The Sacraments

The following are notes I'm using tonight to lead the CLM class.

A. What is a Sacrament? 

 The word sacrament comes from a Latin word that means pledge or oath. In this case, it is a pledge from God of God’s continued presence in our lives. In the sacraments, God works invisibly in us, quickening, strengthening and confirming our faith. It emphasizes God’s actions in and through the sacrament.

As United Methodists (along with most protestants) we have two rituals we call sacraments – baptism and communion. Just FYI, the Catholic church practices seven sacraments – baptism, confirmation, eucharist, reconciliation (confession), anointing of the sick, holy orders, and matrimony. We call sacraments those that it is believed Christ instituted explicitly. If you look at the list, you will see that our faith includes all of the others, but not as sacraments.

B. Methodism and the Sacraments

Remember, the Methodist denomination did not begin as a new denomination. It was begun by Wesley as a way to bring Anglican parishioners to a deeper faith. In the book Sacraments and Discipleship by Mark W. Stamm, the author writes that Wesley was working against two barriers to deeper discipleship:

1. Structural – the Anglican church was set up in Parishes – the Parish system was designed for a rural church and didn’t fit the needs of the working poor who lived in the emerging industrial centers. Wesley and Methodist preachers met the people where they were and when they could be there – even in fields.
2. Theological – There was a Calvinistic belief of unconditional election – God has already chosen who will be saved (and who will be condemned) and that the person cannot change this pre-election. Wesley believed that everyone should hear the Gospel in order to repent and believe.

Wesley gathered new and existing believers into disciplined, supportive communities called societies and classes The only requirement for admission into these groups was to desire to seek the work of God. Wesley believed that discipleship and faith were not private matters and that a community was required.

In the classes, “they helped one another embody the terms of their baptismal covenant. They also committed themselves to receive Communion as often as they could.” Understand that the sacraments were not usually part of the classes – these were led by lay people – but were a way to live out the sacraments.

Another quote by Stamm: “According to a Wesleyan understanding of the church, sacramental practice is (and should be) a the living center of communities where people watch over one another in love, communities where people under that the church’s primary task is disciple making, communities where people seek to become the body of Christ in mission.”

It’s important to remember that for Wesley, the sacraments were not ends in themselves, but were a means to an end, and that end is love – love God with all we are, and love our neighbors as ourselves (also from Stamm).

C. Grace and the Sacraments (much of this is from an article on UMC Resources) For John Wesley and for the Anglican church of which he was a part, the sacraments were instituted as a means of grace. We’ve talked about the means of grace before – According to Wesley, these are “outward signs, words, or actions ordained by God, and appointed for this end, to be the ordinary channels whereby God might convey to us, preventing (or prevenient), justifying, or sanctifying grace.”

And a quick review of the three “types” of grace…

1. Prevenient grace (or the grace that comes before) is part of baptism – bringing us into the body of Christ – God at work initiating us into a relationship with Godself.
2. Justifying grace – the grace of responding to God into relationship – is also part of baptism. We are cleansed from sin and brought into relationship.
3. And that leads to sanctifying grace – the work of the Holy Spirit to bring us to perfection. How does that work? Wesley doesn’t try to explain it – we just trust in God’s promises that it does.

In the article, the author quotes Stamm: “Jesus’ command was to ‘do this’ in the sacrament of Holy Communion. Experiencing God’s grace during this sacrament is a matter of trust. Luke 24: “Christ is made known to us in the breaking of the bread; the risen Christ shows up in the eucharist. You can’t control the risen Christ – just follow him"

The grace in communion moves Christians to act on their faith. We just talked about that when we were exploring the Methodist outlook on the sacraments. Remember that those actions are motivated by grace – it is grace that reaches towards us in communion – it is grace that moves us to reach out towards others. Love divine.

One other thing about grace and sacraments – “grace given in sacraments is not irresistible; God’s work there can be frustrated and even blocked by human rebellion, stubbornness, and apathy.” We have free will, and we can ignore grace.

Where the Road Goes

In the book Voices of Advent, Matthew Skinner writes about what it would have been like for Joseph, with so many unasked and unanswered questions. And yet Joseph followed God anyway.

Skinner writes:

[Obedience to God] involves says, "I don't know what this road is going to be like or if my journey will be easy or agonizing, but I'm going to walk it." Sometimes we know - or we think we know - the destination where a road will take us, but nonetheless the journey from point A to point B is usually much less clear.

Each year I teach a series of classes for those seeking certification as Certified Lay Ministers. They start, and sometimes even finish, the class series not knowing where God is calling them to go or what God is calling them to do. I think that is OK. We don't have to know; we just have to follow the next right step.

Skinner writes, "You don't have to have it all figured out before you begin. You don't have to know the solutions. Just take the next best step. It's a long road."

Small Group Resources

 In a previous post about the book Gather Us In, I mentioned that I would post a list of resources our guest speaker provided during his presentation to our CLM Class. 

• Sticky Church by Larry Osbourne.  Amazon/Cokesbury
• The Class Meeting by Kevin Watson. Amazon/Cokesbury.
• Creating Community: Five Keys to Building a Thriving Small Group Culture by Andy Stanley. Amazon
• Activate: An Entirely New Approach to Small Groups by Nelson Searcy.  Amazon/Cokesbury
• Waking to God's Dream by Bishop Dick Willis.  Amazon/Cokesbury

Sarah Laughed

In the CLM class I taught last night, the person who shared a devotional read Genesis 18:1-15. He compared the trust in God's word exhibited by Abraham to Sarah laughing, saying that she was laughing because she didn't trust or believe God would do what God had promised.

How do you view the idea that Sarah laughed?  Is it distrust? Or is it something else?

For me, I've always loved that Sarah laughed. I imagine, if I live to be as old as Sarah was, and God said to me that I would have a child, I would laugh.  Or cry. It's ridiculous. It's laughable. It's unbelievable. And maybe, for Sarah, who had no children, it would be joyous, too, 

I don't think she is a model of distrust we should avoid emulating.  I think she is a slice of humanity.  Disbelieving. Smart enough to know what she's been told is impossible. Afraid, and a little bit joyous, too. And God respected her enough to have a conversation with her. 

Church Leadership Books

 Last month, in my CLM course, the speaker mentioned several books about Church Leadership. I thought it was a good list, so I'm sharing it here.

• Foster, Richard. Celebration of Discipline. HarperOne. San Francisco. 1998. Cokesbury / Amazon.
• Foster, Richard. Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home. HarperOne. San Francisco. 1992. Cokesbury / Amazon
• Kotan, Kay and Blake Bradford.  Mission Possible 3+: A Simple Structure for Missional Effectiveness. Market Square Publishing. 2021.  Amazon
• Lewis, Stephen, Matthew Wesley Williams, and Dori Baker. Another Way: Living and Leading Change on Purpose. Chalice Press. St. Louis, Missouri. 2020. Cokesbury / Amazon.
• Nouwen, Henri.  In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership. Crossroad Publishing Company, New York. 1989.  Amazon
• Ross, Stephan. Leadership and Organization for Fruitful Congregations. 2018 (also known as Simple Governance: Liberating Your Church for Mission) Amazon.
• Weems, Lovett and Ann Michel. Generosity, Stewardship, and Abundance: A Transformational Guide to Church Finance. Rowman & Littlefield. Lanham, Maryland. 2021. Cokesbury / Amazon. 

Resources

One thing I have noticed about writing for this blog - and this November I’ll have been doing it for 19 years - the content inspiration from the posts comes from what I am doing at the time.  If I’m reading a devotional book (or any kind of book), if I’m taking a class, if I’m preaching or teaching - then these things fuel the posts.  If I’m not doing those things, it becomes difficult to produce any kind of writing.  That’s not surprising, right?  It makes sense.

Our most recent CLM class was about preaching, and the students spent several weeks learning about different ways to prepare a sermon to preach.  When I was first preparing the curriculum for this class, I read a book called Preaching Grace: Possibilities for Growing your Preaching and Changing People’s Lives by Kennon L. Callahan.  The author works through eight possibilities for ways preachers can grow their preaching and offer sermons that are more helpful.  I reviewed the book here.

One of the possibilities the author describes is resources.  When I think of resources as related to preaching, I think of commentaries and study bibles.  That’s not what Callahan means.  Resources are those activities you do - your involvement in the community.  He suggests finding a group that relates to your hobby, or going out and doing service work in the community.  Find something you enjoy that helps you build relationships with people. This will be a resource for your preaching. 

Psalm 145 Collects

One of the projects I like to ask my CLM students to do is to write a collect.  A collect has a specific structure

• An address to God
• An attribute of God is named, or God’s action in scripture is briefly recalled.
• A petition is made that relates to that attribute or narrative
• The intended result of the petition is stated – often with a clause that begins with that
• A final doxology or praise is offered, often in Trinitarian form.

Below are collects inspired by Psalm 145:8-14

Verse 8: The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Loving God, you are unimaginably gracious and merciful, slow to anger and full of loyal love.  Help us to release our grudges and offer forgiveness to those who have hurt us so that your light is seen clearly through us. Through the motivation of your holy spirit and in your son's name, Amen.

Verse 9: The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.

Almighty God, in your kindness and compassion, you are good to all of us.  Grant that we may share your goodness with the world so that lives are healed, as ours have been.  In your son's loving name we pray, Amen.

Verse 10:  All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your faithful shall bless you.

O Lord, you created the world and breathed life into all of us.  Awaken in us an awareness of your presence so that all of your faithful will praise you name and offer thanks to you. Amen.

Verses 11 and 12: They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom, and tell of your power, to make known to all people your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

O, our powerful and glorious God, who presence in our world brings light and grace, give us voice to sing your praise so that others may come to know you. Amen.

Verse 13: Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. The LORD is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds.

Faithful, gracious God, your kingdom is everlasting.  Give us the voice to declare your good works so that all generations will know of you, and your spirit will dwell among us all.  Amen.

Verse 14: The LORD upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down.

Loving God, who lifts up those who have fallen, strengthen us to recognize those who need our help and encourage us to reach out in service so that your love surrounds all of us. Give us the courage to live as your son showed us how to live, Amen.

Book Review: Preaching Grace

Information about the book

Kennon L. Callahan.  Preaching Grace: Possibilities of Growing Your Preaching and Touching People's Lives.  Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1999. (Amazon link)

Summary

From the book cover:  This is an age of mission.  This is a time when our gifts and strengths can truly touch people's lives - often for the first time.  In Preaching Grace, Kennon Callahan... shows pastors how to develop an approach to preaching that builds upon their unique gifts and strengths and gain the confidence and assurance to grow their preaching.

The structure of the book is to devote a chapter to each of eight strengths or gifts a preacher could develop in order to grow her preaching in a way that increases sermon's helpfulness to the members of the congregation.  The chapters outline what each strength is, why it is important, and suggestions of  how to develop it.

Impressions

I liked this book and plan to use the content in summary fashion in the curriculum for our Conference CLM Course.  I am usually wary of books that are more than 20 years old because church life and ministry has changed in the past two decades.  I was impressed that this one begins with the thesis that the church has changed - we are no longer preaching to church members who feel an obligation to be present; we are not even preaching to bring absent members back.  We are preaching to a mission field with the goal of reaching those who have never been in church.

I like the author's approach that perfection is not the goal.  He urges readers to release the guilt of what they "think" they should be doing, and find the methods that work for their personality and their congregation.  Smart and helpful.

I like the systematic approach to eight possibly ways to grow preaching with the goal of increasing sermons' helpfulness to the congregation.  I many cases, the strengths were not what I anticipated form their name.  For example, Resources is not the books on your shelf.  It is counting the time you spend in ministry - reaching people, working in mission, providing pastoral care - and using that time to not only increase the helpfulness of your sermon but also your connection with the congregation so that they are more receptive to your preaching.  In other words, sermon prep and pastoral care are not competing for time on your schedule - they are interwoven so that pastoral care and mission work are resources for your preaching.  This makes sense when you consider that a sermon should address a human issue - how will you know the issues people face unless you are working with them to face the issues?

Posts concerning the book

If I've written any other posts with information from this book, they will be tagged as Kennon Preaching

Carried or Sent? Part 2

 This is the second part of a devotional I gave at a meeting last week.

We are living in a pandemic.  I am so ready for that not be the case, but it is.  We are living in a time of fear.  A time of mourning and grief.  A time of anger. We have not been sent here by God, but we have been carried by God.

 

I’m reading a book called The Missional Leader: Equipping your church to reach a changing World by Alan Roxburgh and Fred Romanuk.  They write, “In the incarnation, we discern that God is always found in what appears to be the most godforsaken of places – the most inauspicious of locations, people, and situations….Over and over again, God meets God’s people with the bright light of the Kingdom in what appears to be the most hopeless and forsaken places.”  Through a prophet, God asks, “Can these dry bones live?” and then God answers the question by sending us Jesus.  The answer is yes.  The dry bones lives because God is with us.

 

God was with the people in exile, and God tells them to live.  Get married, have children, have grandchildren.  Live.  Bring life to where you are. 

 

God is with us in this pandemic, and tell us to live.  To do ministry.  To love each other.  To bring life to where we are.  Here in this place, where God is, we are still the church.  We need new skills, and we need to use gifts differently, but that doesn’t mean we have an excuse to do nothing. 

 

A few years ago, I was part of a committee that was trying to standardize the certified lay minister program in our conference.  We couldn’t envision a way to do it.  But now, I’m teaching a Conference CLM course – all online.  In a way we didn’t – couldn’t have – envisioned.  The students – at least some of them – don’t have the equipment they need, or the internet they need, and yet they are doing this anyway.  They borrow a friend’s computer, they find internet, they show up every month for a 2.5 hour zoom class.  They do the portico lectures, they read the books, they struggle through curriculum, and they write answers to hard questions.  In a land where they didn’t expect to be, they are living life – following God’s call.  And they are telling me that they couldn’t have done this without the class being held online.  They couldn’t have traveled for in person meetings.  This could not have happened before the pandemic.

 

So, I ask you today, in this land where God has carried you, where have you seen God at work?   Where are you or the people in your community, living life in a way no one anticipated before?

Evangelism

One of the books I read in preparation for a CLM class I am leading was Faith Sharing by Eddie Fox and George Morris.  I thought their explanation of what evangelism is was particularly good.  “The primary word for evangelism in the NT is the Greek noun euangelion.  It is the compound of two words meaning ‘good message’  We have shortened that to ‘good news’ or ‘gospel.’  The Greek verb euangelizomai means ‘bringing, spreading, or announcing the euangeloin, the good news or gospel’ So evangelizing describes the spreading of the good news of the gospel.” 

Evangelism does not mean to make converts of people.  It is to spread the good news of the gospel, regardless of the result.  John Scott says, “Evangelizing is neither to convert people, nor to win them, nor to bring them to Christ, though this is indeed the first goal of evangelizing.”

 

Fox and Morris define evangelism as “the faithful presentation of the gospel of the kingdom by word, deed, and sign.”  They go on to say, “We do not evangelize people or nations or even structures.  We evangelize the gospel.  Evangelizing is not something we do to people but something we do with the gospel.”  And we do that by what we say, what we do, and by pointing to Christ (a sign – making Christ significant).

 

For me, this definition and explanation solidifies the idea that we tell of the light of Christ – we spread the good news, and God takes care of the transformation part of the equation.  Conversion is the work of God.  Spreading the good news is our work. 

How does it change our approach to evangelism if we see it as spreading the good news of Christ and not changing or converting people?  I think it sounds much less manipulative - and much more like sharing the love of God.  That might be why I liked this definition a lot.

Book Reviews: Faith Sharing and Faith Sharing Congregations

 I've been off the blog for a few weeks.  August was a little "crowded" with commitments, so I let this one go for a bit.  I hope to be back for a while.  

As you may have gathered from the blog, I'm teaching a CLM course, and reading many books becasuse of it.  I'm trying to write reviews of the books I read, but I behind, both with writing them and posting them. I try not to overwhelm the blog with Book Reviews - my goal being not to post one more often that once every other week.  But for today, I have two. They are both short, and both about the same subject.

Review #1:

Information about the book

H. Eddie Fox and George E. Morris.  Faith Sharing: Dynamic Christian Witnessing by Invitation.  Discipleship Resources, Nashville, TN, 1996.  (Cokesbury / Amazon)

Summary

The purpose of the book is to explain the why, what, who, and how of sharing the good news of Christ.  It is designed to help persons be competent and confident in witnessing. (from Amazon)

Impressions

I liked the book.  An ah-ha moment for me was the explanation of their definition of evangelism - sharing the gospel.  We don't evangelize people; we evangelize the gospel, by word, deed, and sign.  I used the book as a resource to teach the CLM class I am leading. It's focus on the individual's role in evangelism fits well with the book the class was assigned to read: Faith-Sharing Congregation.  A good pair.

The book is written in memory of Harry Denman.  The stories the authors share about Denman are great role models of how to share your faith in relationship with others. 

Posts about book

FoxMorrisSharing

Review #2

Information about the book

Roger K. Swanson and Shirley F. Clement.  Faith Sharing Congregation: Developing a Strategy for the Congregation as Evangelist. Discipleship Resources, Nashville, 2008 (Cokesbury / Amazon)

Summary

The book outlines an evangelism strategy based... on the quality of congregational life.  The resource hammers home the truth that the evangelistic task is the responsibility of the entire congregation - clergy and laity together.  The authors pay particular attention to ministries of hospitality, personal relationships, storytelling, and the domestic church of the family.... (Cokesbury)

Impressions

This was a book assigned to the CLM class to expand on the ideas of Faith Sharing in the general curriculum.  It is specifically about how congregations should be in the ministry of faith sharing and evangelism.  I especially liked its tie to the idea of the Primary task of the church - how faith sharing / evangelism is not a program of the church but is the purpose of the church.

This book works well in conjunction with Faith Sharing by Fox and Morris.  That book is more focused on helping individuals while this one is a guide for congregations.

Posts about book

SwansonFaithSharing

Note: the word under posts about the book is a tag I use to attach any post I write that references the book.  If you are interested, you can click that tag at the bottom of the post to go to more (if there are any).

Book Review: From Pew to Pulpit

 

Information about the book

Clifton F. Guthrie.  From Pew to Pulpit: A Beginner's Guide to Preaching.  Abingdon Press, Nashville, TN, 2005.  (Cokesbury/Amazon)

Summary

The book is written to provide guidance for lay persons to who are venturing, as the title says, from pew to pulpit in order to preach.  From Amazon:  "Written with the needs of those for whom preaching is not their sole or primary occupation in mind, it begins by emphasizing what every preacher brings to the pulpit: an idea of what makes a sermon particularly moving or memorable to them. From there the book moves into short chapters on choosing an appropriate biblical text or sermon topic, learning how to listen to one's first impressions of what a text means, moving from text or topic to the sermon itself while keeping the listeners needs firmly in mind, making thorough and engaging use of stories in the sermon, and delivering with passion and conviction. The book concludes with helpful suggestions for resources, including Bibles, commentaries, other print resources and websites."

Impressions

As the Summary describes, this is a practical book that leads a lay person through a process of developing, delivering, and evaluating a sermon.  I found it to be encouraging to lay person, respecting their gifts and experiences.  The bulk of the book outlines steps to take to develop a sermon from a scripture reference.  I especially liked its approach to study of scripture and the author's on focusing on a message.  I used the book as one of the texts for our Conference CLM Course.

Posts about book

GuthriePewPulpit

Preaching Presentation Hints

I'm teaching the Conference CLM class, and we just finished a month talking about preaching.  What follows are the 10 preaching presentation hints I shared with the class based on my own experience (so, grain of salt time)

1. It is the great debate – what to use in the form of notes for your sermon.  I think the answer is that you have to use what works best for you.  Just remember that the sermon is not a reading – it is a speech.  It is talking.  And it is relationship building with people.  Don’t sacrifice the connection because you are too busy reading from a manuscript, or searching through your notes.
2. That said – the best way to accomplish that is to practice ahead of time.  Out loud.  If you are comfortable, with someone to listen to you.  Saying it out loud means that you will hear what you are saying and catch those things that don’t flow well, or don’t make sense.  Someone else can help you with that, too.  Saying it out loud means that you will be more familiar with it – more confident in it. Saying it out loud means that you can time it. 
3. Speaking of timing, honor the time that you have been given. 
4. Ask someone to watch you preach.  Are there any strange habits you have?  My church has a pulpit that extends down the sides, so that when you preach, you are in a U shaped area.  I caught myself leaning on the sides and hunching my shoulders.  Be aware of what your body is doing when you preach and don’t let it be a distraction. 
5. If you are using notes at a pulpit, turn the pages in a way that no one sees them move.  Just pull them across rather than turning them like a book.
6. Speak more slowly than you think you should.  Speak more clearly than you might usually.  Aim your voice to the people who are listening.  Pause when you need to.
7. If there is a microphone, use it.  Even if you think you are loud enough, use the microphone.  Don’t ask if everyone can hear you without it, because those who can’t, won’t tell you.  There will be those who cannot hear you.  Use the microphone.    If microphones make you uncomfortable, practice with one until you aren’t any more.  I am serious about this.  Use the microphone.
8. Make eye contact.  Or at least look where the people are. 
9. Have water available.
10. Stop when you are finished.  Don’t keep going.  End.  And be done.

Why Preach?

What is the purpose of preaching? I think anyone you ask would have a different answer to that question.  Preaching is such a centering point of our worship experiences, that asking its purpose is an important question.  I think it is a question we need to ask, because the "why” question is always important.  So, why preach?  What is the “so that” of preaching?

Fred Craddock was a Professor of Preaching at Candler School of Theology at Emery University in Atlanta.  His definition is “Preaching is making the revelation of God present and appropriate to hearers.”  The author of From Pew to Pulpit, Clifton F. Guthrie, said in his book: “Aim rather that your preaching will have a cumulative effect on the faithfulness of your hearers.  Trying to change or convert them all at once can be manipulative, and conversion really God’s business, anyway.”  Reading that, I can conclude that one of the purposes of preaching is to have a ‘cumulative effect on faithfulness.’  In Preaching Grace, Kennon L. Callahan says that most sermons that are preached are helpful, and after reading his book, I think he would say that the main purpose of preaching is to help the listeners.  

“Most preaching shares help and hope.  People discover the love of God.  Grudges and resentments no longer have power over them. Forgiveness and reconciliation come.  Anxiety and fear lesson. Anger and rage become strangers.  Serenity and peace enter their lives.  Compassion and community become good friends.  Lives are richer and fuller.” 

It’s a tall order – but be sure to see it in parallel with what Guthrie said – a cumulative effect on faith.  We don’t have to – and are not able to – accomplish everything Callahan says in a single sermon.  Still, preaching is meant to be helpful.  In fact, a question you can ask yourself as you prepare a sermon – How will this be helpful for people?

The purpose of your preaching and my preaching is to be a means of God’s grace to enter into our lives.  What I say when I preach (or any other time) does not really have the power to transform people’s lives.  That isn’t to say that words aren’t powerful – they certainly are – they can heal or hurt, encourage or diminish.  But, God’s work is God’s  work, and none of us is God.  Preaching is a means of grace by which others can come to know God, through God’s action, through us as preachers.  Rest in that.  Find peace and joy in that.  What happens after the words are spoken – in the air between you and your listeners – is shaped by God.  You may never know the effect of your preaching – you should never assume that it has no effect just because you don’t know what it is.  What you are doing when you preach is sacred.

Existing for Someone Else

Our CLM Class is reading Faith Sharing Congregations by  Roger K. Swanson and Shirley F. Clement.  Have you ever thought of the unchurched as homeless? 

What does it mean to have a home.  Home is where you belong.  Home is where you are safe.  Home is, hopefully, where there are people who care for you.  "Everybody wants to go where someone knows your name."  This quote from Swanson and Clement's book started me thinking about hospitality in a different way.  A few thoughts:

1. What about those who have been joining us online.  Do they feel like they have found a home?  How do we make it home for them?  How do we connect? How do we offer hospitality?  How do we involve them in ministry?
2. What about those who we say we are trying to reach?  What are we doing to reach them?  Would our plans and actions change if we thought of them as "Homeless."  Would ilt add to our urgency?
3. What about those who join us in the church building?  How do we welcome the stranger - the stranger who is homeless?

Someone asked the other day if those who are joining a particular church online are contributing to the church financially.  The answer was no.  Does that change how we offer a home to the homeless?

If we are unique as an organization - in that we exist not for ourselves but instead for those who are not part of us, then how does that change or enhance our answers to these questions?  How do we live into the idea that we exist to serve others? Would that change the question about financial support? Would it change the priority of our ministries?  

Lots of questions.

Preaching

 

I'm teaching a CLM course for the Conference.  Our most recent topic was preaching.  The class read From Pew to Pulpit, and I additionally read Preaching Grace.  Callahan, who wrote Preaching Grace, advises readers to find the method of preparing a sermon that works for you, and use that.  That was an interesting suggestion in the light of Willimon's book, Guthrie's book, the module, and our guest presenter (Mike Estep, who did a wonderful job talking about preparing to preach).  All of them provided ways to prepare a sermon (all of which were helpful), and Callahan's statement lifted some of the guilt of having all of these methods for sermon preparation and not always following them.

How do I prepare a sermon?  What works for me?

Ideally:

1. Read the lectionary readings at the beginning of the week.  Let them bop around in my head for a day or two.
2. Read the lectionary readings again in a Study Bible with notes, to enhance my understanding of the scripture.  At this point, I hope I'm narrowing down to the actual scripture I'll use as the basis of the sermon.
3. Read Commentary.  This helps me to see more clearly how I can bring these words to life in a sermon.
4. Intentionally pray - somewhere else if I can.
5. Outline my thoughts - short outline - what is the focus? How will I develop it?  If I can do that, I feel I "have" the sermon.  I have direction and know where I'm going.
6. Start writing.  I might not start at the beginning, though.  I usually start a sermon with a story because I think it is engaging.  I might not have that story at the beginning of the writing.
7. I write and write. 
8. I let it sit and bop around.
9. I pick up pieces of the sermon that don't belong and move them to the end.  This feels better than deleting them.
10. Read it through and refine it.  Delete those extra pieces at the end.
11. If possible, ask someone else to read it
12. Read it out loud. Time myself.  Fix the bumpy bits.
13. Print it, if I haven't already.  

I do preach from a manuscript.  I hope I don't read it - I hope I preach it.  But I do use a manuscript.  

And that's it.  Toss the manuscript, and move on.

Book Review: Worshiping with United Methodists

 Information about the book

Worshiping with United Methodists (revised edition) by Hoyt L. Hickman. Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2007.  (Cokesbury Link)

Summary

From the Cokesbury website: "Hoyt Hickman explains the basic pattern of United Methodist worship within the broader context of Christian worship. "  The book explains basic resources for planning and leading worship, gives the basic pattern of United Methodist worship and its origins, and provides resources for worship leaders to plan and implement effective worship.

Impressions

I enjoyed reading this book.  I was especially impressed with the explanation of how the basic pattern of Christian worship  - word and table - can be seen in the encounter with Christ on the walk to Emmaus (in Luke 24).  As a person who enjoys history, I liked the chapter that walked us through the evolution of the pattern of worship in the Christian church - through Protestantism, and into Methodism.  The author makes an important point all through the book of the balance between authentic worship and worship that provides for encounter in the church's context.

My understanding of worship planning was greatly enhanced by the book.  Chapters 5-8 take each element of the Basic Pattern of Worship and provide helpful details that both inspired me and informed me.  I imagine I will be referring to this book in the future as I plan worship and will use it as a resource in our Conference CLM Course.

Posts about book

Posts about the book are are here.

Reading Critically

On the opening evening of our CLM class, I shared some thoughts with the students regarding how to read the material we will be working through.  I think it applies to all of us.  As we read or listen, we should practice critical thinking.  This doesn’t mean thinking that criticizes, but instead thinking that involves being open-minded - using judgement and discipline to process what we are learning about without letting our own personal bias or opinion detract from the arguments. 

 

In other words, be open minded – one thought is that is we read or hear something we don’t agree with, apply Wesley’s quadrilateral – analyze it in the light of Scripture, reason, tradition, and experience.

 

For example, I was reading one of the books we are using in class, and the author suggested that all reading during worship should be done from a well bound, hard back Bible.  I don’t want to just dismiss something I disagree with, so I stopped to think about it.    That’s not a biblical command.  It probably does apply to the author’s tradition, but maybe not to mine.  I often see younger people reading in church from their iPhones.  My reason tells me that is an adaption to the modern culture, and my experience with the Holy Spirit tells me that it is more loving to be inclusive than exclusive – why criticize what people read from in church when the loving action is to be grateful for the sharing of the scripture. 

 

Don’t dismiss something just because you disagree with it, but also don’t accept what you read as rules that must not be broken.  Read critically.

 

Devotional - Covenant

On March 1, I started a journey with other lay people across the Annual Conference.  I'm leading a Conference Certified Lay Ministry Course.  It's a new thing - for me, for the students, and for the Conference.  I am spending  a whole lot of time planning, reading and coordinating.  I'm sure over the next few months  you'll see the course mentioned here, and you'll see posts about it (including book reviews - I already have three of those written).

We began our time together with a Zoom meeting.  I opened the meeting with the following devotional.

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16

As I was thinking about the beginning of our journey together, and planning what the devotional would be, I was drawn to this particular lectionary reading from last week because of the word covenant in it.

 

We will talk about covenant in our time together.  We will talk about ministry covenants, but we will also – even if not directly – talk about God’s covenant with each of us.  So I thought literally beginning our journey with thoughts about covenant would be appropriate.

 

One of the things I hope you notice from this passage is that it is God who establishes the covenant.  This is not a contract where each side states what it will do for the other – God is declaring through this covenant that God will be “God to you and to your offspring after you.”  Abram and Sarai will be blessed to become the ancestors of the multitudes – of nations and kings.  This is all God’s action.  It has not been earned by Abram and Sarai – it is a covenant of Grace.

 

We should also notice that this covenant is based on relationship, God is not establishing a covenant with a people – God is establishing a covenant with Abram and Sarai.  The covenant extends to all who will follow – but it is established out of a relationship between God and these two particular people.  It’s amazing to think, isn’t it, that the creator of the universe knows these two people, promises steadfast loyalty to them, and that personal relationship will literally reconcile humanity.

 

Abram and Sarai receive new names in this passage – Abraham and Sarah.  What I did not know before I started planning this devotional is that God, too, is called by a new word.  This  passage is the first time in the Bible that the word El Shaddai is used to describe God.  We translate that as God Almighty, but it can also be translated as God of the Mountains. 

 

As we begin this journey together, I hope you will remember that while the covenant in Genesis 17 was with Abraham and Sarah, it was an everlasting covenant.  We to, the People of these Mountains are in relationship with God – we are recipients of God grace because of the restoration begun by God so many years ago.  We too have new names, beloved of God. 

 

Prayer:

El Shaddai, God Almighty, God the mountains, God of grace and love, walk among us tonight.  Gather with us in homes, at our desk, around our computers, and inhabit our work tonight and throughout this year.  Make your will known to each of us, and grant us the grace to move forward in your call.  I give you thanksgiving for each of those here tonight.  May we all live into the new names you have given to us.  In your son’s name we pray, Amen.