Presby-Musings

Welcome to Part 4 in the "Recovering The Sermon" blog posts--loosely based on a preaching workshop I facilitated recently for pastors, preachers and communicators. In this post we get down to the nuts and bolts--the old nitty gritty-- where the proverbial rubber meets the proverbial road.  I can't think of any more cliches. We're going to begin with antennae. A few posts ago, I mentioned that when you are planning your sermons or talks several weeks or months in advance, you will find that you walk around with your antennae up, so to speak. But I would argue that the great communicators always have their antennae up--they are always open to seeing God, truth, Jesus , hope, beauty in the world around them. "Have your eyes open to the world, be alert to the things that are curious, that speak.  If you find the world interesting, you will be interesting." - Rob Bell Rob Bell famously uses a term called "buckets" to describe where he s...

If you are a church leader, pastor, or otherwise church-y kind of person---this will sting a little, but it needs to be said:  You are probably the reason someone, somewhere doesn't want to ever go to church again.  I know.  Feel the sting. It's like Bactine on a knee-scrape. Admitting you have a problem is the first step. The second step is asking the obvious question: "In what ways have I caused others to hate church?"  Or to put it in corporate terms, "What is my church doing to make people hate coming to church?" A lot, as it turns out. There are hundreds of things that church-y people do to make people who aren't that church-y feel like an outsider because... they aren't that church-y.  It could be the way a church welcomes--or doesn't, insider-friendly worship, closed groups, you name it. But I have come to believe that the biggest culprit when it comes to antipathy toward church is when a congregation, faith community or ...

This week we'll be continuing our sermon series entitled, "The Core"--a re-exploration of the core values of our church.  We call our core values, "The Five Things." These core values are the "how" that enables us to accomplish the "why," which is a simple way to describe how our values both form and inform our vision as a church.  The "why" (our vision) is "To Reflect and Reveal the Unselfish Love of Christ To The World." We like to say that when "You Know Jesus, You Show Jesus."  And we've discovered that the best way for us to become the kind of congregation that not only knows Jesus, but shows Jesus to the world is to not only have very real, very tangible values, but also to stick to them. It's not enough to simply say that you value something---you have to show it. The overarching theme of this particular sermon series is this simple fact:  We are made of what we value.  And, as we'...

In 1998 I landed my very first job in a church--as a part time youth director for a tiny 80-member church in Tallahassee, Florida .  The pay was less than part time, if we're being honest--but the hours weren't.  You can't really do part time youth ministry--at least not very well. There was this kid that found us one year.  I think someone invited him at some point, and before too long he was permanent fixture at just about every youth event we had.  He lived with his disabled mom in a small apartment that smelled faintly of cigarette smoke and dog fur. He would call me sometimes and ask if I could give him a ride to one thing or another--to the store, to Walgreens...  If he couldn't get a hold of me, he would try one of the kids who could drive--but mostly he got a hold of me.  Sometimes our excursions would take several hours--hours I didn't have with a wife and small child at home, and a mountain of school work to complete so I could finish college....

I have an unusual name:   Leon Bloder.   I am the only one of my kind as far as I can tell.  I am named for my grandfather, whose parents were Austrian immigrants. They originally named him Leopold, but then changed it.  I'm rather glad of that, actually. Of the many jokes that have been made about my name over the years, there's one that always tends to crop up around Christmastime .  It goes like this: "Did you know that your name spelled backwards is "Noel?"  "Yes," I'll usually say, "I know."  Once I decided to feign ignorance.  "Really?" I nearly shouted when the joke teller let me have it.  "I had NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT BEFORE! That's SO AWESOME! My name spelled backwards is Noel, how do you like that?  HOW FUNNY! You thought of that all by yourself?  MAN you must be a GENIUS." Come to think of it, that's the last time that person ever spoke to me again. Hmmm.  Maybe it's just as well. We all k...

This week I am preaching the fifth installment of the sermon series, "Big Church" a study in the book of Acts .  The basic premise of this sermon series is that Jesus did not establish an institution, he established a movement.  Unfortunately, his followers over the years didn't get that memo because the Church in all of her tarnished glory is most definitely an institution.  Which is why, in my opinion, that so many people have given up on the Church. But I think there's another way---and I am not alone.  There is a growing number of people who are waking up to the fact that Jesus did not create a mission for the Church, he created a church for His mission.  The mission, you see, was established long before the Church.  And it's high time we figured this out and got down to the business of moving the Movement Jesus founded. This week we will be studying one of the more familiar stories in the book of Acts---the story of Paul & Silas in the Phil...

This week I am continuing the sermon series, "Cross Training," a series that is focused on the teachings of Jesus .  Our Scripture passage this Sunday comes from Luke 6:27-36 which reads thusly: 27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies , do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in fu...