Coincidence?

co⋅in⋅ci⋅dence
spelled pronunciation [koh-in-si-duh ns] –noun
a striking occurrence of two or more events at one time apparently by mere chance.

I have noticed several “coincidences” over the past couple months that have me wondering quizzically.

Example 1: I was trying to think of a surprise gift to give Debra for our 15th anniversary. I wanted to take her to England and Scotland, but knew starting a new job, moving to a new city and buying a house made this nearly impossible. In the interest of information gathering I met with our Ministry Pastor who develops all our overseas mission trips to see what a weeklong trip to the UK would cost.
A few days later, I find out I have some money coming from the pension plan of my last job! The odd thing is that I didn’t even know I was enrolled in the pension plan. So I took the money and bought plan tickets to London.

Example 2: In preparing for this trip I needed to buy some comfortable shoes. So I went out looking of a pair. Before I could find any I liked a old friend of Debra’s from high school sent her a Facebook message saying she heard about our trip and was sending me two pairs of shoes an old boyfriend left here place. Guess what? The shoes fit great and will work perfectly. I took them out for run this morning to try them out.


Example 3: In seminary I took a church planting class as a way of "fleecing" God to see if he wanted me to be a church planter. Providentially, I did not plant a church and didn’t really think about it again until about 5 years ago when we landed at The Evergreen Community. They have church planting built into their DNA. So, again looking for a place to do kingdom work I started thinking about church planting. I met some people, starting taking about ideas and…nothing, no plant. Now, I am in a church in Denver and I seem to be having a ton of conversations with church planters. Denver is a hot sexy place to church plant. Not that I am going to plant a church, since I am pretty sure this is not what God has for me, but I am scratching my head.

I could go on with more examples.

Once I realized all these I started to say, "hmmmmmmmm."
What am I to make of these coincidences?
What is a Christ follower to do with these “striking occurrences of two or more events at one time apparently by mere chance?”
What are we to do when the two ends our world converge in the middle?


Here is what I thought of:
1. Understand these are not chance circumstances dove tailing together seamlessly by the comic grease of the universe. Clearly these are God orchestrated collisions of people and events.
2. Listen carefully. Too often we miss God speaking because we won’t shut up long enough to hear him. Reread 1 Samuel 3 and 1 Kings 19:9-18. The Devil may be in the details, but I think God is in the subtleties.
3. Acknowledge them. Act on them. Be grateful for them. Enjoy them.

Preaching Values

When I first started to preach and teach (15+ yeas ago) I held certain values for preaching. If a message contained some or all of these things, more than likely it was going to be a good message. Here are some of the values I had:

Length- Not, “the longer the better,” but longer was better than shorter.

Cross References- the more you have the better prepared you are and the stronger your “case” would be.

3+ points of declaration- less is weak.

Having a central passage to work out of- sticking with one main text and not creating a patchwork quilt of Scriptures or a “launch pad” sermon.

Quotes- using other people’s word validates your own conclusions.

Accuracy over read-a-bility in translations choice- we need to be correct first.

Invitation- not always an “alter call” but a chance for people to change.

Stories- my favorite part of other peoples teaching.

Usage of Hebrew and Greek in the preaching event- adds to the preacher’s credentials.

Principlize the text- draw out “how tos” or “we shoulds” based on any portion of the text in question.

Deductive structure- present main point upfront, followed by supporting material.

Authorial intent- we must understand what the author intended to communicate before we can understand what they are saying.

Using poem, songs lyric and hymns- Almost like quotes these provide extra biblical justification for the preacher's point.

Details- address every question, talk about every idea and explain every issues that arises from a passage.


Along the way, as I have grown in experience, knowledge and maturity some of these values have changed or shifted. This is where I am at now:

Length- longer is not better, neither is shorter. People will listen to a sermon as long as it is clear, well organized and provides good application.

Cross References- these take time and their return value is low. People will believe what you say based on the passage already being used, unless you are making it say something unnatural. Beside, the original readers did not have a collection of books to cross reference with. Scripture, as we know it, was not canonized until about the 3rd century.

3+ points of declaration- rubbish! Sometimes one solid point is plenty!

Having a central passage to work out of- still essential, when coupled with a central idea.

Quotes- only use someone else’s words when they say what you want better than you could.

Accuracy over read-a-bility in translations choice- I carry one translations (NASB), but study and reference 10+ other translations for understanding, retention and clarity. Sometimes it is better to publicly use a more understandable, readable and accessible translation.

Invitation- these can take place in many forms: alter calls, follow up opportunities, times of confession, self reflection, different avenues of self expression. Ask yourself, “What is the public sign of conversion?” Is it walking an aisle? No. Is it maybe praying a prayer? No. Or has it biblically and historically been baptism? Yes.

Stories- gotta keep them. They communicate so much!

Usage of Hebrew and Greek in the preaching event- some say never. I say use (sparingly) if it brings weight, understanding and clarity to your words.

Principles the text- This can easily be abuse. Be very careful! Some will say, "Jesus calming the storm in Mark 4 means he will calm the storms in our lives." Wrong! He may actually calm storms in our lives, but this text does not offer proof of this. If this is what we teach out of this Mark 4 story we have missed the point. Keep looking.

Deductive structure- Inductive is also good and helpful.

Authorial intent- this is key! A non-negotiable.

Using poem, songs lyric and hymns- not really necessary. Cultural touchstones can be useful if carefully thought through.

Details- good preachers know what to leave in and what to leave out.


If will be interesting to reevaluate in a few years.

Jesus Loves Your Dog (but maybe not your cat)

A business on Broadway

Giving Up On Preaching

In a sidebar Q & A section in the current issue of Christianity Today (July 2009, page 17) Sarah Pulliam asks Robert A. Schuller, son of Robert H. Schuller, about his plans after leaving (or being "evicted" as he puts it)the The Hour of Power and the Crystal Cathedral.

Here is Pulliam's last question concerning Schuller Jr.’s new television program with GodTube founder Chris Wyatt:

Q: Why are you leaving preaching?
A: I’ll probably have 5-10 minute messages throughout the program, but it won’t be sitting down with three points and a poem. Chris Wyatt resigned a month before I left the Cathedral because his investor told him they wanted to take God out of GodTube. Chris discovered through GodTube that nobody listens to preaching. People are interested in other ways to communicate the message, such as interviews as opposed to talking heads.

So, here is what has me shaking my head; Schuller Jr. is giving up on preaching because people don’t listen anymore.

What?

Since when do we fulfill our faith in Christ based on what other people like or don’t like? Since when do we start taking the temperature of the culture and then start taking apart out faith? I am all for understanding and engage culture, but not at the expense of the faith.

I am reminded of what God said to Ezekiel about declaring his message:

Ezekiel 2:4-7 4“I am sending you to them who are stubborn and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ 5“As for them, whether they listen or not—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6“And you, son of man, neither fear them nor fear their words, though thistles and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions; neither fear their words nor be dismayed at their presence, for they are a rebellious house. 7“But you shall speak My words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious.

Didn’t Paul say something about preaching along these lines too? Oh yeah:

2 Timothy 4:2-4 2preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. 3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

(Scratch, scratch, scratch, Ooooo!)

We are to preach in season and out of season; when preaching is popular and unpopular, when liked or disliked, when good or bad, when we are ready or not, when people listen and when they don’t, when it is financially lucrative and when it is not. "Preach the word at all times," is Paul’s point.

I preach not because I am good at it, not because I like it (and I do) and certainly not for the benefits I get from it, but because I am called to preach so the “cross of Christ will not be made void” (1 Corinthians 1:17). I have tried to give up my calling to teach and preach. I wanted (and sometimes still want) to give up this impulse I have to teach and preach, but I can’t because it is not about me and it is not about you. It is all about God.

Funny thing is, a few questions earlier in the interview Pulliam asks Schuller Jr. about the theological differences between him and his dad. Schuller Jr. answers that their methods are different. His dad is “more into psychology” and he is “more into biblical teaching.”

Really? Did you miss these verses?

Taco Bell Church

Ecclesiastes 1:9
"What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun."

Taco Bell is the epitome of this verse. I don't think they have created anything new for their menu in years. Just about everything they serve has the same core ingredients: ground beef, refried beans, a tortilla of some sort, lettuce, tomatoes and cheese. Let it be their burritos or tacos or their tostadas, they all consist of the same ingredients.

I think church is the same way.

I have been to Baptist, Lutheran, emerging, charismatic, non-denominational, missional, Catholic and even biker/gang-banger churches.

These churches have meet in sanctuaries, warehouses, hotels, theaters, libraries, schools, old supermarkets and even pubs.

The people in these churches have been old, young, clean, dirty, poor, rich, single, married and every thing in between.

The size of these churches has been small (30-40 people), medium (200-300 people), large (500-700 people) and x-large (6000-7000 people).

However, they all consisted of the same core ingredients: music and songs, a teaching from the Bible, prayer, announcements and don't forget the offering! The basic elements found within these worship gatherings are identical. Oh, they may be arranged in different ways, called something new and maybe even have some spice thrown (dance, readings or drama), but in the end you are still consuming the same meal just in a different wrapper.

You can guess these churches have some what different theologies, but they all fall within the pale of orthodoxy.

So, what is it that truly makes one worship gathering different from the other choices on the menu?

I think has to do with intent, purpose or to be technical and snobbish-sounding, the philosophy of ministry.

It is not so much about ingredients that get mixed together, but what is the reason or point of a gathering being mixed with its particular ingredients.

Here is an example: What is the intent of having most of the musical worship front loaded before the teaching? Most would say to prepare our hearts and mind to be receptive to what is about to be taught.

What would be the intent of having most of the musical worship after the teaching? Most would say to offer a time for mediation and reflection on what has been taught?

What would the intent be if musical worship and teaching were interwoven throughout the entire gathering? Hmmm....

I think it is necessary to think through all the ingredients in a gathering to make sure they will add to and not detract from the purpose of worship. The same is true in the set up of the gathering in general.

By doing this we may find we replace some core ingredients with others not usually found in our recipe (interactive stations, silence, confession, dialogue, etc). This may open us up to us new and undiscovered ways of worshiping, expressing our faith and relating to God.

What is the purpose of a gathering? You decide.