Homiletics – Toward Hope

A Worthwhile Podcast…by Donald Miller

Donald Miller Appearances-1

I’d like to point you to a worthwhile podcast that I was originally put on to by Jake Bouma. Donald Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz, among other titles, gave a talk at Mars Hill Bible Church. He spoke on the topic of story and the way that God speaks through story and is a God of lived story. This was incredibly impact-full, not just because of it’s post modern perspective, but because of how he brought to life the story of Joseph. He unpacked the essential elements to what makes good and bad stories. The resolve is that God loves story, he speaks through story, and is inviting us to live a story that is beyond the script of material acquisition and uses our hardships to shape the texture of the Kingdom coming. Please have a listen and be blessed.

Technorati Tags: Creative word, Donald Miller, emerging church

A Walk in the Blogosphere

Here is an interesting article for those considering education options for their kids. Public, private, or home-school…this personal reflection raises some important questions to consider. [via: Erika Haub]

Who said nothing wise and sage-ish could come from Kamp Krusty? Brant is at it again with wisdom for the masses about:

new cars

a stupid college fund

and putting your dang kids to bed

Len touches on the Folly of Preaching in our culture. He argues for a re-imagination of preaching that will address the issue that most of us are socialized to be passive when it comes to listening to a sermon as means of transformation. The sharp critique and creative alternatives presented make this one a great read.

Technorati Tags: Brant Hansen, children, Christianity, community, Creative+word, ecclesiology, emerging+church, Family, Marketplace, Preaching, Len Hjalmarson, Secular, The+Margins

Learning the sermon thing…

I’ve had the privilege of speaking at our church a few times in the last number of months. I am new to this. It is both anxiety causing as I find my way, and completely exhilarating at the same time. I get anxious until I have something down, a rough outline, a general theme or direction…but until them, I am a wreck. A mild wreck. Sitting with the passage has helped. Asking questions of the text, learning about the context, politics, writer, and readers, has been helpful. A bit of history is always fun.

I write notes….lots of them. I write it out word for word (about 97% word for word). Do you do this? I’d love to know.

I sometimes feel two ways in preparation. If I am familiar and comfortable with the text, I feel like I could tell stories around it endlessly without notes. I am not foolish enough to ever do this…but just feel this. I also feel like I’d be lost if I haven’t written it out word for word. How about you?

I like writing a sermon out word for word because it allows me to word smith somewhat. A friend Christie said that Darryl Johnson said that it is “preaching for the ear”. I like that…it sounds good. I like words and this is where I am on my short stint as preacher.

I would like to move to more general guideline-type notes….small notes, with little dependance on pulpit. I don’t like pulpits. I like conversation and story telling.

One conviction I have is that preaching should always prophetically call people forward “toward hope” (that’d be a great blog name). I like to evoke imaginations though story, not getting a group of people to come with me on top of a text analytically, but rather, (hopefully) inspiring a people forward to get caught up in the text…to live in the Kingdom story and envision what opportunities for faithfulness look like in our context….crafting a biblical imagination, if you will. Another way to put is is that I hope to tease out where new creation is happening right before our eyes. I am excited about this aspect. Is it a good one? I’d like to know.

I think poetry and preaching go hand in hand. I wish I were a poet. I try, but I’m more hack than poet. I think poetry is why I lean toward writing out my sermons. It gives me time with words to learn how they play off each other and how they roll of the tongue.

I’d like to learn more about preaching. How have you approached this craft?

Homiletically curious,

Technorati Tags: Christianity, Creative word, emerging church, Kingdom of God, missional, Narrative, Poetry, Preaching, Stories

Ten propositions on preaching

Below is a snippet from Benjamin Myers’ blog of a great post about 10 propositions on preaching that I initially spotted at JR Woodward’s site…

Ten propositions on preaching

by Kim Fabricius

1. What is a sermon? Wrong question. A sermon is not a what but a who. A sermon is Jesus Christ expectorate. You eat the book; it is sweet in the mouth but bitter in the stomach (Rev. 10:9-11); you spit out the Word and spray the congregation. When grace hits the mark, it always begins with an unpleasant recoil.

2. A sermon starts in silence. Before a preacher preaches, she must not preach, she must listen; and when she does preach, it is only because she has to preach. God gave us one mouth and two ears—and the preacher must use them in that proportion.

3. Sermon preparation is primarily the preparation of the preacher, not of the preached. The preparation of the sermon itself will only be as rigorous as the askesis of the preacher. Pray for the presence of the Holy Spirit—and then work like stink. If the Holy Spirit hasn’t been with the preacher in the study, he’s not going to accompany the lazy bastard into the pulpit….

Full article HERE