Preaching Workshop 2

After 6 more glasses of Upstate Farm Chocolate Milk, I'm toward the end of the 2nd Day of the preaching workshop. It was nice to eat breakfast for a change. I truly love breakfast foods and it's sad that I never see these hours. After breakfast I sat in on a textual workshop led by Kulli Toniste. She focused on the parable of the wicked tenants. I connected with her love for Scripture and approach to interpreting parables (this topic was still fairly fresh in my mind from my 17 week series on the parables).

In the afternoon I attended another textual workshop, this time led by Kelvin Friebel whom I had previously encountered at BBC when he taught Ezekiel. On this occasion he was utlizing Genesis 22 when God tested Abraham as an example of how to build an Old Testament narrative sermon. He warned against inappropriate typologizing, filling in of narrative gaps, and/or taking verses out of context. I enjoyed some back and forth discussion with him near the end of class.

In the evening the panel of faculty opened up to questions from the floor. We asked about using multi-media, how to increase application, use of personal stories, where to find illustrations, how to evaluate your preaching, different styles of preaching, length of sermons, comparison with other preachers, etc. Their answers and the group discussion were insightful. All in all I was pretty happy with the day. And my internet is working again so all is well in the world (cept, of course, for all that bad stuff).

Preaching Workshop

What makes preaching so tough? Jack Connell answered this question during the 1st session of our preaching workshop. He noted the challenges that preachers face (for example, the fact that another Sunday is always just around the corner & the fact that the congregation has access to 'superstar' preachers). On top of these challenges, a preacher must find a way to communicate with a 21st century congregation with a short attention span, a consumer mindset, and diminished confidence in authority. The preacher must have something for the seasoned Christian and at the same time the biblically illiterate. It's a tall task! Connell went on to point out 4 keys to effective preaching in this contemporary environment. Quality preaching must be biblical, relevant, creative & passionate. All in all, it was a pretty solid session. The only downside was that his discussion of what a 'biblical' sermon was left far more questions than answers. There was a lot of tension in some of his points that simply wasn't fleshed out.

The second speaker was Kristina LaCelle Peterson on the topic of preaching to/about women. It was about what I expected. She cautioned preachers to be thoughtful about the language they use in their preaching (are we all 'sons' of God or are there 'daughters' also, should we use the term 'mankind' or 'people'). She also called for balance in our metaphors of God. Do we always focus on God's masculine roles or do we make known the female metaphors as well? It was a decent reminder to think through our sermon language.

Michael Walters, Monday's final speaker, opened with a good question: If people listened to you preach for 4 Sundays in a row, what would they think of your view of Scripture? He challenged us that good pulpit preaching starts with a genuine and personal interaction with the text in the pastor's study. How do we SEE Scripture? Do we view it as merely a resource to preach from or is it the Word of God? How do we HEAR Scripture? Doesn't the 'inspiration' of Scripture imply not only that the writers were inspired, but that the Holy Spirit also inspires the hearers of the Word to interact with God through the text? How do we speak Scripture? Are we bold enough? His hour was filled with good questions and quotes. He'll be our speaker at Family Camp this year and I'm looking forward to that based on this session.

Houghton

I'm at Houghton today, tomorrow & Wednesday for a 'preaching' seminar. I always enjoy being at Houghton. It's a special place for me. It's where I've enjoyed Family Camp each Summer for the past 22 years. It's where I experienced my first big crush. It's where I surrendered my life to Christ. It's where I sensed a call to pastoral ministry. It's where I found Upstate Farms Chocolate Milk. Big stuff. If the seminar is super I'll prolly share a few thoughts. If it is average I'll just post whatever comes to mind, like normal.

3 Kinds of People

There are only 3 Kinds of People

Those who like Bluegrass
Those who don't know they like Bluegrass
Those who pretend not to like Bluegrass

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Baptism Story

I would like to hear some baptism stories. They can be brief or lengthy. Have you been baptized? Why or why not? Were you baptized as an infant, kid, teen, or adult? Where were you baptized? How? Were you baptized more than once? Thanks to any who share their story!