Preaching as Celebration

What an absolutely amazing first day to my last course here in Chicago! And WOW, does that feel weird to write. My last class, Preaching as Celebration: Preaching in the African American Tradition with Frank Thomas is shaping up to be an incredible class on preaching in general and very insightful into another style of preaching in particular. It is very interesting to ponder how the white church has decided, either by intention or omition to preach primarily to the cognitive intellect at the cost of engaging the intuitive emotive. Why, in this post-modern world, do we think it necessary to have either or? The celebration model is based on the Lowrey Loop and is meant to engage both the cognitive and the emotive in a balanced structure of situation, complication, resolution, celebration. In fact, it is a model that grounds the sermon in an everyday lived experience and thus, renders the sermon both more memorable and more able to affect change in the hearer as it transcends the cognitive by engaging the emotive at the level of core belief. Engagement at this level allows the preacher to connect with the hearer in a manner that limits the ability to simply agree and then dismiss the message that is given. by engaging the hearer at the level of core belief the preacher has the real potential of affecting change and growth as a Christian and as a person of faith. There is so much more to the African American tradition than we see on television or have historically associated with a call and response style of worship. Perhaps the reason that the call and response aspect is so prevalent in the African American tradition is because the preaching has historically engaged people at the emotive level and lived experience both by the preacher and the hearer and continues to do so today. What a wonderful gift this course is shaping up to be. I can't wait to engage the structure with digital media and see what happens. This is going to be so much fun!

End of Week One...on to week two

Week one is over and Core III is behind us, at least in the sense of attending a class. It has been an interesting journey into the heart of seeing the sermon as a tool for social transformation. It has been an interesting week in relation to my own understanding of the power of the sermon. I've known for sometime that I have a high theology of preaching, yet this last week I've come to realize that my theology of preaching is very, very high. I truly and absolutely believe that the sermon can and does change both peoples lives and thus through the the social reality that we live in as a community. In other words the sermon can and does change the world. The power of the preached word is such that it transcends who I am and who those are who hear it to the place where it can fundamentally transform who we are and how we live out our lives each and every day. Such is the power of the preached word that is mediated by the Spirit once it leaves our lips. Yes it takes a lot or preparation. Yes it takes hours of pouring over scripture and praying endlessly. Of delving deep into the traditions greatest and best literature of linking yourself to centuries of tradition. It is a deep vocation to a willingness to put the the Word, life and God together in a way that always keeps us expanding and how I reflect critically on what God is doing. After week one I've had the opportunity to rekindle my love of preaching and my deep commitment to master it as best I can as a preacher. What an amazing and powerful place this program is and I need to say thank-you to every person who's enabled me to be here, 'cause I'm sure I'm not here on my own.

Race in the Pulpit

Race is one of the issues in many Canadian pulpits that I think is all too often ignored and deemed irrelevant both to the congregation and the pastor, yet this seems to be more of a fearful response than a calculated evaluative statement. Race is all around us and as a consequence racism is prevalent in every congregation because all of our congregations are made up of people. This might seem like a shocking statement, yet I know there are racists in my congregation because I am one. I can't really help that I am because at a certain level I was born into it. Just by the geographical location of my birth and the ancestry of my family I am a white Canadian male. This alone means that I am automatically afforded certain advantages in society just because of my race and because for a long time I participated in the ongoing granting of that power of privilege without question or hesitation. I told racial jokes and laughed at them when I heard them from others. But that is no longer the case and hasn't been for years, yet all that makes me is a recovering racist and each and every day I must confront the reality of my white privilege. Part of confronting that privilege is acknowledging in my own life where and when I encounter racism in my private and church life. It also means that it is an issue that I must preach on both directly and indirectly as well as in a manner which disarms people so that they can hear the message of how God's love is all inclusive. Racism in any for, including systemic and institutional, is not ok. A racist joke is not 'just a joke.' It is hurtful and a contribution to and sustaining of a system that seeks to make others less-than who they are.

Human Sexuality and the Sermon

In one way I want to ask the question, does sexuality belong in the pulpit? I know in many congregations and for many individuals the immediate response would be no! Not in my church and not on any Sunday!Yet, I wonder if what gets people's backs up is that they don't want something that is private, that is the sex act itself, made public and preached from the pulpit. The church has no place in the beds of those that come to worship and yet, if we're going to try and preach and talk about the fullness of human experience and how that relates to our understanding of God's love for all of us and the birthing of the kingdom. Now I'm not saying that I think we should be describing the sex act itself from the pulpit on Sunday morning. What I am wrestling with is the call of the gospel to preach on the fullness of the human experience, one part of which is human sexuality - different from the act itself. How can we proclaim an open and inclusive faith community that seeks to share the love of God with all, then I must also proclaim the universal acceptance of mutually caring and loving relationships by that same God who welcomes us all to the table of Jesus Christ. At its core, when you drill down to the depths of the subject, is the issue of God's justice right here and right now and not somewhere off in an eschatological future. So, is there a difference about preaching on sex and sexuality? Absolutely! and if we believe that we're all created as equals before God then we need to preach on the reality that sexuality has been used as a tool of power to oppress and segregate and disempower and malign and isolate individuals as other. And friends, that'll preach!

What is Preaching?

Day 1 is done and at the end of the day a great quote from Paul Tillick came up, "the goal of preaching is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." We were asked if this quote was still important and if we agreed with it. For some the instantaneous reaction was that people with wealth constituted the comfortable and that people don't appreciate feeling judged because of their wealth and in fact that the judgement pronounced by many preachers prevents any further conversation. However, is that the only way that people are comfortable? I agree that it is one of the ways - it might even be the primary way that we assess someone level of comfort, yet people are also comfortable in their mindset, outlook, social location, entitlement, judgement and world view. Surely the gospel afflicts those whose lives do not reflect the essence of God's grace, just as Jesus afflicted the comfort of the rich young ruler when he was told to give it all away. For me I think that we've become spiritually complacent and assert all too often that 'we've got God all figured out.' We've become comfortable in our worship lives and how that worship is manifested in our daily lived discipleship. Is great preaching about disturbing, that is afflicting, that comfort level so that the imagination of our discipleship can grow and be stretched beyond even our wildest dreams? Likewise is great preaching not also about comforting those who are wrestling with the mind bending reality of being open to the radical transformative presence of God's grace in their lives and those who are wrestling with the struggles of everyday life? Does great preaching operate as both pastoral care and prophetic witness at the same time? What do you think?

It's the 3rd Year!

Our arrival is complete. Once again that class of 2011 has left behind their families and congregations to descend upon Chicago for 18 days of focused discourse on homiletics. It's amazing to be part of a group that only sees one another for three weeks a year, yet is so intimately connected both as individuals and as preachers. It was great last night to gather around a table at a local restaurant and get everyone caught up on what's happened in our lives, our loved ones and our congregations. It is truly humbling to be amongst such wonderful caring people that are utterly committed to preaching and the vocation to which they've been called. While there is a part of me that is glad this is the last residency, a piece of me is deeply saddened by that awareness and so as Gerhard says, "I am of two hearts on this matter" as our final residency begins.