Steve in the Pulpit

I'm preaching this Sunday at Anchor. I'm talking about keys and ownership and Jesus at the home of Simon. Just try to put all of that together.

There was a time when I swore off preaching. I had had occasional occasion to preach, but it's not something I felt comfortable doing. I'm a seminar guy. I love teaching settings with small groups. I like to get people interacting and to guide discussion. I feel at home in small groups. That's my genre.

Sometime in the early 1990s, I did a series of seminars during a weekend retreat for a church in Indiana. That was fun. But they also asked me to stick around and preach on Sunday morning. I went long, felt unorganized, didn't think I was connecting, and told Pam afterwards, "Okay, that's the last time I preach." There had also been an unsatisfying experience before that which I no longer recall, no doubt for good reason.

Then in 1998 I got roped into doing a missions-related message at the Colwood UB church in Michigan. It went half-way good. In both services. I wasn't anxious to do it again...but I wasn't totally against it.

Then last summer I volunteered to preach one Sunday at Anchor while our pastor was taking courses at Trinity seminary. I spoke on "Lessons from My Cats," and showed lots of pictures of Jordi and Molly. I kept telling myself, "Think of it as a seminar. It's not, but it's a somewhat small group and therefore similar." And it worked. I enjoyed myself. Which is why I didn't hesitate to volunteer again this summer. In fact, I'm looking forward to it. But ever in the back of my mind is the thought, "Steve, you're a seminar guy. Push your luck, and you'll crash and burn."

So yeah, I'm real positive about Sunday.

Posted on July 20, 2006 10:59 AM|

Comments

More comfortable around small groups? Try preaching down at my place -- especially during the Summer months!

Posted by: rev-ed | July 20, 2006 12:35 PM

Maybe all of us should go on vacation and ask Steve to fill the pulpit for us. LOL!!!

Posted by: devon | July 23, 2006 12:21 PM

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