Although I no longer serve as pastor of a congregation, invitations to preach come my way from time to time.  The latest instance was yesterday when I helped a Presbyterian congregation surprise their pastor with the opportunity to worship among them, free of leadership responsibility.  The occasion was the thirtieth anniversary of her ordination and the tenth anniversary of her ministry in that place.  Not knowing what the lectionary for the day was, I was pleased to learn that they were accustomed to hearing their pastor preach from it.  I love the tussle with scripture that pushes me to stay grounded in its teaching while saying something useful about its bearing on our lives today. 

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One of those “Aha!” moments came to me twenty-some years ago while staring at the blank computer screen where Sunday’s sermon should have been making its appearance.  Unfortunately, my thoughts were elsewhere; I had been dealing with the parent of one of our confirmands-to-be, who was convinced that I was not doing enough to impress on his son the significance of the rite he would soon undergo.  Sometimes his critique seemed to be that I didn’t make these 6th and 7th graders suffer enough (they thought they suffered plenty) and sometimes it was clear that the father was actually expecting the confirmation process to fill all the spiritual gaps left in the child’s life by church and home.

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The June 26, 2007 issue of the Christian Century features “Top ten things pastors long to hear” from Ruth Tucker’s book, Left Behind in a Megachurch (Baker). Here’s Tucker’s list:

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Due warning: this is a rant of uncommon impatience.

Now that I’m on the other side of the pulpit, in the pews as part of the congregation, I find that my impatience with “bad worship” has increased. This summer I got to visit a lot of different churches while traveling to do seminars, consultations, and workshops, often participating in Sunday worship. For the most part I’m able to set aside my critical brain and enjoy the existential experience of worship with a congregation. At times I’m pleasantly surprised by a well-crafted service and a thoughtful sermon. But there are times when I’m tempted to walk out of the worship service when inflicted upon by some of the things that go on during the sacred hour.

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Over this past summer, our music minister enlisted the help of our children to chime the hour. Some children are able to use a handbell while others use a chime. It has been amazing, and a true testimony to the importance of having children in worship. Take for instance this past Sunday.

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The following is from the book Myths: Fact and Fiction about Teaching and Learning by Israel Galindo. How well do you know fact from fiction?

MYTH: Penicillin kills bacteria.

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Every once in a while, at my former church, we’d break out the old (and I mean old literally) hymnbooks for a Wednesday evening hymn sing. People would call out the numbers of their favorite hymns to the songleader and we’d all turn to the page and sing the old favorites. As the evening went on the yelling got louder and more competitive as folks feared that we’d run out of time before getting to their favorite hymn. It was interesting to see “newbies,” and the younger generations at those events. They’d grown up after many of those hymns passed from favor, replaced by more contemporary hymns and tune, praise songs (don’t get me started) or revisionist PC versions that stripped the elegance, meaning, and dignity from the text.

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What happens when a Pentecostal preacher turned house painter and an atheist walk into a church? Well, a book in this case. Jim Henderson is a former pastor turned researcher and is interested in what non-Christians think of the church, so he hires Matt Casper, an atheist, to go with him to twelve churches in the US and observe and comment on what he sees and hears.

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The other day my wife and I went out to breakfast at a local I-Hop. She had the day off and I had a craving for waffles for some strange reason. When you head out to a place that specializes in a particular thing—like breakfast—you tend to build up certain expectations for what you’re going to get. We got our booth, my wife ordered her pancakes, I ordered my waffles and we settled in to wait for our orders. I finished off my glass of orange juice and poured myself a cup of coffee from the plastic faux-bronze personal-sized pitcher. It was the worst coffee I’ve ever tasted.

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In a previous post (“Communion Rant”) we talked about the penchant of certain preachers for “explaining” communion. Some argue that it is necessary because, they reason, some people in the congregation, and especially visitors and the recently unchurched, do not understand the meaning of the ritual.

Here are two pieces that help address our penchant for cognitive “understanding” and how it is related to matters of faith, and the counterintuitive ways in which faith is acquired and needs to be inculcated.

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