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A Caution Against The Argumentative Sermon
Something I noticed in my own preaching years ago was my tendency to argue through the sermon. What I mean is, I would write the sermon in such a way that instead of making a point, I would win a point, at least in my mind. It’s a small distinction, but an important one. To…
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Ash Wednesday Homily
The following homily was given this morning at our Ash Wednesday service. Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 The best movie of 1995 was “Tommy Boy”, starring Chris Farley and David Spade. It’s the story of Callahan Auto, a family-owned car parts distributer that was on the brink of foreclosure, due in no small part to the growing…
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Wind Tunnel
Ministry can be like stacking paper cups in a wind tunnel, and you keep doing it because you were called to stack paper cups in a wind tunnel.
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The Gospel Wall
Homiletically, there are two paths you can go by: law, then gospel, then more law, or law, then gospel, and nothing more. The first path is common, easy, and well-worn. The reasons are many, one being that we’re not yet comfortable with the space that grace brings, so we feel the urgency to fill that…
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Church As A Lazy River: A Short
The church is like a lazy river. There are two things here: First, people can step away from the church for a while, and like the river that runs around the water park, the church keeps moving. This can be hard at times, and even sad, watching people exit the flow of parish life. Second,…
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The Pastoral Impulse To Save The Church
I don’t remember thinking that much about the future of the church in America when I started out in pastoral work, but lately I have started to wonder. Not in a defeatist kind of way, but with a genuine curiosity about what’s going on. What we know: Attendance and engagement are down Confidence in the…
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Sermon Stuff, Part 2: You Probably Don’t Need That Quotation
Back in the 90s, Leadership Journal published a book titled Quotes & Idea Starters for Preaching & Teaching, and it was a must-have. Filled with a cataloged list of sayings from well-known people, past and present, it was a go-to resource for filling those empty spaces in a sermon. “Oh look, Alexander Graham Bell said…
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Sermon Stuff, Part 1: The Sermon Is Sometimes
Back there in seminary school, as Jim Morrison once said, we were taught to write and craft sermons across a variety of styles and layouts. The push from the homiletics department was towards texture and difference, and towards a courage to practice a number of sermonic formats. Part of this had to do with finding…
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Torn And Frayed: A Devotional For The Third Week In Lent
Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. – Exodus 3:1 When we pick up the story of Moses here in Exodus chapter 3, he’s been on the run for some time. Born a Hebrew child…
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Lord, Have Mercy. A Devotional For The Second Week In Lent.
How often I have desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you are not willing.– Jesus, Luke 13:34 Jesus spoke these words as a lament over the spiritual and religious confusion that had overtaken so many in Jerusalem. When we dig further into the story, we…
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