I've taken, lately, to using the Upper Room's online devotional resource at http://www.upperroom.org/daily/. I like this resource, honestly, because it's brief and usually has just one verse of scripture. I'm less a fan of the regular Upper Room daily devotional, because though it often has a key verse, sometimes that verse is not from the larger assigned scripture section. What can I say? Stuff like that bothers me. I need sometime simple. I also like that the additional material comes from books, or is a nice prayer or poem...the personal reflections of the regular resource usually distract me more than they help me connect to the text.
That said, though I've often used my journal to reflect on the verse, I thought I'd try blogging...see how I like it...so we'll see...
Today's verse is:
[Jesus] presented his message to [the people], fitting the stories to their experience and maturity. He was never without a story when he spoke.
- Mark 4:33-34, THE MESSAGE
I'm not surprised anymore when the devotional I use hits upon a verse that really speaks to me that day. It's not coincidence. It's God.
So imagine my (non-existent) surprise to see this verse today--the day I decided to finally start reading the new New Interpreter's Handbook of Preaching.
One of the things that has been both incredibly rewarding and challenging about my first (and current) appointment has been preaching week in and week out. For the majority of pastors, this is what they face. It's the job. I must admit, though, that my best preaching disciplines (developed in seminary when preaching twice in a semester-long preaching class was really something) have faltered a bit. The life of a preacher is woven into the life of a pastor, and sometimes decisions (i.e. prioritizing) has to be done. I confess that in the light of others' expectations and my own fatigue, sometimes Sunday's sermon has been less than...er...well prepared.
That said, I'm looking forward to the opportunity of my new position to step back and think a bit more about how I develop my sermons. It's not that I've preached by the seat of my pants for the past 4 years--far from it. But I'm interested to see how a bit slower pacing of sermon prep allows me to fine tune things. I don't want to miss the opportunity, and just fall into the same patterns.
I think the best sermons, messages, speeches I've heard, as well as those I've given which have been best received, have been ones with strong stories. I don't mean cute jokes or stories meant just to tug at the heart strings. I mean well-used, and tied to scripture stories. Heck, often the scripture itself supplies sufficient story-ness.
I love stories. Perhaps that's why history is one of my favorite subjects. I love the connections in stories. The people and characters, personalities. Conflicts and failures; relationships and successes. And Jesus knew that for most people (dare I say ALL people) stories have power. I don't think any of us function well in the abstract. I mean we can do it, but at some point, abstract has to become tangible for us to grasp it.
Jesus used parables most often to describe the most complicated things. He talked again and again in parables about the kingdom of God. Notice that he doesn't give a straight description, but always uses metaphor. The kingdom of God is like...
Speaking in stories is, honestly, my favorite part of being a pastor. I love finding ways to express things to people in ways that help them better understand the world, God and themselves. I tell stories in preaching, pastoral care situations, and business meetings. I compare Christian discipleship and study to fairy tales (the story of the Emperor's New Clothes is my standard tool for explaining the need for more adult Christian education and why we have so little now).
I think it's pretty awesome, actually, that Jesus spoke in stories. I'm so glad that he did. Gives me permission to do the same. Even when it means using Dana Carvey's church lady sketch as a key illustration in talking about evangelism (or rather the opposite of it) or comparing a pastoral dilemma to a recent...or famous...TV episode. Stories are pretty powerful things...
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