He said someone asked Garrison Keilor (sp?) what makes a good sermon or worship service and he said, "experiencing transcendance". In other words, sensing that God is there and in the moment recognizing him. He said that the hardest thing about preaching is hearing a word from God. WOW! All the rhetorical stuff can be learned but if you don't have something from God for that particular occasion and audience, it will not leave a lasting mark. I too have found that difficult. When preparing sermons or multiple teachings per week, that is even more challenging. At one point in my ministry, I was concurantly teaching Bible Study, confirmation class, Sunday school, and sunday am and Pm sermons. Way too much. Too much to prepare for on top of all I was doing as a pastor. Too much to hear accurately from God I'm afraid.
We also looked at getting into the texts we preach from. We did this by reading and analyzing the Gettysburg address. There is so much that goes on behind the text in the historical background that makes the words come alive. For example, this speech was given to dedicate a national cemetary where people died and it was the first union victory of the war. Lincoln's own son had died weeks later and his wife did not want him to go to Gettysburg to deliever that address. So when Lincoln remembers the dead buried there, he most likely is remembering his own son's death and what this war has personally cost his family.
We spent Wednesday morning with Joel Green. This guys is just off the charts brilliant. I told Kate that keeping up in class for me was like being a high school football player going to the NFL. The speed at which things were coming at us and absorbing the ideas was a challenge.
A few highlights from class. His basic point is that we separate the Bible from Theology. Theology is more philosophically driven than Bible driven. We draw out points to affirm what we believe (systematic theology) rather than immersing ourselves in the narrative of scripture. He said to theologians, the Bible is like a tube of toothpaste. You squeeze it out to get all your content and then throw it all out.
He talked briefly about neuroscience and narrative theology. The basic gist is that we have more neurons than we will ever use and that the way we think maps our brain, connects these neurons together. He says that neuroscience says what we think about determines who we are. THerefore the challenge of discipleship/ Christianity is what do we think about. What story do we immerse ourselves in. Everyone is being formed by something. Our culture forms us in what we eat, drink, wear, drive, etc. If that is true, that our stories we read literally shape us, that has huge implications for individual believers and the church at large.
A final thought regarding this. Joel says that too many churches focus on practices when they should be focusing on worldview or our persepctive of reality. Too many churches focus on preaching "how to" sermons like how to have a happy marriage, or how to overcome temptation, etc. He thinks we need more sermons and biblical teaching to focus on recovering the Biblical story and living into that story. As we take on the perspective of different characters it shapes us and helps us to see our lives from a different viewpoint. THat is what Jesus did with the parables. He didn't answer how to questions. He told stories with a point that made the listener think and then said, "he who has ears, let him hear". May we have eyes and ears to hear of life from a biblical perspective.
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