Blog 1000 words
I heard a memorable sermon some years ago which reminded everyone listening that we already know about Jesus, the world, and our mission and what we need is not more knowledge, but to put a plan into action. We know what we should do, and our worship/reflection time is to jog our memories, constantly reminding us of what we tend to forget – who we are, how much God loves, why we are here. When we remember, the ahas begin, the connectedness increases, we become more fully human.
This week has been similar for me. My memory has been jogged – reminding me of some things I knew long ago, but have tended to let lapse through years of being the practitioner in minister-dependent worship. Worship should be an experience, sometimes confronting, sometimes comforting, but always alive. I enjoy the discipline of the Lectionary – but cannot bring myself to preach the same sermon twice – even I get bored with that. I have produced too many “meat and three veg” services, when a varied diet of soufflé one week, stroganoff the next, straight to dessert the next, would have been better.
I have remembered again that if those who walk in to Church off the street do not understand what is happening, it is only polite to explain. If the children, or childlike adults, in our midst are ignored in our planning and presentation – that is just not good enough. The chart explaining passive/active and absorbed/immersed, and how each is worthy of consideration in each worship service so that all the children of God have an opportunity to really worship was helpful to me.
I have remembered again the value of a good story – one that speaks to all our being, and really connects with our humanity in search of God. I know that stories are worth telling in their own right, not just to illustrate a point. I have remembered again the art of a good story as something to be cherished.
But there were also things I never knew – what clearly constitutes new learning. Smells! –wow! How did I miss that one! I have people who complain about fresh flowers and scented candles! Imagine the fuss with manure in the aisles, or rubbish dump stench when we pray for our feeding program for the children of the dumps in the Philippines. Many years ago I shared a Good Friday service on a regular basis with a local Baptist minister – and one year he was sorely tempted to slit a lamb’s throat in the service. Horror of horrors – but no one would have forgotten that day! The smell of the blood, all the mess, so outrageous in our sanitised culture. Part of me is glad we didn’t arrange it, but another part feels sad, as a significant part of my ministry focuses on the avoidance of offense to a minority which often means blandness for the majority. Smelly experiences in Church – a whole new world opens up!
And then there was the whole world of touch and play – something that has been regularly forgotten in my worship – the removal of all earthly things so that we can contemplate the world clearly doesn’t work. When I scrunched up a beautiful scarf, I felt the potential of Mary’s life, and then I needed to reflect what in me is scrunched – yet to be revealed. Then that of course leads into God’s purposes still to be revealed, ever unfolding and contorting to new beauty and wonder.
New questions - Could I use a wider range of tools in my worship? I was moved by the illustrations in 40- where I could see the parched lips and weary eyes of the long time in the wilderness. Seeing Jesus struggle with himself in the temptations – a passage I have preached on many times – was amazingly vibrant in a whole new way. Similarly, Rob Bell’s Resurrection was mind blowing, not only a great delivery (a little too rapid for most of my congregation) but amazing visuals. I have never seen a more glorious “he’s not here – bet you didn’t expect that”. I have always been a Christian of the Resurrection but I was enabled to see it in a whole new light – not a cheap gimmick, but theologically-sound utter joy. It made me want to find out more about this man Rob Bell, and I was quite shocked by criticism of him on the internet. He struck me as someone who has truly caught the Gospel, and cannot help but share it, a true evangelical! I have a difficulty sometimes with experimenting with ‘gimmicky’ things, which I suppose reflects my fear of being seen as offering only cheapness instead of richness. I want to connect with the richness, and stop worrying about any misunderstandings that may occur. I need to trust my people more.
I intend to take the text more seriously and more playfully, that it may live through me. My encounter with the Text all those years ago has meant more than the world to me, and I have not always been as enthusiastically faithful as I might have been. I want to be more enthusiastically faithful in interpreting the Text for new generations.
We are God’s punctuation ( all that is not in the text) – the interpretation of the Gospel needs arms and legs attached, I must embody the Good News or it will die in me.
Bible in future ministry – I have probably relaxed too much in planning for my use of the Bible. My use of Hebrew and Greek is limited, and at times I have taken the Bible stories at face value, using them to jump off into whatever it is I want to say, rather than serious exegesis and research. I do know that when I plan a first person witness to a Bible event, I do spend time thinking about the scene, feelings, textures, weather. Now I need to include smell, touch, taste and hearing. I know the noise in the market place in Jerusalem, all I have to do is convey it. The wealth that is within me is to be shared not hoarded. The question remains - How do we encourage the people in our care to ‘do their own theology’ in ways that are within their own God-given imaginations, to respond to the text at work in them. How does the ‘expert‘ within me allow room for people to discover for themselves, even if it takes them to a place where I do not want them to go?
How will I help the text to transform into new technology, not for its own sake, but that new generations will have access to the Good News of God’s Love? I do want to learn to speak this new language, so that the message fits this new mission field. I need to investigate these possibilities.
Thanks, friends, for giving me some room to grow.
"More enthusiastically faithful in interpreting the Text for new generations." What a great goal to set yourself. I warm to the word enthusiastically. The new generations bit might prove difficult. It demands being as adept in cultural exegesis as in biblical exegesis, to quote Jenny. Being able to sample "from the two poles of gospel life and cultural resources to offer a creative and distinctively transformed way of being a Christian." (Taylor, The Out of Bounds Church ?,140).
ReplyDeleteI was captured by your question of "how does the expert within me allow room for people to discover for themselves, even if it takes them to a place where I do not want them to go?" Not sure about the "where I do not want them to go" bit. But in relation to people discovering for themselves, I recall that quote about the need/ challenge to create environments that "treat questions hospitably, as the starting point of conversations." Such environments become places for "wondering, rumination, and imagination" (McSpadden, in The Art of Reading Scripture, 133). This is about allowing/creating space for the Spirit to come in and work - a space in which hearts can be opened. It's moving "from the cult of the expert to the gifts of the people" (Baker, Throwing a Hand Grenade in the FRuit Bowl - what a marvellous metaphor for preaching!). And unleashing those gifts, for the sake of the whole. I suppose it's about taking risks. Overcoming our fear.
Alan
Hi Anne,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your experience of the course as being ‘memory-jogging’. I guess we all need to have that happen from time to time – whether we’re experienced in ministry as you are or more of a ‘newbie’ as I am. Near the end of your blog, you ask the question “How do we encourage the people in our care ‘to do their own theology’ in ways that are within their own God-given imaginations, to respond to the text at work in them?” I struggle with a similar concern. How do we co-operate with the Spirit in such a way that people develop a hunger and thirst to grapple with the text themselves?
I was encouraged by Christine McSpadden’s response to this very question when she writes, “Preach so that your hearers want to hear more about the Bible. Today’s hearers have little experience with the thoughtful reading of Scripture; every sermon is an opportunity to cultivate a desire to know more about the biblical witness” (The Art of Reading Scripture, 141). Ultimately the last thing we want to do as preachers is spoon-feed our congregations. I’d much rather express my own hunger – stimulate theirs – and sit down at table together.
Hi Anne,
ReplyDeleteI appreciated your comment about the ‘passive/active/absorbed/immersed’ chart & giving people the opportunity to ‘really worship’ (Lecture Block 5 & here the article by Rose on ‘conversational preaching’ was very helpful, especially the bit about using ‘personal experiences’). It seems to me that too many folk have become passive & are maybe content to stay there. Others however, want to be more involved & there are simple things we can do to help folk own the worship experience. A few other ideas I found helpful here are: the McSpadden article talks about ‘the sermon as an “environment” for wondering, rumination, & imagination’; what a great quote!; Steve’s comments about getting feedback before the sermon is preached is something I’ve already done & it does draw people into the text; & Si Smith’s ‘40’ where he said that ‘so much of my church experience has been about controlling the message, nailing it down’.
comment made for Ken by Steve Taylor
Hi Anne,
ReplyDeleteI also appreciated your comments about Rob Bell’s Resurrection (Lecture Block 2 Case study). It was a great presentation and certainly theologically sound. It was also simple, uncomplicated, down to earth & understandable. The quote from the Bell website about it being ‘provocative, compelling’ etc makes it something grabs out attention. Class discussion about this case study and relating it to the ‘image/dialogue/community’ diagram was also very useful. I also liked the way he made it personally applicable.
Your comment about ‘a little too rapid for my congregation’ brought a smile to my face. Same for me too! But, I’ve decided to use it in our fellowship & slow it down with maybe a few pauses so that some of those good confronting bits can slowly sink in. Rob’s congregation are no doubt tuned into his speech & delivery techniques.
I don’t find ‘criticism of him’ (Bell) such initiatives a bad thing; I believe we should ‘put the blowtorch’ to anything & everything that purports to be for God so that disrespectful & unworthy stuff can be put to one side.(isn’t that what 1 Cor 3:12-15 is all about?).
We do need to be careful about what might be seen as ‘gimmicky’ and your comment about ‘offering only cheapness instead of richness’ is spot on. The final quote from Drane (Lecture Block 3 – ‘Conclusion’) is very important. Our God is a holy God & has no need to be entertained by us. It’s a balance isn’t it?
(another comment made for Ken by Steve Taylor)
Thank you so much for your reflection. Your comment, ‘Worship should be an experience, sometimes confronting, sometimes comforting, but always alive’, reminded me of Rognlien’s experience in moving the planning of church worship to a method of worship planning that, ‘involv(ed) more people in a long-range process (that) will enable us to create fresh new experiences of worship, inspired by the Holy Spirit on a weekly basis’ (Experiential Worship, 177). It sounds as though you’re on the same journey – one which is honest, humble and free. ‘Above all, it will intentionally engage people physically, emotionally, intellectually and volitionally in a direct encounter with God’ (Experiential Worship, 177).
ReplyDeleteYour ‘Smells!’ revelation brought a smile to my face. My imagination spun into motion and I found myself in your congregation with a deep awareness of the stench of poverty in the Philippines juxtaposed with the expensively perfumed Western World we “enjoy”. I wonder what perfume Jesus would wear? I wonder if Jesus is as sanitised, programmatised and predictable as our world, and if so, How He can be all that the New Testament claims that He is? I was challenged. Thank you again.