(In)experience Counts

Who understands does not preach;
Who preaches does not understand.
- Tao Teh Ching, 56 (Merel Translation)

I've been blessed, perhaps called, to preach several times at the church where I work. Truth be told, this is unusual. I don't hold a MDiv and I'm not currently in seminary. I'm "simply" a youth director who has been given a great opportunity.

I've now preached five times in the last year and a half, surely no Guinness record. The last two times have probably been the toughest. Not because I thought it had all been said before. Not because I had difficult passages (though you try preaching on the slaughter of innocents six days after Christmas). Not because I've had little to no 'proper' training in public speaking. The reason they've been tough is this: somewhere along the line I realized that I have no idea what I'm doing (in some enigmatic, humbling, "place in the world" sense).

Preparing a sermon, for me, requires asking countless questions. Here are a few in no particular order...

"What's the historical and societal context of this passage?"

"How is God speaking to me / the body of Christ / our culture in this passage?"

"What hook can I pull from the text?"

"What personal story might bring the theme home for the listener (any listener)?"

And perhaps the toughest...

"What the hell is my title going to be?!?" My last title search, ending with A Steady Guide for the ______ Journey, nearly drove our office manager to poison my coffee.

Still, bearing your soul and potentially showing your insanity before a large group of people is a challenging prospect. Maybe that's why I haven't fully embraced the concept of blogging.

Ultimately the prep questions shore themselves up through study, prayer, procrastination, preaching to an empty sanctuary (woodshedding, like in the jazz tradition), and one or two mild panic attacks.

Ultimately I stand before 300 people on any given Sunday and share what insight I've gleaned from immersing myself in passages of scripture assigned by the lectionary.

Ultimately two services pass, two nearly identical sermons are given, and many elderly ladies (whose names I still haven't learned after 31 months) tell me that I'm called to be a preacher.

It's a funny thing, but I've come to realize it's not just some great resume-enhancing experience, but a true, bring-you-to-your-knees calling.

One of the best preachers I know once said that preaching can be "humiliating." Truer words have rarely been spoken.

Saturday Night Hoops

My ‘comeback’ wasn’t a misplaced tease; it’s just taking time to get some decent posts written in the midst of work, my new fascination with sports blogs, and time spent following the primaries. For my first post back, here are some quick basketball-related ramblings…

Saturday night was a good one for basketball. While putting down some mediocre high gravity IPA (Long Hammer from Red Hook Brewery) at Village Idiot, I was treated to an exciting USC win (though I was the only person paying much attention until about 2 minutes to go) and a surprisingly entertaining NBA skills challenge.

First off, the Gamecocks improved to 12-12 (4-6) with a win over not-so-mighty Alabama. My observations …

1) Devan Downey is a BEAST. I love this kid’s style and ability. Simply off the charts. No matter what Dave Odom foolishly said after our beatdown at the hands of UGA, Downey is easily the best PG in the SEC this year.

2) Mike Holmes apparently fought his way out of Odom’s doghouse and had a very respectable 10pts, 8 rebs. I’ve been pulling hard for Holmes all year and really hope to see him succeed. I think he has the potential to be a solid C/PF for several years to come. Hopefully the internet rumors about Mike potentially transferring to Winthrop are unfounded and very, very misguided.

3) A .500 or better season would be a huge asset in our coaching search. I can’t figure this team out on the court (win @ Ole Miss, bend over @ UGA, play hard to win vs. Bama), still I’ll cheer them on while saying nightly prayers for Anthony Grant of VCU to ride into town on a Garnet and Black horse later this spring…

On to the NBA (I STILL love this game…)

I’ve always really liked Dwight Howard as a baller. I like him even more after the dunk contest. His first dunk was incredible, assuming you can get past the miss in the first 50 seconds of this clip:
My only complaint was that his second dunk scored a “perfect” 50 as well. There’s no way. Can it even be considered a dunk? He threw the ball through the hoop and was nowhere near touching the rim w/ his hands. I’ve followed basketball all my life, and I just can’t justify calling that a dunk. Entertaining? Yes. Still, I’m not sure if wearing the superman cape on a very impressive non-dunk should get you a 50. Judge for yourself…

Either way the dunk contest was much more entertaining than other recent dunk contests I recall. Still, for me none will compare to the 2000 contest where Vince Carter redefined what the contest meant. That’s not a knock on some of the great contests of the 80’s…

Too bad he couldn’t get over the “next Jordan” hype that trailed him out of UNC.

Until next time (and hopefully more thought),

Chris