A good sermon doesn’t contain a swerve

Swerve – An unplanned or sudden change in the angle of a storyline; most commonly recognized by a wrestler turning on a friend of his.

Professional wrestling lives on swerves.

Good guys turning bad and bad guys shifting towards to side of truth and justice.

Swerves are fuelled by jealousy, revenge or principle.

The best swerves make sense.

They can either be seen coming or, if unexpected, can be adequately explained after the betrayal.

Sermons shouldn’t have swerves.

A good sermon shouldn’t have a Shyamalan-esque twist.

In fact, the best sermons are usually quite predictable.

They have a structure.

Each point builds upon others.

As a result, the listener should have a fair sense of the direction of the homily.

This happened to me on Sunday.

Fairly early on I gathered where the preacher was going.

Listening, I knew it was going to be headed in a good direction.

And it was a really great sermon.

For, a sermon isn’t quality because it is unpredictable.

It is quality because it points people to Jesus and what He has done.

It is quality because it is communicated well.

It is quality because it is applicable.

Unpredictability, usually, gets in the way of a good sermon.

The three statements my kids need to hear from me

The older my kids get the more my mind turns to the messages that they need to hear from me as their father.

In equal parts, these thoughts have been triggered by the subject selection discussions which have been occurring at my school the last few weeks, the one-on-one coaching sessions with a number of students about their plans in senior school and that my eldest on the verge of starting high school.

At the core, as my kids grow up, the most important things they’ll need to hear, as they enter teenage-hood and begin to identify who they are, what they’re good at and what they’ll stand for, are:

I love you…

You’re good at that…

I’m proud of you…

These three statements tie into these emerging identities.

The first, they need to hear because they are my children and I am their father. 

The second, they need to hear because they require affirmation of their strengths. And they need it often to help cancel out the opposite voices that come from within and from others.

The third, hopefully, they’ll deserve to hear because of the person they develop into into. Their character should make me proud.

How to navigate a tricky bible passage

2 Peter 3:16 - He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

The bible can be difficult to understand.

When referring to Paul’s letters, even Peter calls them hard to understand.

As I’m periodically working my way through books of the bible, I create a list of verses which are worth of a deeper look.

Currently, having just read the book of Ezekiel, I’ve got a list of 35 passages or verses which will get special focus as I now plough my way through a few commentaries on the book.

But, what should you do when you strike upon one of the more difficult verses from the scriptures?

How should you wrestle with a passage like 1 Timothy 2:15? (But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.)

Firstly, you treasure the words of 2 Peter 3 or Deuteronomy 29:29 - The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.

Some things about the bible, are hard. Or hidden.

Maybe we aren’t meant to know everything.

But, second, we should approach the Bible prayerfully. We should ask for illumination by the help of the Holy Spirit.

Third, we need to acknowledge that, while everything may not be shrouded in mystery, a neat answer may simply be beyond us. I’m prepared to admit that, at times, I won’t be able to work some things out. Maybe, I’m just too dense for some parts of the bible.

Fourth, thankfully, there are many people who are smarter and more learned than myself. They know the original languages. They know the historical and cultural context. They’ve sat under the wisest theological minds and biblical scholars. 

Even if I don’t know the answer to tricky biblical passages, others do. The answers are available.

So, fifth, we should search for the answers from respectable bible teachers. If there’s a general consensus - across denominational lines - then you’ve probably discovered your answer. Even if you don’t like it.

Sixth, if we don’t uncover a neat solution, then we may need to just accept that a simple answer isn’t forthcoming. 

We need to be prepared to admit this. 

We need to still wrestle with this.

We need to become comfortable in our unknowing.

For, seventh, not every bible verse holds salvation defining truths. 

Some passages aren’t as vital as others. 

And we don’t need to obsess over the periphery issues which emerge from them.

But, eighth, we can still strive to uncover the underlying larger principles which tricky bible passages teach about. 

And, ninth, we can seek for the ways which others believers, in the midst of their uncertainty, live with these difficult passages. For, our queries are not new nor unique. And, the difficult passages have existed alongside faithful believers for Millenia.

If you follow these steps, while the difficult passages won’t disappear, you’ll loose a lot less sleep over them.

The minister’s kid dilemma

I little while back I mentioned the pressure that minister spouses must face when it comes to their positioning during a church service.

But there’s a familial positioning which I’m glad I avoided.

My kids.

I never had to navigate the issue of my kids being in church with me.

Sure, my youngest was just a toddler while I was in ministry, but she was still a stumbling cutie. Her presence, even uninvited, was delightful.

She wasn’t a rebellious teen.

She wasn’t a stubborn tween.

And I wonder the pressure that ministers face when it comes to their children.

How do they weigh up the actions of their kids in light of 1 Timothy 3:12 - A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well.

When it comes to “managing their children” on a Sunday morning, how mindful is the minister of 1 Timothy 3:12?

Do they think that this verse will bounce around the minds of their congregation?

When rationalising with their kids about their proximity during the service or general behaviour, does this verse run through their mind?

Would they ever dare bring it up with their offspring?

There’s a lot of pressures when it comes to being in ministry.

I’m glad I avoided this one.

What direction do you take when the preacher mentions your expertise?

I’ve written quite a bit about those in ministry being experts.

In short, those in ministry shouldn’t be expected to be experts and should openly declare as such.

They aren’t engineers.

They aren’t doctors.

They aren’t historians.

But, they can glean truths from many different fields.

And, in their congregation, there will be experts in many topics.

So, what do you do when the preacher hits on your topic of expertise?

Do you lean in or do you sit back?

Does your focus increase or your skepticism increase?

This latter option is the danger when someone wades into your area of expertise.

You know more, so you’re more weary.

So, do you raise your antenna or lower your attention when the sermon hits a topic you’re knowledgeable about.

At worst, even if the preacher fumbles their way through your area of expertise, there’s an important reason to ensure that you’ve paid attention.

They were trying to connect in a way that you’re very familiar with.

And, at a minimum, you should be able to follow the way they ware attempting to reveal a spiritual truth.

Even if they took some missteps, your in a privileged position to understand what they were trying to do.

The ministry of understanding

Now that I’m a teacher, my faith only gets mentioned incidentally in my profession.

I’ll never hide that I worked for a church for over a decade, and this will periodically become relevant in the history and geography syllabus.

The importance of cathedrals in Medieval Europe.

The reasons for the Crusades.

The reasons that the Vikings raided the monasteries.

An overview of Buddhism and its significance for Ancient Japan and Ancient China.

But, I’m attempting to launch a new senior subject at my current school - Studies of Religion.

In part, the reason I’m able to teach this subject is my past.

I have an understanding of the nature of faith.

I’ve been trained by a religious institution.

I’ve been educated by a religious institution.

I’ve worked in the midst of a religious institution.

This blog will show you that I’ve been pondering the nature and outworking of faith since at least 2008.

But, I’ve been very careful in the way that I’ve been pitching my new subject to next year’s potential cohort.

For, Studies of Religion is not about conversion.

It is not about convincing.

It is about understanding.

Understanding a world full of religions and the religious.

No matter where you fall on the spectrum of faith - atheist, agnostic, deist, theist, monotheist, polytheist - my role is to help you understand.

Understand how faith is developed.

Understanding how faith shapes the way people view the world.

Understanding how faith shapes the way people view themselves.

Understanding how faith shapes the way people view others.

Understanding how faith shapes the way people make decisions.

Understanding how the majority of the world - the religious - think.

And, understanding how those of no-religion fit into a religious world.

This, hopefully, will be my role now.

And, if I truely believe that following Jesus makes sense, then faithfully and accurately outlining the elements of other faiths alongside Christianity, shouldn’t be a threat.

This can be my ministry now.