Time for a Stand

Over the last couple of weeks I've been wrestling with what our congregation can do in response to the suicide of a young teen that was at least in part the result of bullying due to her orientation. I've been wrestling with what it is that I am called to do as a preacher, pastor, Christian and community member. Then I heard about this clip. What an amazing message. As an aside I'm wondering why our Canadian Government isn't saying something like this - or perhaps it's that their too consumed with consolidating power and becoming the Harper government. In this short 3 minute clip President Obama does something that I don't think any other head of state has done - say to LGBTQ teens that they are fine just the way they are. Can you imagine the impact that such a statement will have in the months and years to come? Think of how many lives will be positively affected by a message to not only American teens, but teens all over the globe. Once again I find myself inspired by President Obama.
In his message he tells teens that they need to seek out places that will support them. I think it is time for my congregation to make their Vision Statement a public reality and let our community know that we are a faith community that welcomes everyone, regardless of age, race, gender, orientation, social standing, creed or ability. It is time for us to put our money where our mouth is and as a member of our church council said, "come out," so that teens, young adults, adults, and all those who love them know that there is at least one faith community in the area that believes we are all equally created in God's image and that human sexuality is a gift from God. It is time for those of us who espouse an open and welcoming theology to add our voices to the public arena with equal vigour and tenacity as those who would tell our young people that they are broken and shameful; needing to be fixed or reprogrammed; suffer from some mental illness that can be fixed with the right medication; or are accepted as long as they don't act upon their feelings - all simply because they are LGBTQ. This bullying has to stop and I believe that faith communities such as mine have a huge role to embrace.
A couple of Sunday's ago I preached a sermon that called people to seriously look at what they are mentoring to the next generation. Is it acceptance and love or hate and prejudice. Are we building strong communities where diversity is uplifted or weak villages of fear and isolation? Each of us lives out our faith in the daily decisions that we make. We demonstrate what it is to be a disciple by the words we choose or don't choose; when we stand up for something or don't; when we challenge a phobic statement or just smile and let it go. I've decided that I will no longer tolerate that kind of behaviour in my life. I will do my best to challenge "isms" wherever I encounter them in what is hopefully a constructive manner and yet I acknowledge that this will bring tension into my life. That some people won't appreciate being told that what they've said is inappropriate or discriminative. Yet the one I seek to follow, Jesus our Christ, stood up for the oppressed and named his ministry to be about setting the captive free. Can I really ignore the treatment of LGBTQ people in my community and still claim that I seek to be the hands, feet and voice of Christ in the world? Can I watch and remain silent as teens are bullied by ignorant peers and faculty that turn a blind eye? No. I can't.
It is my hope that we will wrestle with what this means as a faith community. It is my hope that we will begin the Affirming Ministry process. It is my hope that we will find ways of partnering with other communities. And it is my hope that another teen will never take their life because they didn't know of at least one place where they would have been accepted and supported for who they are.

One More Step

It's Thursday morning and I'm one more step towards finishing this program. My thesis proposal has been submitted and approved by my supervisor. The working title is iPreach: the art of preaching with digital media. The resources have been selected and the plan is in place to make sure that all the bases are covered. Three years have almost come to an end. Three trips to Chicago almost over. Three years gathering with people who were once strangers who have now become friends. This part of the doctorate journey is ending today. I knew that today would be tough. I knew that there would be a range of emotions all wrapped up in a sense of completion and anticipation. I'm very glad to have made it to this point. I'm very thankful for all the people who have worked with me and supported me in order to get to this point. I'm glad that the residencies are over - especially the financial cost of them and yet I'm sad that I won't be together with these friends again in the same intensive way. I'm sad that these deep conversations will now come to an end as a group, even though some will continue on there own. I'm sad that I won't be able to gather with 19 people and break bread with great food and good wine. I will mourn the loss of this intensive community and what it has meant to join together with ecumenical colleagues from around the U.S. and Germany. These folks, these preachers, have changed who I am, how I look at the world and how I look at ministry in general. Yes I'm one more step towards the goal of a doctorate and I celebrate that, yet I mourn the loss of this community and what it has meant to me. It is another time of transition and while I look forward to the days and nights of pouring over a manuscript and doing draft after draft, I am sure at one level that it is the memory of this family that will give me the strength when I need it, the humour in a time of need and the assurance of support and care. This class, this family of 26, will always be part of who I am - regardless of where I go from here.

Week Three - The Finish Line's in Sight

Week three and it's all about the thesis now. Everything else has faded away and all the conversation, all the energy both in class and beyond it, is now focused on the thesis. How do you write it, what's your context, what's the focus question, what's the theological foundation and witness of the denomination and history, what resources do I need to be conversant with, what practices am I using to test this all out and what kinds of feedback will help me address the practices and, ultimately, the core question of my thesis. O, and by the way, you need to get all this information communicated in 45 pages. We've spent time in small groups talking about all these components for each of our ideas followed by feedback from our peers. Each time we talk about it we get clearer and clearer as well as deeper and deeper. The analogy is that of an elevator conversation. The functional idea is that by the time you go from the top floor to the lobby you should be able to tell someone what your thesis is all about in a manner that they can understand and offer feedback. As I've listened to the idea of my classmates it has become apparent to me that folks are working on some amazing topics. The thesis proposal range from the preacher as active listener; to biblical literacy and stewardship; to preaching in care homes to people with dementia; to street street evangelism. The creativity and commitment to deepening communities of faith and the importance of preaching in that formation. I meet with my advisor on Wednesday to see if he'll sign off on my proposal. If he does, then it's off to the races, well keyboard, with a first draft due by January 3!

Trinity and My Blues Ain't Your Blues

I know I've said this before, yet I think it warrants stating again: if your in Chicago - attend worship at Trinity United Church of Christ! Again this year a group of ten of us made our way to the South Side of Chicago for a 2.5 hour service that felt like 45 minutes. The 140-150 member choir was amazing. To hear a a group of 60-70 men sing harmonies is simply good for the soul. To hear 2300 voices in the congregation rise and blend with the harmonies of the choir and musicians, literally brought tears to my eyes. It was only as I listened to the sax player and the blues guitarist that I realized how close to burnout I cam this past year and the effect it had on me, my family and my ministry. Trinity is that kind of transformative Holy place. The sermon was all about the blues, including some blues guitar that was simply awesome! The essence of it was that while our sense of the blues is different, God is present in the harmonic resolution for all of us. The blues is one way that as a mature Christian we express our ability to lay the heavyness of life at God's feet right along side our praise and thanksgiving. In essence God sings the blues. It was an amazing and powerful sermon that lasted about 45 minutes. Read that again - 45 minutes! It felt like you were floating in the ocean with each successive wave of celebration being a larger and more emotive wave of experience. By the end of the sermon we were cresting a huge wave that resulted with everyone standing on their feet applauding and speaking agreement and encouragement to Ottis Moss. The whole call and response nature of African-American worship is so, so powerful. The energy that is invested by both preacher and community results in an experience much larger and deeper than either of the components in and of themselves. I wish there was a way to replicate in some way this aspect in my own congregation. I think it could be an amazing experience for people to feel free enough to participate in the sermon and worship in general in such a way. I'm not suggesting becoming a call and response congregation overnight as much as suggesting that people could be encouraged to express their agreement and support for what's being offered in worship beyond clapping. Trinity is always a high light of my residencies in Chicago. This year was no exception. The trip to Trinity is another gift that I've been very fortunate to receive.

Week 2 Here and Gone!

Another elective done! It's hard to believe that this week concludes my third and final elective as part of the program. It also signals my final sermon that I needed to preach as part of the residency component of the program. It feels very strange to be on the other side of three residencies and now looking ahead to the thesis and final sermons that will contribute towards it. For sure there is a lot of work ahead, yet the finish line is in site and I can see my annual trips to the amazing city of Chicago coming to an end. In many ways this in an of itself is sad. I've been fortunate to have been offered this opportunity to join together with fellow preachers who are just as passionate and focused on preaching as I am. That in and of itself would have been enough, yet what's also happened is that I've become attached to these folks. Many of them have evolved from classmates, to colleagues, to friends. Friends who are fellow preachers is a rare and valuable commodity. I have friends in this program who can talk with me about my preaching in a way that few others can. They offer their words, both positive and challenging, from the source of love in Christ and the mutuality of being a fellow preacher. I realize I'm starting to get sentimental about this whole process. Personally I think this is one of the strengths of the program. Not only will I be a better preacher because of this program. I will also leave it with an international network of preachers and friends. Eight weeks and three summers later, it's time to return to Trinity United Church of Christ, one last time, before the home stretch of week three.

Emotive Preaching

According to Frank Thomas there are two essential levels of preaching: cognitive and emotive. Most of the styles that are taught to people in seminaries are built upon a cognitive model that may or may not contain any emotive material and when it does, it is often by happenstance. An emotive framework is designed to engage the cognitive and move deeper into the emotive language of the person so as to affect change at the level of core belief, or what Frank calls soul material. The basic assumption in this model is that by staying at the cognitive level, the preacher is trying to convince the congregation of a point of view that is easy to forget. However when the preacher moves to the cognitive level there exists the opportunity to engage people at the level of core belief and, that if change is affected at this level, it tends to be more significant and longer lasting. However, if preaching becomes purely emotive then there is no grounding for the sermon and thus the experience of the message. The goal is a balanced approach to both the cognitive and emotive. The sermon needs to have enough material to engage our cognition while at the same time engaging the hearers personal experience through an appeal to the emotive via language that bridges the two creating a symbiotic relationship that deepens the overall experience for everyone involved, including the preacher.

Celebration in Preaching

Last week I spent all my time pondering the implications of celebration in preaching and a model that will enable that to happen that has emerged from the African American tradition. Spending a week with the Rev. Dr. Frank Thomas is nothing short of a blessing. His care, insight, commitment to preaching, teaching and overall personhood makes it a privilege to spend time in his class. It was a week filled with 34 sermons, two by each person in the class. The second sermon preached was on the same text for everyone from Genesis on the wrestling of Jacob with God. The first round of sermons covered a huge amount of territory and topics. It has been amazing to watch how much my colleagues have deepened their preaching. Several went to deep emotional places and invited us to join them on that journey deep into the heart of God's grace. It was an amazing and tearful experience. It raises the question of how much vulnerability there needs to be in our preaching? Is the pulpit a place where tears and anger are appropriate? What happens within the congregation when the preacher is obviously emotional? Does this welcome people into the dialogue because now, the preacher is human? Or, does it create a barrier of emotive ripples that prevents people from crossing the chasm of separation into participation? What interesting questions to ponder.