The Pastor in the Larger Community – This is one of a series currently running at Pomomusings: "… I thought it was some Christian youth thing, but found out it was a free community event that was requesting people to give five minute presentations about something they were passionate about. Liking microphones and sharing my passion it was a perfect fit … That night, in a community space surrounded by people I didn’t know, most of whom didn’t go to church, many of whom didn’t want anything to do with church, I gave a presentation about changing the perceptions of Christians in the public square, suggesting that we weren’t all like Fred Phelps or Pat Robertson, and that some of us were open to having conversations, not to convert people but to learn from people. That event sparked several relationships that expanded my role as pastor to a part of the community that I would never have had access to in the church."
'Amen' is Now Replaced by Applause – "No congregation should be faulted for wanting to make some sort of response in a service of worship. Worship in many places needs more of that. But applause is known in virtually every other context as affirmation for performance. Thus, the question: is applause during worship our best choice to affirm what is happening? … Applause is a way of saying 'We like that,' or 'You did a good job.' One isn't required to declare what is said or sung as the truth. One isn't required to put the weight of one's character behind applause. … When a prayer ends with the Amen of the congregation, we are saying 'That is my prayer too,' or 'I own that as the truth.' That seems to me more potent than applause that says, 'I like that,' or 'Nice going.'"
If Jesus Addressed the U.S. Congress – "Jesus is introduced. (Standing ovation.) He stands before Congress and begins to deliver his speech. 'Blessed are the poor … the mourners … the meek.' 'Love your enemies.' 'Turn the other cheek.' After a few perfunctory applause early on, I’m pretty sure there would be a lot of squirming senators and uncomfortable congressmen. The room would sink into a tense silence. When Jesus concluded his speech with a prophecy of the inevitable fall of the house that would not act upon his words, what would Congress do? Nothing. They would not act. They could not act. To act on Jesus’ words would undo their system … In the end, the U.S. Congress would no more adopt the policies Jesus set out in the Sermon on the Mount than they were adopted by the Jewish Sanhedrin or the Roman Senate …" An excerpt from A Farewell to Mars by Brian Zahnd.
Four Sermon Types You Don't Want to Preach – Sample (#3) on the type of sermons which seem to best serve to reflect the pastor's seminary education: "The sermon sounds like a lecture because it is a lecture. It titillates the intellect, but fails to minister to the affections. Its delivery even (perhaps unintentionally) suggests that only the few—those endowed by special wisdom and insight—can possibly be trusted to understand what the Bible says."
Meditations, Devotions and Prayer Books, Oh My! – Starting with My Utmost for His Highest, Publishers Weekly looks at the devotional book genre both within and outside a Christian context and finds things trending toward shorter readings, while customers choose the books for visual appeal. Also noted: "'Religion books in general are somewhat insulated from the digital shift,' says Andrew Yankech, business development manager for Loyola Press. 'But prayer books in particular tend to be print-focused because readers are more often than not seeking a respite from the pressures of the daily grind, and that includes modern technology.' At Loyola, Yankech says, the sales ratio of print prayer books to digital ones is 10-to-one—'or higher.' The figures at Harvest House tell a similar story. Of its top 10 nonfiction e-book categories, devotionals have the lowest percentage of sales in e-book format, with e-book versions accounting for just 6% of total sales for all devotionals."
Why Didn't They Just Book a Last-Minute Substitute? – "They canceled the retreat because I am a Mormon. My initial response was shock. After nearly a year of planning this retreat, they’re canceling now? For this? (And how could they not know from a two-second Google search that I am Mormon? It’s not like I’ve tried to be stealthy about my faith. I co-wrote Mormonism for Dummies, for heaven’s sake.) But any shock and anger I felt soon dissolved into pure sadness. What a thing. These people are willing to sacrifice all the effort and expense they’ve put in to planning this retreat (yes, I am still getting paid since I did all the prep work) because they’re just now noticing the Scarlet M emblazoned on my chest. The organizer told me that the church leaders had determined that I was not an 'appropriate' person to be a leader at a Christian event. She sounded sad about it too."
Preparing Yourself to Minister at a Funeral – "Just when you think you have seen it all—the next funeral reveals you haven’t. Even if you have seen fights break out, arrests made, uncontrollable wailing, family members and pallbearers fainting, caskets dropped and knocked over, shouting conflicts between families and funeral directors, or funeral attire that would make most people blush, these experiences do not mean at all the next funeral will fit these experiences. Because of this, prepare to see anything. Prepare to get the craziest response to something you say. Prepare to watch families at their worst. This will allow you to think clearly and wisely when the unexpected happens."
Lysa TerKeurst on Rejection Letters – Today she hardly needs a link here to point people to her writing, but it wasn't always that way. "… I hung my head, got into my car, and drove to my local bookstore. I saved up all my tears until I was smack dab in the middle of thousands of other books—thousands of other writers who’d received a thumbs up to their dreams—thousands of other people with evidence that their writing mattered—and I sobbed … Sometimes callings from God unfold in a miraculous instant. But more often callings happen within a million slow moments of revelation and maturation. I needed to experience God revealing himself and maturing me so I could properly handle the Truth I would eventually write and speak about …"
High Praise for Faith-Focused Film – On Confessions of a Prodigal Son: "I didn’t have high hopes that this would be a cinematic masterpiece, and it wasn’t. However, when the end credits rolled, the lights came up, and Spiers spoke on his concerns about the final product, I had to agree with him when he said that his fears of making a stereotypically-bad faith film weren’t realized … In fact, it was actually good, and for several of the reasons that such films usually fail. [Director Allan] Spiers’ experience as a documentary cinematographer translates well into the narrative genre by giving Confessions a simple but realistic visual setup whereas most faith films try to imitate a grand Hollywood style and fall embarrassingly short."
Paul Wilkinson blogs at Thinking Out Loud and edits Christian Book Shop Talk.
