Religion

Narrative Lived

/ Peter Mead / Leave a comment

Why did God give the majority of His Word in the form of narrative?  I suspect part of the answer lies in the incarnational nature of narrative.  It is theology fleshed out in concrete.  Real lives, real situations, real challenges, real responses.  Narrative engages us, and that is exactly the way God would have it.  Why?  Because He seeks to engage us.

So as I am studying a couple of narratives for forthcoming messages, I am struck by how my life this week has been a sequence of micro-narratives, within the larger narrative of my year, within the macro-narrative of many lives intersecting, within the supra-narrative of God’s history.  Just like we see in the Bible, the world is a stage where lives live in response to each other and to God.  Some trust Him, others trust self.  Some live out love for God, others live out love for self.

I suppose most, if not all, of the story lived out this week will be consigned to unrequested history books in the annals of heaven’s library.  Most of each Bible character’s life was not the action snippet that we see in children’s bible story books.  I was talking with my children this week about how the Bible characters were full people, not just caricatures.  There was much more to Noah than a beard and a saw.  Full lives, full characters, full stories.  Most not getting into the book, but all of it mattering profoundly.

Which makes me stop and think as I head into another Sunday: what kind of character am I in God’s great story?  The Bible proves it isn’t about brains, or beauty, or brawn.  The Bible points to heart response to God’s Word, which then spills out in every aspect of life.

In the visual silence of an unseen God, how does my life live out its response to His Word?

People speak of the great tapestry of history.  My life is just a thread in that whole work of art.  This week is probably only a micro-fibre.  But it counts.  It is coloured.  And in all the complexity of biblical narrative we see every shade of colour, and yet everything seems to boil down to love or hate, trust or self-reliance, faith or fear.

Let’s be sure God’s Word is marking our lives as we seek to help others be marked by it in the coming weekend.

Preparing to Preach OT Narrative – 5

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

This week I have been getting my head and heart in gear to prepare messages from the book of Ruth.  I’ve pondered issues of contextual unawareness, perceived irrelevance and the challenges of application.  I am not saying any of this should come before issues of study and interpretation, but before the messages can be prepared, these issues have to be faced.  I’d like to raise one more issue:

What is my strategy for preaching through the book?I have four sessions to preach through Ruth.  Slam dunk, decision made, right?  Four weeks, four chapters.  Voila!  Perhaps.  But I’m not a fan of instant obvious decisions.  I want to think through it first.

1. Preaching a narrative means preaching multiple scenes, not multiple chapters.  It may be that there are four scenes in four chapters, but I need to check that first.  Going with chapter breaks is lazy and sometimes naive.

2. How do I keep the unity in mind?  Ruth wasn’t written to be read over four sittings in four weeks.  It was written to be heard in one sweep.  I have to ponder that.  Should I preach the whole narrative in one go?  I could do that week 1, but then what?  I could take three weeks to revisit the text and zero in on specific aspects of the story.  Or I could review the whole narrative at the end.  Or I could let it build week by week, as if people don’t know what is coming.

3. And what about other options given by four weeks?  Maybe I need to take a week on the opening verses and engage the complexity of divine providence, suffering and life as experienced by most people.  Perhaps there are a couple of chapters that could flow together.  Perhaps the ending that points forward to David is worthy of a wrap-up message on its own.  So many options.

Simply splitting it into four roughly equal chunks with a big number at the start does seem a bit too hasty at this point.  I need to spend some more time in the text of Ruth, and be prayerfully considering what would be most helpful to our congregation.

Preparing to Preach OT Narrative – 4

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So I am preparing to preach Ruth.  I know that all preachers are tempted to overcome the perceived lack of relevance by multiplying applications from the details of the story.  Yesterday I suggested that the details are there for the sake of the plot, rather than as automatic teaching points. But there is more to be said on this matter of applying the text.

Furthermore, (2) I have to remember that narratives were not given to us merely to instruct our conduct.  It is not just conduct that matters in facing the horrors life can throw at us (Ruth 1), it is also truths applied at the level of personal belief, and even affection.  Ruth didn’t cling to Naomi, and give up everything to go with her, based on knowledge of “the right things to do in this situation.”  She did it all because of the God that had gripped her heart.

I don’t want my listeners to have lists of behavioural applications, but untouched hearts.  That would make a mockery of the force of Ruth.  Relevance doesn’t have to be just a to-do list.  Relevance is more to do with the impact of the text on the heart of the listener so that they leave the service as a changed person.

Finally (although not definitively), (3) I need to recognize that the relevance in the text is not on a merely human level.  It is tempting to look at people interacting with people and consider applications that can come straight over into our seen world.  But all biblical narratives are about the seen intersecting with the unseen.  There is a God alive and yet often not seen.  The narrative is about lives lived under the constant question of trust or non-trust in the Word of God.  If my listeners finish with great insight into an ancient narrative, but without a greater sense of God (both then and now), then I have failed to be truly relevant.

Tomorrow I’ll ponder another practical issue in preparation…

Preparing to Preach OT Narrative

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I am preparing a series of messages from the book of Ruth.  Consequently I am processing some of the challenges that come with preaching through an Old Testament narrative.  Perhaps some of the thinking might be helpful, or at least there can be a sense of conversing together about this important subject.  As ever, no claim here to being exhaustive, but hopefully mildly provocative in a good way.

In our church it is fair to say that the majority of messages, from both in-house and visiting speakers, come from the New Testament.  This means that the Old Testament is much less familiar turf. As I prepare to preach Ruth, then, I must take that into account.

Less familiar literary context – I have to be careful not to assume anything here.  Ruth comes in a period of about four centuries covered by the bleak book of Judges.  Here is the jewel on the dark velvet.  But I can’t assume folks understand the book of Judges.  For some it will be a collection of children’s stories (where protagonist is always portrayed as a full-on hero, whatever the text may hint).  For others it will mean nothing at all.  So I need to think through how to make sense of the fact that “In the days when the judges judged” is the opening line of Ruth.

At some point I might think about showing where Ruth came in the Hebrew ordering of the canon.  Not after Judges (in the former prophets), but after Proverbs (in the writings).  Specifically, after Proverbs 31 . . . a wife of noble character, who can find?  Again, I can’t just drop that in without confusing people.  It will need a bit of explanation, perhaps I might use a powerpoint slide to help visualize the difference.  Perhaps.

Less familiar historical context – Not only is the Judges context unfamiliar, so is the culture of this time frame.  It is considerably further removed from today than the more familiar world of the New Testament.  This is pre-monarchy.  This is before the prophets and their impact on the nation of Israel.  I don’t want to preach it with assumptions, and have some listeners envisioning the action in the context of the Roman occupation, or whatever.

I need to think through what is pertinent about the context, the culture, the politics of the day, etc.  And I need to think through how to communicate that in the messages.

Where’s Your Drain?

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

This week I’ve written about things that make us tempted to half quit.  Some things make us want to totally quit.  Other things just drain energy away without us really noticing.  I have to be honest, I am kind of glad I am not preaching this week.

It is just a stubbed toe (swollen, painful, etc.)  But that is enough to be a distraction and make concentrating a challenge.  At the same time I am looking forward to preaching next week.  What is draining you?  It could be something physical, it could be a family relationship, or a soured friendship, or an ongoing challenge in the church, or, or, or…

There are any number of potential energy drains.  Maybe it is just me, but there’s this weird inconsistency.  Sometimes something is going on that drains energy and becomes the central focus of my prayer life.  Other times I seem to just try to cope.  What is that all about?  I haven’t really prayed much about the toe, I suppose it doesn’t seem important enough.  But what if my energy is sapped, my concentration is broken, perhaps my attitude is a bit more negative, etc.?

I suppose this isn’t too profound a thought, but I wonder if something is draining you, and I wonder if you are trying to cope in your own strength?  Let’s be sure to be fully abiding in the vine as we head into another Sunday, whether we’re preaching or not.

The Long Term Half Quit – pt.2

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What are some of the reasons that preacher’s lose the motivation and half quit over the years of ministry?  Yesterday I pondered the issues of church battle scars, spiritual warfare fatigue and emotional drain.  Let me finish the list now, although this is only intended to start us thinking.  What would you add?

4. Physical Weariness – A preaching ministry is not a natural vocation in which to be physically fit.  Sitting, reading, thinking, praying.  We would do well to be good stewards – watching what goes in, watching how much or how little we do, etc.  Over time there are also the challenges of physical ill health, not always related to fitness.  Preparing to preach with a tired body and foggy mind is hard, and we’ll be increasingly tempted to just do “enough.”

5. Seasons Without “Success” – There are seasons of ministry that just feel like a hard slog.  Every inch gained feels like it took it out of us.  People can seem unusually unresponsive.  Hearts can seem extremely hardened all around.  Somehow our ministry seems to be like a slog through mud, and we don’t know why.  These seasons can really take the wind out of our sails.

6. Seasons With “Success” – The opposite is also true.  Seasons of unusually responsive people can lead to us being drained and somehow weakened.  Like Elijah we can come from great success into great inner turmoil and struggle.  We need to watch out for the good times that we always pray for during the tough times – neither are easy to navigate well!

7. Distracted Heart – This could and should be a post on its own.  How easily our hearts get distracted!  The list of potential other loves that could draw us from our devotion to Christ is probably endless.  Hobbies.  Power.  Illicit fantasy.  Pursuit of fame.  The love of money.  The only One who can search and know the state of our heart is the One before whom we must keep our hearts forever open.

And…?

The Long Term Half Quit

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There are ups and downs in ministry, often from week to week and even day to day.  But there is another danger too.  It is the long term half quit over the years or decades.

Ministry is not automatically rejuvenating.  Over the years we can find our motivation and attitudes wearing down.  What can cause this?  Here are some factors to get us started, a list of seven:

1. Church Battle Scars – Church ministry can be a real battle ground, sometimes out in the open, often under the surface.  For some reason people seem to choose the church as their venue for political significance and they can really go after those who have any up-front ministry.  Gossip, slander, attack, critique, and so much more.  It shouldn’t be, but it too often is.

2. Spiritual Warfare Fatigue – There is a spiritual warfare dimension in ministry.  The enemy loves to attack those with any prominence.  We should not be unaware of his attacks, and over time we may well feel worn by the experience.  There are times when stepping out of the ministry feels genuinely tempting.  The half-quit is the more acceptable option that too many fall into.

3. Emotional Drain – Someone said that preaching is the closest thing men come to giving birth.  I’ve been at a few births and I wouldn’t want to push the analogy, but there is something to it.  We give of ourselves in preaching, and then again, and then again.  It can be emotionally draining to pray so intently, hope so absurdly, preach so intensely and then go at it again.  Over time the drain can leave us functioning in second gear through the whole process.

I will finish the list tomorrow…

Overcoming the Half Quit

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

Yesterday I blogged about the danger of the “half quit” – that way in which our heart pulls back as we go through the motions. We can do it in passage study, in message planning, I’ve seen it done in delivery, I know the regular temptation in post-sermon reflection, then there’s seasons of criticism, or lack of response, etc. While we may be unwilling, for a variety of reasons, to fully quit, the half quit is an ever present temptation.

So how do we overcome the half-quit? I suppose there are several approaches, some better than others:

1. The inner self flesh effort. Look within, steel yourself, determine to be diligent, be your own drill sergeant, do the right thing! Lots of ways to say it. Typically only one ultimate outcome. It is easy to feel like we are rousing ourselves to great commitment under the hype of a presentation on the need for personal discipline (even our listeners might get stirred if we preach that way, but don’t be fooled into thinking it will still be “working” come Thursday!) The problem here is that self-stirring to great devotion in ministry is exactly what we’re talking about – what do we do when we come to times where that is absent. It makes no sense to rely on the very mechanism whose absence is the problem.

2. The outer appearance self-elevating effort. Here’s a real danger. What will people think? We can be stirred to press on due to keeping up appearances. In one sense there is value here. We don’t want to stumble others. We don’t want to crash and burn because we love those who would be caught in our wake. But there is a real danger here. Doing the right thing in ministry in order to look good creates an ever-increasing divide between reality and appearance. Eventually this show becomes as paper thin as the performance of a stand-up comedian who performs outwardly, but is utterly broken within.

3. The energy from genuine relationship. There is little in life that is as motivating as good genuine fellowship other’s captured by Christ. Looking to Christ together with others who are not performing somehow will stimulate motivation to press on like very little else. We need to be genuinely conversing with our Lord in every circumstance. He is the One who we press on to know more, who puts the fire in our bones like the prophets of old, who is the real treasure at work within these breaking vessels!

Any solution to the half quit that is about looking to myself, or about how I look to others, will be self-defeating and only make matters worse. We need to be responding to the life giver Himself, for fellowship with Him is life itself. Maybe the temptation to half-quit is a warning that the conversation has gone quiet, that your heart has grown distant and distracted. Let the warning nudge you back toward Him.

The Dangerous Half Quit

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A post on this theme from five years ago caught my eye, so I thought I’d offer a re-write.

There are always reasons to quit. This is true in anything you might pursue. Sport, music, hobby, fitness, work, ministry, marriage. Anyone who has ever been successful at anything has had to overcome numerous opportunities to quit. How true is that in preaching?

There are few things that can compare with preaching – how important it is, how much people need it, how much you give both in preparation and presentation, how emotionally and physically draining it can be, how open to criticism you become, how relentless the schedule can feel, how exacting the standards are in peoples’ minds for every other area of your life. To give the Lord our best as preachers we must exhibit a tenacious relentlessness.

The temptation to quit may always be lingering in the background, but for various reasons, good and bad, many of us would not simply quit. Perhaps it’s a little like marriage among some Christians a couple of generations back. A marriage could go very sour, but divorce was considered so inappropriate that couples would live out a “Christian divorce” – two separate lives lived under one roof for the sake of appearance. That’s a danger for us as preachers. When the pressures build, as they do so regularly, so do the temptations. Temptations to quit may be rejected. But temptations to half quit are an ever present danger!

When the schedule is tight and you are drained emotionally and physically, pulled in numerous directions, don’t half quit on your preparation. It may seem tempting to not really study the text, to short-circuit all exegesis.

When Sunday is rapidly approaching and your energy is low, don’t half quit on sermon shaping. Don’t just go with your study notes, but try to think through your audience and their needs, think through the best way to communicate this passage to them.

When you go through the post-sermon emotional roller-coaster that many preachers feel so often, don’t half quit.  Don’t make decisions that will undermine your subsequent ministry because of how you feel at that moment.

When you are on the receiving end of unfair criticism or unjustifiable sniping, don’t half quit. Don’t steel your heart against the people you minister to so that by not loving them they can’t hurt you. When you love you get hurt, but love anyway.

I’m not saying anything about rest, responsibilities with family, etc. I’m not saying sacrifice yourself to the point of burnout in an attempt to be spiritual. There are all sorts of appropriate balances to wisely employ in ministry. But those are for another post. All I’m suggesting here is that preaching is no easier than most other things you might pursue in life, and in many ways it is harder. To be the best you can be, to give the best you can give, you must be doggedly relentless. Don’t quit. And maybe more importantly, keep leaning on our good God and don’t half quit.

Table Fellowship

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A couple of weeks ago I pondered the grains that work their way through Bible books.  Today’s post considers the rich theme of table fellowship in Luke’s Gospel.  Perhaps we need to take stock if our lives are so packed we are choosing fast food on our own.  Let’s instead choose to never eat alone, but enjoy the richness of fellowship with others and with our Lord!  Click here for the post.