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Inspired or educated? Wow, the tension!

1/23/2014

4 Comments

 
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The story is almost always the same. He stands up to the podium or away from the pulpit. (Because, let's be honest, no one uses that ol' thing anymore.) Perhaps he keeps notes in front or perhaps he is carrying nothing but a bible. He begins to deliver his sermon. There is always something grand about the message. Perhaps it's humour. Perhaps it's passion. Perhaps it's anger. No matter what it is, it always causes me to put my head in my hands and groan. With all their theatrics they typically do one of two things. One, they repeat the same simple message six times until they have filled up a good 20 minutes of worship. Two, they slowly read out the scripture; stopping only to add something. Usually they are adding an irrelevant side note to bring the message into relatable terms. (I don't need to imagine a parable character owning a car in order to understand what the scripture is about.) In conclusion, they all spend 20 minutes saying something that could have been easily explained in 5 minutes. They are all show and no substance.

But congregants love it. Every once in a while I hear one of them say, "Wow, that was inspired!" 
PictureHow? Are you actually going to do it?
That word you use. I don't think it means what you think it means. It appears there is a disconnect with extemporaneous, or off the cuff preaching, and inspired preaching. Yes, I have felt the spirit come upon me as I have had an off the cuff  moment with a group of people. Those "off the cuff" moments happen outside the 11am worship, and are laced with the education I have spent years gathering. (In and out of seminary.) Education to a preaching minister is like balls to a juggler, a top hat to a magician, or a saw and hammer to a carpenter. In other words, God can call anyone to ministry, but getting to the point where one  uses ministry is a journey. It not only requires picking up the tool bag (an education) but also using those tools appropriately to help. (Instead of maim.)

When Jesus first started calling the Disciples in Matthew 4:18-22, we see one doesn't have to be the creme de la creme. When we see Peter and Andrew; James and John we see fishermen. At most, these four would have only known how to read, and only read enough to know basic information pertinent to their trade. Forget writing, it was worthless to getting food on the table every night. It is believed Peter would eventually write two books of the bible. That had to happen somewhere. Then, later in Acts, we have Paul. Paul was a bad guy. He captured Christians and sent them to the Coliseum. Yet this bad guy was called to help several communities understand the very people he collected for death. God can call anyone, but God doesn't want us to stay in the life we are called from.

 Peter and Paul, did not begin their apostolic work through magic knowledge being osmosisly transmitted into their brains. Zealous Peter had to have some very embarrassing moments with Jesus first, unlearning and relearning what it meant to be a follower of God. Paul was already educated, but not in the right way. Even with Paul's sudden Road to Damascus story, he still had to learn the story of Christ. (Also, could you imagine what those letters would have been like if he spent the entire thing saying the same point 20 times to fill up the required amount of parchment to make the community happy. Would we really take him seriously today?)

But there's the tension. We are stuck between a community who likes a show, and message that deserves real research and focus. Now, it appears, our God moments have to come every Sunday at 9:45am and then again at 11am. We have to have flashy themes and shining lights. It's boring for the minister to speak for a full hour, so let's fill the time with tunes that really don't say anything either.

The point: If we were honest with one another, when ministers enter seminary, it should feel like redundant information. Our Christian Education in church should be honest and real. Instead, many congregations shun and ostracize the minister who wants to educate, and glorify and praise the minister who wants to put on a good show. In my lifetime, the ministers who could properly educate and engage the congregation is really few and far between. Rev. Cynthia Hale comes to mind as an exceptional minister who can do both. Fred Craddock would be another. The tension is, we have to engage while keeping our focus on the point: education. It's a real tension to keep in mind. Taking the journey in Christ is a learning experience that isn't always glitzy and glamourous. We might get a little zealous for our own good. We could possibly deny Christ a time or two. In the end we realize we are not the focus. Once we are educated the focus becomes the generation to come. Therefore, we must realize the world around us is preaching false easy fixes, while we should be preaching real time consuming change. This new generation can read B.S. like it's Shakespeare play. At the same time, they won't give anything time of day unless it is branded honestly and with flashing lights. There it is. Now isn't that tension?

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4 Comments
David
1/23/2014 02:51:39 am

My first thought...oh great another informed piece having a dig at your pastor...
I am fed up with people criticising their pastors and ordained ministers, like all we do is speak for 20 minutes on a Sunday. Comparing your pastor to two of the greatest church leaders/speakers of the past few decades is horribly unfair. When Cynthia Hale or Fred Craddock pray for you by name every day, visit you when you're sick or need comfort, pray for and guide your children, then our roles can be compared.
How about a little encouragement? A little grace? A little understanding? How about you try being a pastor for a year or two and then write your incredibly perceptive piece?

Reply
Pastor Melissa link
1/24/2014 12:53:50 am

I wanted to wait a day to meditate and pray on your post. I needed time to reflect on your words before I responded to them.
I speak to some specific areas, I hope I get to everything.
Speaking to prominent ministers: It doesn't make sense to mention ministers others would not know. The context, or the World Wide Web, wouldn't understand it. But I will give you two: Rev. Doc Frady is the minister of a Baptist Church in Clarkdale, Georgia. Everything from the sermon, to the music, to the look of the church explains the theology. I have never seen such a well designed sanctuary. From first look, it appears to just be a normal small sanctuary, but it is really a look at Kingdom theology at its finest. His sermons educate this theology and are very engaging. Secondly, I bring up Rev. Paul Appleby. He gets it. We are hymorging as the Christian Church. He sees the need to engage and teach to both the congregation and the internet. I have seen and heard his sermons. I'm a big fan. (He also visits congregants, bringing them communion.)
David, I can see we are coming from two very different places. It appears you are coming from a place where you have been in spiritual battle so long it is easier to believe someone is holding a sword instead of a scalpel. I am coming from a place where I have seen church after church wound their minister and each other. It has caused me to take a step back and begin trying to look for answers. It has given me the opportunity to talk to so many people. I am hearing a recurring theme. There are those who don't respect worship anymore and walk in 20 minutes late because they think the music is fluff. This is bad. There are those who are looking for a church where they can gain something from worship but are finding the messages are just comedic or simply empty. This is bad. Like I wrote earlier to someone else. I am sorry I hurt you. It was not my intention to hurt anyone. My intention is to bring things forward so we can begin to have the discussions we need to have. This is what I am hearing; this is what I am seeing. What do we do about it? Maybe there is nothing you can personally do about it. I understand. Ministry is difficult. It is thankless work in a needy world. There are people who can do something. I want to reach those people and begin problem solving.
Finally, I think we have been trained to hear the negative in written work on the internet. Bloggers need to be scandalous to get the page hits and get money from their ads. If you notice there are no ads on FigTreeChristian. I don't want to be scandalous. I want to educate and stitch the Body of Christ back together. I hope you can be with me on that. I'm tired of those who believe we have to disagree and draw lines in the sand. Maybe we don't agree on this issue. I just think it was healthy you wanted to bring that disagreement forward. I am glad we are communicating. I honestly pray God blesses you in your ministry, and hope you can do the same for mine.
God bless

Reply
Morgan Guyton link
1/23/2014 04:05:44 am

What's hard for me is when I engage in real meaty teaching, some people in my congregation tell me that it wasn't "from the heart." It's like they want to have an emotionally cathartic experience more than learn something. I think David has some baggage that he's brought to the table here. I appreciate that you were willing to take a risk and name some things that are important to name. And I don't think it was somehow without grace.

Reply
Pastor Melissa link
1/23/2014 04:33:17 am

God bless you Morgan.

I think you hit the nail on the head where the tension is. It is difficult.

There is some serious raw nerves this has uncovered, especially coming from Reddit. When I see certain comments I think they are coming from a pain I don't understand. There is a lot of pain out there.

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