RoboPreacher

i don't wanna hide A sermon on a crack St. Jude once made : The Fourth of July has come and gone . That means we’re now in the heart of summer. And if you had to choose one , I wonder what season would you say is your favorite ? * Raise your hand if it’s summer . RESPOND . No matter what, even if summer isn’t your favorite season, I think we can all agree that summer has its own unique charms . Doesn’t it? For me, it would be the long days. And I love the smell of trees in the heat, too.   But what about * y’all ? What’s your favorite part of summer ? Let’s hear ‘em! Just * shout out your answers! Don’t overthink it! There are no wrong answers. What’s your favorite part of summer ?   RESPOND . As always, thank you for playing along. You’re good sports. Really! I know you’ve already got plenty on your mind without me asking all these questions each week.   I know you just want to sit back during the sermon. I know you want to let your mind wander during the sermon! A...

who are you to be afraid  “I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” -Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring It used to be that churches did mission by going it alone , starting another congregation. These days, the opposite is true. With fewer resources, congregations are having to learn how to work together . To share assets. To combine what we have, so other things are freed up (ideally for mission ). This is a BIG change. It does not come easily.  It’s deeply embedded in our DNA to want to do our own thing, to be autonomous. Plus, many of us remember the days when each congregation was filled to the gills, when there was no need for collaboration… Well, those days are past. That’s a pretty blunt statement, isn’t it? I believe it is true...

for your trials and tribulations  A question I often get, goes something like this, “Oh Pastor, what are we going to do? You know, attendance isn’t what it used to be...” Of course I never begrudge anyone for asking that question. In fact, I am glad the questioner cares enough to at least ask. The problem I have with the question, though, is that it assumes our predicament is incomprehensible and that the only possible solution will come from hiring an outside expert ... It’s those assumptions hidden beneath the question that give me pause. The truth is, Jesus began his whole enterprise with twelve folks who were decidedly un professional; fishers, outcasts, deniers and betrayers. All in all, pretty common people... Furthermore, you didn’t call me as an expert in organizational growth; you called me to proclaim Christ and him crucified.  The problem is that the way we agonize over the plight of the church, and we aren’t alone , doesn’t serve us well...

how it aches to meet the day I can remember one of the first moments I thought, ‘Y eah, I want to be a pastor .’  It was during the summer, after I had decided to minor in religion to discern whether I was being called to the ministry. I spent that summer working at a Lutheran newspaper in the Twin Cities, the Metro-Lutheran . As an intern, I had the distinct privilege of being assigned the stories no one else wanted to write. As it turned out, most of the stories were about congregations that were either growing or closing.  I learned a lot. The particular moment I am thinking of, happened during an interview with a council that was starting a feeding ministry.  The curious thing about this decision, however, was that this congregation’s budget had been cut to the bone as their attendance had shrunk to an unsustainable core.  Closing was a real possibility for this congregation. In fact, it was at the very-same meeting the treasurer re...