and Personal Experience

In her book Preaching as Testimony, Anna Carter Florence contends that preachers today recognize that they are living in a different world and that the rules of preaching have changed. They're just not sure what they are. She claims that in this new world, the history of women’s modes of preaching is especially relevant. In her study of the history of women’s preaching, she discovered that women have been preaching for a long time (as early as 1636 in America). Since they were not able to do so as ordained preachers until relatively recently, they gave "testimonies" rather than sermons. What does "testimony" mean to Florence? In short, testimony refers to the incorporation of human experience into proclamation. As she states in the Introduction, "Preaching in the tradition of testimony offers us a view of what it takes to become a preacher and to be a preacher: by rooting ourselves so deeply in text and context that we embody the Word we proclaim–and must testify to what we have seen and believed. Preaching in the testimony tradition calls us to live in and live out the Word of God."

Florence is not primarily concerned with the practice of "giving one's testimony." She is interested in redefining the task of preaching away from the crafting of a message toward living in the text and reporting one's experience with it. Those who have a problem with personal stories from the pulpit and those who think personal narrative enhances the communication of the Gospel will find an able dialogue partner in Florence. Highly recommended for all who preach.

The Thoughtful Christian

There when you need it. Whether it's Saturday and you really need a Sunday School lesson or you are simply looking for timely education materials on topics such as the impact of video games on children, The Thoughtful Christian is a great place to look. I just finished reading the lesson on Celtic Christianity and think it would be a very interesting and engaging session for adults. (Thanks to Cindy Sproat at MSPC for the sample.)

For the Bible Tells Me So

I saw the powerful documentary For the Bible Tells Me So in a packed Market Square Presbyterian Church sanctuary on January 25, 2008. It has now been released on DVD. The filmmaker, Daniel Karslake, is a native of Camp Hill. The film has two overarching themes. First, it explores the experiences of five Christian families and their journeys to accept a gay family member. Second, it uses interviews with biblical scholars and religious leaders to argue that Christian and Jewish discrimination of gays is based on a misinterpretation of the Bible. It is a wonderful film and highly recommended. Check it out today.