Preaching for fun and profit...

I gather up their past orders of worship to carry home for devotional reading. Worship matters at College Park Baptist (not the usual kind of Baptist) and it shows. The order of worship is chock full of scripture, pithy quotes, songs, news and announcements. Organized under the headings of Gather, Grace, Grow, Give and Go, we are led through worship with good humor and attention to detail. Sitting in the pew with our daughter, her husband and young son, I give thanks for this particular community of believers. It is not the perfect communion of saints, far from it, but it is an interesting conglomeration of believers who care enough to show up for worship and work in the name of Christ.
The pastor, Michael Ussey, comes to the pulpit wearing a robe with a handcrafted stole over an open neck shirt. That reflects the style of College Park accurately... non-stuffy formal worship where souls matter more than style. I settle in and begin to listen to the sermon.
As the wife of a preacher, I remember how difficult it was for Michael to speak for God every Sunday. Standing in front of folks you know all too well, trying to dredge up verbal pastoral care for modern day Israelites who are just as cantankerous as the original Twelve Tribes sometimes, can be an overwhelming charge. Daring to hope your words will transform, praying for truth to emerge as you speak, listening for God’s words to you in your own sermon... this takes a peculiar kind of courage and persistence. It is not easy to preach Sunday after Sunday knowing what you say matters so very much to those who sit in front of you... or not.
There are many different kinds of preachers. Some preachers are terrible in the pulpit but live lives that are sermon masterpieces. There are preachers who stick to the Bible in their sermons with no intrusions from other sources. And, there are preachers who skim by the Bible and focus on causes and being “doers of the Word”. Other preachers preach for fun and profit, the prosperity gospel. Mostly it is the preachers’ fun and profit that is realized not their parishioners. I wonder though, what authentic fun and profit preaching would look and sound like.
Preachers and other ministers can drown in the sea of earnestness and be crushed by the weight of responsibility for the words they speak. The Curse of the Call is to take yourself too seriously as a Savior when you preach. They need the grace and good humor of Do Overs. They don’t always get it right but like Avis, they try harder.
Perhaps when a preacher stands in the pulpit, he or she should post a sign that spells out your rights to a refund and their rights to speak uncomfortable truths. Our contract with one another should include mutual respect, careful listening and reasonably righteous responses on both sides of the pulpit. Standing at the back of the church, shaking hands with the congregation as they leave and hearing the response of individuals to your sermon is as difficult as sermon preparation. It is your pass/fail report card once a week. Conversation over a cup of coffee is a much more Christian way to deal with differences than a loaded one liner delivered at the door as you shake hands and leave.
Laughter in worship is not profane but sacred. Preachers who help us laugh at ourselves, who laugh at themselves, who refuse to take life SERIOUSLY are among my favorites. They know a secret... none of us are as important as we think we are. They also know that laughter exercises our souls in ways that are pleasing to God. Souls that have laugh line wrinkles are winsome, beautiful and draw others to them with pleasure. They are a witness to the power of love.
Thank you, Michael Ussey for your sermon “Praying for Fishooks” Sunday. It set me to thinking. And thanks for including Clement’s Prayer in worship I will be praying that prayer all week. “Lord, I believe in you; increase my faith. I trust in you; strengthen my trust. I love you; let me love you more and more. I am sorry for my sins; deepen my sorrow. I worship you as my first beginning, I long for you as my last end. I praise you as my constant helper.” Thanks be to God for those who speak and those who listen. Let us each do what we are called to do with gratitude and laughter, remembering in all things we are the children of God.