Presby-Musings

Last year I had the opportunity to hear Irish theologian, author and philosopher Peter Rollins speak at Stetson University .  Although his latest book The Idolatry of God : Breaking Our Addiction to Certainty and Satisfaction  had not yet been published, he spoke from its outline and offered a critique of Western Christianity that was convicting and unsettling.  When the talk was over, Rollins was gracious enough to sign one of the event posters for me.  He wrote, "I pray God rid you of God.  Peter Rollins." At first blush that might seem like an odd line for a theologian to include in his autograph.  You would think that of all the things a theologian might assert, the idea that it might be preferable to be "rid of God" would not be among them.  I must admit, listening to or reading the work of Peter Rollins is alternately enthralling and maddening precisely because of the provocative ways that he presents his ideas. And then you get to the t...

This week I am preaching the third installment of our four-part sermon series on the book of Titus , entitled "It's All Good." This week's sermon is entitled, " Good News ," and as you might imagine by the title (or maybe not) we're going to be talking a bit about evangelism.  Come to think of it, it's not that evident by the title exactly what we'll be covering in this sermon.  Oh well, we all need a little mystery, don't we? I am going to start with a parable that I ripped off and paraphrased from the great Peter Rollins , who wrote this in his book The Orthodox Heretic, which will blow your mind if you read it.  So, if you prefer your mind unblown, don't buy it. It seems there was a pastor, who had a gift for preaching.  He was a fiery preacher, who was highly sought for revivals, conferences and the like.  He also had a gift that he kept a secret.  It seemed that whenever he prayed a blessing over someone, they would immediately...

I've been preaching on the centrality of Christ in Christianity for the past few weeks during this season of Lent.  That's a fancy way of saying that we have been struggling with the question, "Is Jesus still the center of Christianity?" And more specifically for those of us who call ourselves Christians, is Jesus still the center of our churches and our lives?" This week I'll be preaching and teaching on the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ.  The word "gospel" means "good news," which leads us to this very important question for Christian-y people: "What would you say is the 'good news' of the Gospel?" Is it Salvation? You know, getting your ticket punched--your "Get out of Hell Free" card. What about Christianity? Is the "good news" wrapped up in a religion? Is it all about going to Heaven when you die? What about prosperity?  Is the "good news" that God blesses you in this life? ...

So, I attended the Poets Prophets and Preachers conference hosted by Rob Bell . The aim of the conference, as stated by Rob himself, was to "reclaim the art of the sermon" for a whole new generation of preachers. In the first session, Rob declared that as our culture becomes increasingly suspicious of media, government, etc., that the sermon will become more and more necessary. I filled twelve pages of notes with what followed. Rob's talk was consistent with his understanding of a "meta-narrative" of the imminence of God, and God's kingdom--with a healthy dose of Resurrection power, I might add. He also generously followed up his introduction with several sessions on sermon craft, planning and general "sermonizing" theory. I particularly enjoyed when he described a sermon as an act of "creating a cathedral that people will walk into and say, 'Ahhhhhh!'." It was a great glimpse into Rob's creative process. A friend of mine...