Preaching Changes

You may have noticed that my blog has been quiet of late.  For some reason (don't know why) I just have not posted the Monday Morning Church emails.  And Sermons have been absent.  Well I can explain the sermons more - I haven't been writing anything for them.

Of late I have been not using manuscripts at all for my preaching.  This has lead to a more natural conversation in our sermons that Bethlehem creates together as we reflect on the readings.  Therefore I don't quite feel right taking not just my thoughts but the congregations and posting their reflections on my blog on Sunday afternoon or Monday.

I did want to tell you about this past Sunday.  To me worship felt joyless - I just wasn't feeling it and I know I was grumbling throughout the later half of worship.  The sermon was on John 3:14-21 and I asked "Are you saved?" and "What does it mean to be saved?" And while the sermon overall went okay, I thought I wasn't truly able to express what I wanted to express (maybe if I had written a manuscript that could have been done better).  And for some reason I left worship in a bad mood.

But after worship one teenager posted John 3:16 (the full verse not just the "address") on his facebook wall.  And then on Sunday one member emailed me with some further thoughts and questions about the sermon including wondering if baptism, an act of salvation, therefore counts as salvation through works since it is a work that we do in order to receive salvation.  Then I emailed another member to answer a question he asked towards the end of the sermon that I did not have time to answer adequately so I left it hanging: "Do you have to believe in order to go to heaven?"  That lead to a great email exchange as well.

So here I was Sunday afternoon feeling horrible about how worship and my sermon went and by Monday afternoon I had done a 180 on that experience after having some follow through conversations.

I know conversational sermons are not for everyone.  Some people have expressed to me that they want to hear from me and not have a discussion.  And I'm trying to find that balance of allowing people to express their thoughts and opinions on the texts and topic without the conversation veering way off or my voice, as someone who has spent part of the week reading about and reflecting on these texts, getting lost.  However I do strongly believe that when given the chance to participate, people are more likely to internalize the sermon and related it to their everyday life so I want to honor that people have the need and longing to participate in their faith.