I meant to post earlier, but life happened this week (more on that in a post to come).
Preaching. What's the first image that comes to mind when you hear this word? More than likely it is a robed-figure standing in a pulpit, or someone more casually dressed sitting on a stool or walking around on stage...all talking to a gathered assembly of people.
For me, I don't get this image. My first thought is more akin to St. Francis of Assisi's statement: "Preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words." I picture preaching to be more about incarnating God's love to people than it is speaking to a congregation.
So you all can probably imagine my dilemma as we are asked to write our theological context for preaching, predicated on the assumption that preaching is about verbally articulating the faith.
Hmm.
Pulpit preaching is just one small part of how we as Christians preach with our lives. We are always, always preaching - always saying something about the love of God through Jesus Christ in our actions and in the way we treat other people. I really love this line my pastor said in a sermon a few weeks ago: "It’s not when we tell people about Jesus, we’re already doing that. It’s what we’re telling them through our actions."
So in this respect, we are all - clergy and laity alike - preachers of the Word. What gives pastors special authority? You tell me. Is it more scholarly knowledge? A special vocational call? The experience of seminary? Ordination? I don't really know...all I know is that I don't think preaching (when we do it on Sunday mornings) can't just be one person speaking to a group of people.
I think preaching in the context of worship can be ritual, group discussion, art, silence, or a service project. I really love what Tim Lucas of Liquid Church in Morristown did when they canceled weekend services to go serve others. Check it out!
More and more I'm beginning to understand that preaching is more about how we live out the Word of God than anything else. Because if we - both as individuals and as communities of faith - aren't doing God's Word, then what we say from the pulpit is meaningless. Our preaching must come out of a love and a desire to incarnate God's love to a broken and hurting world. And that is what preaching means to me.
Showing posts with label preaching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label preaching. Show all posts
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
The Theological Foundation of Preaching or What is Preaching?
Now that my paper is safely in the hands of my professor, I feel like I can ask this question of you all:
What does it mean to preach? Where to we derive our authority for preaching? What's our theological context for preaching? In essence...what is preaching?
I'm truly interested in hearing what you have to say before I post my own reflections on this. I had to write 5 pages, double-spaced, but I won't hold you to that same standard. ;-)
What does it mean to preach? Where to we derive our authority for preaching? What's our theological context for preaching? In essence...what is preaching?
I'm truly interested in hearing what you have to say before I post my own reflections on this. I had to write 5 pages, double-spaced, but I won't hold you to that same standard. ;-)
Monday, March 05, 2007
Some interesting posts
Hello everyone!
Ok, I forgot to post yesterday. I made it back to my room around 11:30 last night, and felt just so tired and lazy that I didn't want to set up my computer and pull something from my brain. So this my confession!
Anyhow, there are a couple of interesting posts that I would like to share:
1) Tattoo at graceisthepoint. He talks about a series he did because a large percentage of his church goers have tattoos or are considering getting them. I found this interesting due to the fact that we had a chapel service one day where our chapel director recounted her experience of getting a tattoo at Shotsie's (just for context, this was part of a January class called Ministry and the Imagination where they focused on the body). Apparently, about half of the people who this individual marks are clergy, which I found to be a fascinating statistic. From time to time I contemplate getting a tattoo and what it would be, but frankly I am too much of a wimp to do it, and I wouldn't want to have it fade and blur and look ugly in 20 or 30 years.
2) My fiancé over at Steeple Soapbox has a couple of posts entitled Stop Preaching (Part One and Part Two). His argument is based on the idea of multiple intelligences, and how what we do in worship really only appeals to one or two of these.
Ok, I forgot to post yesterday. I made it back to my room around 11:30 last night, and felt just so tired and lazy that I didn't want to set up my computer and pull something from my brain. So this my confession!
Anyhow, there are a couple of interesting posts that I would like to share:
1) Tattoo at graceisthepoint. He talks about a series he did because a large percentage of his church goers have tattoos or are considering getting them. I found this interesting due to the fact that we had a chapel service one day where our chapel director recounted her experience of getting a tattoo at Shotsie's (just for context, this was part of a January class called Ministry and the Imagination where they focused on the body). Apparently, about half of the people who this individual marks are clergy, which I found to be a fascinating statistic. From time to time I contemplate getting a tattoo and what it would be, but frankly I am too much of a wimp to do it, and I wouldn't want to have it fade and blur and look ugly in 20 or 30 years.
2) My fiancé over at Steeple Soapbox has a couple of posts entitled Stop Preaching (Part One and Part Two). His argument is based on the idea of multiple intelligences, and how what we do in worship really only appeals to one or two of these.
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