Easter Preaching: Desire, Mystery, and Belonging (A Guest Post)
Following my deepest desire, following the path to be my most authentic self as I am created, almost always leads to the mystery of unknown outcomes, of uncertainty, of lack of closure. Belonging, in community, to God, with myself, has supported me through the mystery and returned me to desire over and over again.
How to Preach Transformation in Holy Week—and Every Week
Adaptive theology is uncomfortable because it doesn’t come with a blueprint, rule book, or even stick-figure assembly directions. Instead it offers a snapshot of cleared ground where the reign of God waits to be built; a rendering of the renovated halls of justice where peace keepers hold dialogues instead of guns; a silhouette of all the peoples gathered to save the planet.
BsP's Christmas Gift Guide for Preachers (2021 edition)
This year’s gift guide is intended to nudge the preacher’s creativity back to life—because creativity heals heart, mind, and soul.
Preach about Real Saints: Human and Holy
Why do we ignore the saints’ flaws or apologize for them as something shameful, faults to be hidden and tucked away? Preaching the truth of their humanity frees us from examining the messenger to embrace their message: love God, and forgive and love self and neighbor. Saints are the embodiment of that invitation to transformation. They show us what is possible when we accept and dwell in the love of God—in the fullness of our messy humanity. I am persuaded that by allowing saints to be holy and perfectly human, we can be transformed to be more like Christ.
“When have you been hurt by racism?”
Sometimes our bodies have a chronic problem that requires chronic physical therapy. Racism is a chronic problem of our hearts that also requires chronic treatment. I call this treatment “chronic spiritual therapy” that we engage together as the Body of Christ.
Because the whole Body has been hurt.
Prepare Yourself for Stewardship Season
Just as we were settling back into in-person worship, with or without also offering a digital version, the Delta variant of COVID is surging faster than the original version, especially among the unvaccinated. Just when the future was starting to feel a bit more predictable and certain, it’s even harder to put the emotional genies back in the bottle again. Who knows what all of this will mean for parish attendance, involvement, or financial giving? And how do we even begin to ask people to be generous with their time, talent, or treasure in a way that doesn’t sound insensitive to the very real uncertainties for the months ahead?
Preaching Hope (A Guest Blog)
From Dr. Rob O’Lynn’s guest post: “Full confession: I am a sucker for hope. I think St. Paul got it wrong. At the end of his famous meditation on love, he writes this: “And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13, NRSV). I do not dispute the importance that the apostle gives to these three virtues, virtues which serve as the core of Christianity’s ethical expression. I disagree with him on which one he thinks is most important. Hope can outlast love.”
Preaching to Insignificant Specks? Maybe. Maybe Not.
One event from one photo gets interpreted by two people. Those two people experience a shift in understanding. The new understanding becomes part of their backstory. Their backstory then influences their preaching.
Our backstories are always preaching. That’s what it means to be human. Are we aware of what it’s preaching?
Ministry Generalist or Preaching Specialist? Know Your Call
Discerning the priorities God has called you to will help all—family, parishioners, leadership, you—establish proper expectations for your time, preaching, and ministry involvement.
"Holy Crying": The Healing Power of Lament—Even in Eastertide (A guest post)
What comes next will not be a return to what was. What comes next will be a transition period, a time of figuring out the new normal. Transitions by definition mean change, and change, even positive change, brings stress. In the coming weeks when the flowering world signals one message but your soul feels another, remember God’s gift of the Lament and let your holy tears join the rain of the season. Both bring welcomed growth.
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I participated in the Lectio study today with a complicated and double-speak Gospel (John 17:6-19) and WOW! I received so much great insight and am headed in a direction I feel really good about. Thank you to all my colleagues! If you are wondering if this is worth it, wonder no more. It is.
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