Please don't read this if you are used to the usual shallowness of my blog....
4 years ago I announced to the youth group at Avonhead Baptist that I felt it was time for me to leave.... It was a very hard decision because i genuinley loved working with these guys, but felt i had little more to offer -I'd done my dash in youth ministry. I've been in my current role for 3 years now, and realise that I have really done my dash in youth ministry, but what is more i really miss pastoral ministr, getting alongside people seeing them grow, working throught their struggles with them it is a real privelidge.
So for the last year i have been looking at moving back into pastoral ministry, however i seem to be at war with God on this, becuase every positive step I take seems to hit a wall. earlier in the year I was offered a pastorate at a Church in Auckland, they were a great bunch of people and it was a place where i could have really made a difference, but the thought of moving back to Auckland made me feel quite ill, my son cried a lot about the thought of going back there. Regretably then I had to say no I cannot except.
A month later I was asked if I could put my name forward for another church - this time in Wellington, in a part of wellington that we love. I though this must be God.... It took the church about 5 miuntes to realise that I was the wrong person for them....
Following that I decided I was not going to look any further, if a church wanted me then they would have to find me... That lasted about 5 months.
Over the course of that period i had about 30 different people say to me, "why aren't I pastoring a church?" On top of that several people suggested i should apply for a vacant church, - Church XXXXXX a church that i had wanted to go to for almost 9 years now... I resisited and then thought why not, got the job description passed it on to people i knew who read it and said"this has your name written all over it..."
Well yesterday i just found out that despite the fact i had a very impressive CV, ministry track record and great refferences i was not the person they were looking for.
This leaves me in a dilema do I carry on following the stream of God's purpose for my life? despite the fact it feels like the stream has ran into a swamp, and there is no way out. Do I continue to lie in the gutter but look to the stars? Do i grit my teeth and carry on? - or do i just forget the whole thing and do something totaly unrelated???
answers on a txt message please to 0800 get a life
Friday, September 29, 2006
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Hell...
One of our local churches is across the road from a soon to be opened Hell Pizza place... As i rode past it this morning on my way to the office I had a laugh to myself while many of our churches in the 21st century would never want to be anywhere close to Hell, it was CT Studd's (english cricketer and missionary) vision of what the Church should be:
"Some want to live within the sounf of Church and Chaple Bells,
I want to build a rescue shop within a yard of Hell."
Maybe they should put that on their church notice board...though strictly speaking they are about 20 yards away
"Some want to live within the sounf of Church and Chaple Bells,
I want to build a rescue shop within a yard of Hell."
Maybe they should put that on their church notice board...though strictly speaking they are about 20 yards away
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Calvinism and Youth Ministry
Christianity today have jsut put out an issue with a lead article on the comeback of Calvanism among young people. In the US I guess it is easy to see that in the influence of Joshua Harris and Mars Hill Seatlle, here in New Zealand there are pockets of it too, particuarly amongst the Anglican and Baptist Churches, and probably if some inspection was done there are several pentecostal churches which would fit into this... It's an intriguing phenomenon and comes i think as an afterquake of postmodernism. The loss of truth pushes soem into seeking out solid doctrine and a world view that explains why the loss of truth occured. While i would not want to be associated with Calavnism there are soem aspects of it that apeal and i think have merit in youth ministry.
Firstly there is the reality, majesty and soverignty of God. The call for a demanding and disciplined life. The simplicity of it where there are no shades of grey. Without belittiling it too much I suspect it has soem of the apeal that national service had in the 1950's offering structure and stability to young people who would probably drift otherwise.
These words from one of the people interviewd in the article point I think to one of the major flaws in Calvanism; "The only exposure I had was high-school textbooks that teach about John Calvin as this crazy guy who burned people,"
But Doctrine and character I think are linked, doctrine and life I think are linked, Doctrine does not just point to our relationship with God but to our relationship with the world too.
The issue I have with Calavnism is the same as I have with Augustine, when doctrine leads to persecution it has become rules for governing who is in and who is out and not a way of drawing us closer to God - which is the intention. Rob Bell uses the helpful illustration of viewing doctrine as spring on a trampoline rather than bricks in a wall. I think it's helpful becuse it draws us to the 'tension' that is required and that post modernism helps us identify. Where we would say God is like this but also not like this. Where as brick wall doctrine points to the fact that if one brick or doctrine is out of place then the whole structure is flawed...
Firstly there is the reality, majesty and soverignty of God. The call for a demanding and disciplined life. The simplicity of it where there are no shades of grey. Without belittiling it too much I suspect it has soem of the apeal that national service had in the 1950's offering structure and stability to young people who would probably drift otherwise.
These words from one of the people interviewd in the article point I think to one of the major flaws in Calvanism; "The only exposure I had was high-school textbooks that teach about John Calvin as this crazy guy who burned people,"
But Doctrine and character I think are linked, doctrine and life I think are linked, Doctrine does not just point to our relationship with God but to our relationship with the world too.
The issue I have with Calavnism is the same as I have with Augustine, when doctrine leads to persecution it has become rules for governing who is in and who is out and not a way of drawing us closer to God - which is the intention. Rob Bell uses the helpful illustration of viewing doctrine as spring on a trampoline rather than bricks in a wall. I think it's helpful becuse it draws us to the 'tension' that is required and that post modernism helps us identify. Where we would say God is like this but also not like this. Where as brick wall doctrine points to the fact that if one brick or doctrine is out of place then the whole structure is flawed...
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Post Colonial Youth Ministry
According to Darren much of our youth ministry resembles the model of the colonial missions period in history. As much as I would like to disagree with him I think he is right, though maybe over states a little.
to quote him:
In words: The gospel preached to the school students “you are sinners, you are going to hell, you need to be saved and forgiven for your sins, and we will show you how”
In deeds: “We will remove you from your culture, take up the rest of your free time, introduce you to new friends because your old ones aren’t good enough and spend the next few years indoctrinating you.”
Colonial conversion is kind of like what happens to Nemo as he enters the fish tank in FINDING NEMO. He is cleaned up, made to go through an initiation right and indoctrinated into tank society, where he is fed when needed. The problem is that when you do that to a fish, apprently there is no way they will ever survive in the real world of the open sea, I suspect this is the danger of what we do for our young people too...
I know there is a better way, engagement with the world is far better than removal from the world, but it is very problematic. Take my own son for instance who at the age of 7 we removed from the local school and put in a Christian school, where he is largely isolated from non Christians... While my belief is that we should be salt and light it is not so easy to expect a 7 year old ot be that in a situation where he is constantly pressured negatively.
We have another situation where when one of our youth ministries does not operate, at the moment it is due to the leaders being farmer who are calving, those involved tend to get dragged off into the party circuit. I would like to say that the kids involved are there telling their firends about Jesus - but the reality is that try as we might the faith component in many of our young people is fragile. And when fragility is coupled with pressure it often caves in.
The Dilema then is how do we teach engagement rather than avoidance, become partners rather than colonial masters who bring the gospel (like it is something uterly foreign).
I have used many approaches over the years, positive peer pressure, encouraged people to talk honestly about what happens in their world, told people to avoid Christian groups at school etc... but the real issue is living with the mess and tension that real discipleship generates, recognising the danger of extremes and counteracting them when ever possible, but also relying on the Spirit of God that in the words of JK Baxter:
"Blows like the wind in a thousand paddocks
Inside and outside the fences"
Song to the Holy Spirit.
to quote him:
In words: The gospel preached to the school students “you are sinners, you are going to hell, you need to be saved and forgiven for your sins, and we will show you how”
In deeds: “We will remove you from your culture, take up the rest of your free time, introduce you to new friends because your old ones aren’t good enough and spend the next few years indoctrinating you.”
Colonial conversion is kind of like what happens to Nemo as he enters the fish tank in FINDING NEMO. He is cleaned up, made to go through an initiation right and indoctrinated into tank society, where he is fed when needed. The problem is that when you do that to a fish, apprently there is no way they will ever survive in the real world of the open sea, I suspect this is the danger of what we do for our young people too...
I know there is a better way, engagement with the world is far better than removal from the world, but it is very problematic. Take my own son for instance who at the age of 7 we removed from the local school and put in a Christian school, where he is largely isolated from non Christians... While my belief is that we should be salt and light it is not so easy to expect a 7 year old ot be that in a situation where he is constantly pressured negatively.
We have another situation where when one of our youth ministries does not operate, at the moment it is due to the leaders being farmer who are calving, those involved tend to get dragged off into the party circuit. I would like to say that the kids involved are there telling their firends about Jesus - but the reality is that try as we might the faith component in many of our young people is fragile. And when fragility is coupled with pressure it often caves in.
The Dilema then is how do we teach engagement rather than avoidance, become partners rather than colonial masters who bring the gospel (like it is something uterly foreign).
I have used many approaches over the years, positive peer pressure, encouraged people to talk honestly about what happens in their world, told people to avoid Christian groups at school etc... but the real issue is living with the mess and tension that real discipleship generates, recognising the danger of extremes and counteracting them when ever possible, but also relying on the Spirit of God that in the words of JK Baxter:
"Blows like the wind in a thousand paddocks
Inside and outside the fences"
Song to the Holy Spirit.
Ouch
Some times the truth of what 'the church' has done historically in the name of Jesus can be painful. This is a very sobering thought...
Jomo Kenyatta:
When the Missionaries arrived, the Africans had the Land and the Missionaries had the Bible. They taught how to pray with our eyes closed. When we opened them, they had the land and we had the Bible.
Darren has the full article
Jomo Kenyatta:
When the Missionaries arrived, the Africans had the Land and the Missionaries had the Bible. They taught how to pray with our eyes closed. When we opened them, they had the land and we had the Bible.
Darren has the full article
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
The Dream
Once Upon A Time, there was an Old wise Man that had a dream, a dream about a church. It was a beautiful building made of finely cut ivory stones. It stood straight pointing up to the heavens, and the bricks that made it up were so symmetrical that you couldn't see the joins. Around this church were many other stones, and bricks, all of which had been rejected in the building of this church. Only the best finely cut bricks could be used in the building of this church. In the morning the old man awoke and remembered this dream. He decided that this dream must be a dream from God, a vision of the perfect church and so the wise man decided he would build this church in God's honor.
Several months later the dream was a reality, the wise man had built the church of his dream. Every stone was cut precisely, polished up smoothly and made to fit exactly next to the other stones. There were no gaps, no seams in this building, It was just an ivory tower pointing straight up to heaven.
The old man felt very proud of this church he had built, after all wasn’t this church beautiful, perfectly symmetrical, with no gaps or seems to see.
That night a terrible storm came. The mighty winds and thundering rain began to bash the church. The rain, wind and thunder struck the church so hard that by morning there was nothing left, not one brick remained, and all there was a pile of rubble. The old man was heart broken, he cried out to his God, “Why Me", "Why would you destroy this beautiful church built in you honor Lord?" But Heaven was silent. The old man received no answer. That night he went to bed, he lay there and mourned the lost beauty of his Church. Tears soaked his pillow.
Then he had another dream, a dream of another church. This time though the church wasn’t beautiful seamless ivory tower pointing heavenward, but rather a rough looking old place, with a crooked tower and gapping holes in it. The door was on a lean the windows were cracked and the roof leaked. The old man looked at this church and was horrified. In the morning he awoke remembering his dream, or was it a nightmare? He decided that this too was a message from God; or rather it was a warning, a warning not to ever build a church like that.
The next night the wise man had the same dream, of the rough looking church with a crooked tower. And the next and the next and the next. For five nights he had the same dream. Understandably then he was beginning to get quite annoyed by this dream. "Who could build such a monstrosity?" He thought to himself. "Surely this is an insult to God,” but just as he said this he heard a voice from the heavens say; "Look at my church isn't she beautiful" "Look at her style" "Look at her strength wise man" "This is the church I want you to build"
Missional Church
Just found this thanks to Jim.
Can I recomend you visit Friends of Missional, some good resources and links
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Rockstar Supernova - leadership style
I missed the conclusion of Rockstar supernova and was kind of disapointed to see Lukas take it out. But then again reflecting on who was left and the needs of the band Lukas was the obvious choice. But as i thought about it i realised that it said alot about leaderhsip style too.
In each of th efinal four you had a unique leadership style...
Dilana was a natural front person, a huge ego that needs to be satisifed, for her leadership - or fronting the band was all about her, feeding her needs, She was more important then the other members - The irony is this is normaly what you would look for in a front person ( how many mambers of Creed could you name... probaly Scott Stap). And it is quite a natural ledaership stance - she is the natural born leader. on the negative side this leadership style can go all worng and turn into something out of Fatal Attraction (Glen Close) when they are betrayed... Dilana would have wanted to front and control, would never have worked with a 'super' band.
Ont the opposite extreme almost you have the team member - Magni. Not a natural leader but is pushed into a position because of natural gifts and abilites, Magni would reluctantly lead becuase he was the best at soemthing. His ego would be satisfied because the band did well. Unfortunatly when you are fronting a group like this especially with soemone with the huge personality of Tommy Lee it wouldn't work, Magni would be dwarfed from behind the drum stool.
Toby on the other hand is like Dilana a natural born leader, but unlike Dilana it is others that he centres that on, Leadership is about fun and the party making sure everyone is having a great time. The problem being that he doesn't need a higly recognisable backing band - they would be dwarfed by hos personality.
Lukas on the other hand is soemthing of what i would call a pupet - I don't mean that negatively but his performance and leadership is a summing up of what is going on behind him and in the music. He dances, and performs in response to the needs fo those around him - like Magni, but seeks to seperate himself of and stand out unlike Magni. Lukas is in some respect going to a be a tool to get the job done for the band, I don't think Supernova as a band have a long term future but they will tour make an album, and all go there seperate ways - lukas will enjoy the ride and move on as the rest of them will - it isn't life and death to him.
I think you can throw the whole thing into a church leadership/pastor type context too. The Dilana pastor - the one who is born to lead and lead out of there own ego, there catch phrase might be YOU NEED ME.
The Magni, lets form a team, we lead becuase we have gifts not because we are natural leaders - catch phrase WE NEED EACH OTHER.
The Toby, life is a riot, i want you all to have a good time, to enjoy each other, as long as we are enjoying each other then life is good - Catch phrase WHERE's THE PARTY.
Lukas, I am an expression of who we all are - the everyman or everywoman, I will help you collect your thoughts and express them - CATCH PHRASE - I NEED YOU.
In each of th efinal four you had a unique leadership style...
Dilana was a natural front person, a huge ego that needs to be satisifed, for her leadership - or fronting the band was all about her, feeding her needs, She was more important then the other members - The irony is this is normaly what you would look for in a front person ( how many mambers of Creed could you name... probaly Scott Stap). And it is quite a natural ledaership stance - she is the natural born leader. on the negative side this leadership style can go all worng and turn into something out of Fatal Attraction (Glen Close) when they are betrayed... Dilana would have wanted to front and control, would never have worked with a 'super' band.
Ont the opposite extreme almost you have the team member - Magni. Not a natural leader but is pushed into a position because of natural gifts and abilites, Magni would reluctantly lead becuase he was the best at soemthing. His ego would be satisfied because the band did well. Unfortunatly when you are fronting a group like this especially with soemone with the huge personality of Tommy Lee it wouldn't work, Magni would be dwarfed from behind the drum stool.
Toby on the other hand is like Dilana a natural born leader, but unlike Dilana it is others that he centres that on, Leadership is about fun and the party making sure everyone is having a great time. The problem being that he doesn't need a higly recognisable backing band - they would be dwarfed by hos personality.
Lukas on the other hand is soemthing of what i would call a pupet - I don't mean that negatively but his performance and leadership is a summing up of what is going on behind him and in the music. He dances, and performs in response to the needs fo those around him - like Magni, but seeks to seperate himself of and stand out unlike Magni. Lukas is in some respect going to a be a tool to get the job done for the band, I don't think Supernova as a band have a long term future but they will tour make an album, and all go there seperate ways - lukas will enjoy the ride and move on as the rest of them will - it isn't life and death to him.
I think you can throw the whole thing into a church leadership/pastor type context too. The Dilana pastor - the one who is born to lead and lead out of there own ego, there catch phrase might be YOU NEED ME.
The Magni, lets form a team, we lead becuase we have gifts not because we are natural leaders - catch phrase WE NEED EACH OTHER.
The Toby, life is a riot, i want you all to have a good time, to enjoy each other, as long as we are enjoying each other then life is good - Catch phrase WHERE's THE PARTY.
Lukas, I am an expression of who we all are - the everyman or everywoman, I will help you collect your thoughts and express them - CATCH PHRASE - I NEED YOU.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Missional Church, Culture and the Gospel
Just had an email from a good friends Jim, about the difference between Missional thinking/action and missionary (as in the modern missions movement).. He has come up with some great differences but one that I was uncomfortable with was that he stated Missional tends to separate, "Culture from Gospel, allowing people from other cultures to uniquely embrace Christ in the context of their culture without having to reject their culture or people."
I have been thinking of this for a while and concluded that I think the opposite is actually true, missional thinking and practice tends to allow culture to help us interpret and understand the gospel, without I might add slipping into Liberalism.
It is not that culture comes over and has more authority than the scripture but differing cultural understanding allow us to further and deepen our comprehension of the gospel.
Not then separate it more but actually draw the linking together.
take this quote from John Mbiti as an example on how a Christian undertanding of relationship can be further under stand through the eyes of another culture;
"In African under standing, the person is first identified in relationships. To be a person, male or female, is to have the gift of life and to belong in relationships. The primary relationship is an interpersonal kinship bond in which one could say: "I am because we are, and since we are, therefore I am."
I have been thinking of this for a while and concluded that I think the opposite is actually true, missional thinking and practice tends to allow culture to help us interpret and understand the gospel, without I might add slipping into Liberalism.
It is not that culture comes over and has more authority than the scripture but differing cultural understanding allow us to further and deepen our comprehension of the gospel.
Not then separate it more but actually draw the linking together.
take this quote from John Mbiti as an example on how a Christian undertanding of relationship can be further under stand through the eyes of another culture;
"In African under standing, the person is first identified in relationships. To be a person, male or female, is to have the gift of life and to belong in relationships. The primary relationship is an interpersonal kinship bond in which one could say: "I am because we are, and since we are, therefore I am."
Why we need the Lord's prayer
Found this interesting thought on the Lord's prayer by Lorraine Kisly. She thinks, (and I am inclined to agree) that the we need the Lords Prayer in Church because it a prayer that turns the "prayer of our daily lives" on its head;
According to her our 'life' prayer goes some what like this:
Master of Earth
Exalt my name over all others.
Give me a kingdom where my will is never thwarted.
Let me take whatever I wish, and grant me vengeance over all who oppose me.
Let me satisfy my every desire,
And give me power to crush anyone who stands in my way...
It's kind of scary, because in spite of all the Holy Spirit's work in me, I still find myself wanting my own way, wanting to be first in everything.
The prayer of Jesus then maybe is more than our daily bread but out daily confession, and inoculation against our 'natural' tendencies..
According to her our 'life' prayer goes some what like this:
Master of Earth
Exalt my name over all others.
Give me a kingdom where my will is never thwarted.
Let me take whatever I wish, and grant me vengeance over all who oppose me.
Let me satisfy my every desire,
And give me power to crush anyone who stands in my way...
It's kind of scary, because in spite of all the Holy Spirit's work in me, I still find myself wanting my own way, wanting to be first in everything.
The prayer of Jesus then maybe is more than our daily bread but out daily confession, and inoculation against our 'natural' tendencies..
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
I am a proud father...
My daughter lost her first tooth at the weekend and my son won player of the year for his local football team. I am a proud Father..
Thursday, September 07, 2006
BALONEY
The latest magazine from the Waikato Diocese arrived on my desk this morning, in full glossy colour, on page 3 there is an article on the gass guzzling global warming and the usual, we are tryinng to save our enviorment stuff. While I have no problem with this in principle - i think we should be doing all we can to consume less - That is why I no longer drive anywhere within a 10 km radius of my home - i Bike.
But what really gets me is all this talk fails to realise how hypocritical it is, it's on paper that probably cannot be recycled (well without bleaching and throwing stacks of chemicals into it - so how does that help). Written by people who fly all over the country for 3 hour meetings (use the phone guys, that's a relatively new technology).
The golden rule of caring for the enviorment - the 3 r's start with REDUCE - why not try that for once and print less rubbish, REUSE - well i don't think me turning the newsletter into a paper airplane helps - though I got more interest out of it than reading it. Then RECYCLE.
I always hear if we don't print it then people won't read it, but i must ask is that a bad thing??? is it really worth reading, and is the world a better place because soemthing was put into print... Could I suggest that if you have soemthing to say put it on a website
But what really gets me is all this talk fails to realise how hypocritical it is, it's on paper that probably cannot be recycled (well without bleaching and throwing stacks of chemicals into it - so how does that help). Written by people who fly all over the country for 3 hour meetings (use the phone guys, that's a relatively new technology).
The golden rule of caring for the enviorment - the 3 r's start with REDUCE - why not try that for once and print less rubbish, REUSE - well i don't think me turning the newsletter into a paper airplane helps - though I got more interest out of it than reading it. Then RECYCLE.
I always hear if we don't print it then people won't read it, but i must ask is that a bad thing??? is it really worth reading, and is the world a better place because soemthing was put into print... Could I suggest that if you have soemthing to say put it on a website
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Three Hardest Words..
What are the 3 hardest words, according to Leonard Sweet in his book of the same name, it is the words I love You. "I" becuase of the confusing nature of our identity, particuarly our new identity in Christ. "love" because of thwe integrity that is often associated with that word. Finaly "you" becuase it point to intimacy and our failure to grasp it.
It's a great book and as sweet points out without these 3 words life is not truly life, infact life is death. Over the years I have tried to develop a discipline of reading the biblical thematicaly. One that theme that I have concentrated on in the last 3 years is the standpoint of personal identity, Sweet goes beyond that to draw it into the context of Intimacy also, and doing that develop an understanding of Love.
From the questions that we here from God to human kind in Genesis these two areas are clear - firstly "Where are you?", and secondly "Where is your brother?" identity and intimacy.
In a world that often fails to understand these two question, it would be rather difficult to understand the nature of love as revealed in Christ.
It's a great book and as sweet points out without these 3 words life is not truly life, infact life is death. Over the years I have tried to develop a discipline of reading the biblical thematicaly. One that theme that I have concentrated on in the last 3 years is the standpoint of personal identity, Sweet goes beyond that to draw it into the context of Intimacy also, and doing that develop an understanding of Love.
From the questions that we here from God to human kind in Genesis these two areas are clear - firstly "Where are you?", and secondly "Where is your brother?" identity and intimacy.
In a world that often fails to understand these two question, it would be rather difficult to understand the nature of love as revealed in Christ.
Three Hardest Words..
What are the 3 hardest words, according to Leonard Sweet in his book of the same name, it is the words I love You. "I" becuase of the confusing nature of our identity, particuarly our new identity in Christ. "love" because of thwe integrity that is often associated with that word. Finaly "you" becuase it point to intimacy and our failure to grasp it.
It's a great book and as sweet points out without these 3 words life is not truly life, infact life is death. Over the years I have tried to develop a discipline of reading the biblical thematicaly. One that theme that I have concentrated on in the last 3 years is the standpoint of personal identity, Sweet goes beyond that to draw it into the context of Intimacy also, and doing that develop an understanding of Love.
From the questions that we here from God to human kind in Genesis these two areas are clear - firstly "Where are you?", and secondly "Where is your brother?" identity and intimacy.
In a world that often fails to understand these two question, it would be rather difficult to understand the nature of love as revealed in Christ.
It's a great book and as sweet points out without these 3 words life is not truly life, infact life is death. Over the years I have tried to develop a discipline of reading the biblical thematicaly. One that theme that I have concentrated on in the last 3 years is the standpoint of personal identity, Sweet goes beyond that to draw it into the context of Intimacy also, and doing that develop an understanding of Love.
From the questions that we here from God to human kind in Genesis these two areas are clear - firstly "Where are you?", and secondly "Where is your brother?" identity and intimacy.
In a world that often fails to understand these two question, it would be rather difficult to understand the nature of love as revealed in Christ.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Very engaging, almost entertaining
I spoke at St B's on Sunday on the subject of serving, afterwards I was told by a visitor to the church that the sermon was "very engaging and almost entertaining...."
Almost entertaining.
When I asked what he meant by that he informed me that he did not think sermons were meant to be entertaining... When I told him that I suspect many of Jesus' messages were very enteraining and that entertainment in sermons was OK - he then said well in that case it was very entertaining and still very engaging. My reputation was saved..
A very interesting idea that people get into their heads about sermons that they should be dull lifeless and boring. If they are that then how do you engage the modern audience, for me preaching is primarly about that engaging and if i entertain people in the process then surely it can add to that engagement. There is a guy from ABC in christcurch who can tell me almost word for word my first sermon i preached there, which was well over 8 years ago now. How did he remember it? Well it was the stories, the entertainment factor.
Last week I saw the movie Keeping Mum, in it the Rowan Atkinson character is a frustrated Vicar, who has the task of preaching the primary address at a clergy conference. He grips the audience with humour;
"Today I am going to talk to you about the mystery of cod...sorry that should have been God, if you want to hear about the mystery of cod than that will be at another conference."
He holds their attention then unpacks the topic, brilliant.
Engaging is essential, entertaining? Well why not...
Almost entertaining.
When I asked what he meant by that he informed me that he did not think sermons were meant to be entertaining... When I told him that I suspect many of Jesus' messages were very enteraining and that entertainment in sermons was OK - he then said well in that case it was very entertaining and still very engaging. My reputation was saved..
A very interesting idea that people get into their heads about sermons that they should be dull lifeless and boring. If they are that then how do you engage the modern audience, for me preaching is primarly about that engaging and if i entertain people in the process then surely it can add to that engagement. There is a guy from ABC in christcurch who can tell me almost word for word my first sermon i preached there, which was well over 8 years ago now. How did he remember it? Well it was the stories, the entertainment factor.
Last week I saw the movie Keeping Mum, in it the Rowan Atkinson character is a frustrated Vicar, who has the task of preaching the primary address at a clergy conference. He grips the audience with humour;
"Today I am going to talk to you about the mystery of cod...sorry that should have been God, if you want to hear about the mystery of cod than that will be at another conference."
He holds their attention then unpacks the topic, brilliant.
Engaging is essential, entertaining? Well why not...
Friday, September 01, 2006
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