A SOJOURNE IN PHOENIX

A SOJOURNE IN PHOENIX


A few weeks ago I drove over to Phoenix so that I could attend a seminar on Process Preaching.

On the way I stopped and had dinner with my sister Barb & husband Joe in Tucson. It is always good seeing them and of course Barb’s great cooking is an added treat. I was only able to spend a few hours there since I was heading to Phoenix to spend the night at my brother Don’s home.

Right now Don has a house full. Normally it is just Donny, his daughter Lacey and Darin, a boarder we never see. Now another brother, Jon, who just got a job in Phoenix is joining the pack for a number of months. His family will move out to the Phoenix area after school is out. Then I showed up. Our bedroom looked like that of the 3 bears. There were 2 single beds and my cot all lined up in a row. My dad suggested we sleep in shifts. It was great seeing everyone. Jon started his first day while I was there so I got to hear about his impressions of work and what it is going to be like.

For almost 30 years I have been chained to a manuscript when preaching. It was what I learned in seminary. You wrote out your 3 point sermon and “delivered” it. That meant that after some years of experience I could craft a fairly good message that I could now read to people. My reading became pretty good also so I wanted to change that. I wanted to be able to look into the eyes of my congregation more as I spoke to them. So when I got a mailing about Process Preaching and it was in Phoenix I decided to go. I am really glad I did.

Over the course of a few days our group of 20 pastors from all over the country learned a process of preparation that would get us out of our manuscripts. I used that process this last Sunday and it worked. Many people commented to me about how my message was great. What they don’t know of course is that the sermon they heard was the one I took with me to Phoenix and “rehearse”. It will be next Sunday’s message that will tell the tale.

Cindy & I are now starting to think about our upcoming trip to Israel. We will be there in three weeks.

Shalom