Reflections on "Answering the Call" I Samuel 3: 1-18; Acts 18:1-4

the glaring hole in the sermon was a story about someone being called outside of the church context.  I noted that we should not limit our understanding of call to the church context, but my examples did not expand beyond the church context.

How have you felt God's call in your life?

“Answering the Call” August 28, 2011; FPC, Troy

Introduction: I don't suppose most of us have had the voice of God calling our name in our sleep like Samuel, but we Presbyterians have a high sense of call.

New member class – is God calling you to this congregation at this particular time in you life?

Nominating committee – not necessarily the best skilled or most talented, but who is God calling into leadership at this time in the life of the church.

WE sometimes do a disservice to our theology of call by limiting our understanding of call to church work, but our theology of call teaches us that God calls us in all aspects of our lives.

Reflect for a few moments about God's call in your life.

Move 1: Listen for the call

a. Mr. Burch – Jr. High youth group leader; left the church I grew up in 10 years ago after 30+ years in membership; I'd never asked him why they left and joined another church; as we spent a morning together in conversation, I finally asked why he and his wife had left the church

He told me their story. He was preparing to retire from the Untied States Postal service. He thought he might want to go into some type of ministry. He looked into going to seminary, but he had too many years of classes (he'd joined the Marines right out of high school; went to work for the Postal service immediately after the Marines; so he would need an undergraduate degree before he went to seminary.

Next, he thought about mission work; maybe Africa; but, his wife was still teaching and he was not sure he wanted to go to go to Africa; kids in the area; grand-kid or two already

He was at a presbytery meeting. And he heard about a new church development that the presbytery was starting. That caught his attention. It was going to be not too far away from their home (they lived in a small town outside of the town where I grew up).

He told his wife about it. Maybe they could help with this new church development. They prayed about it. Now, ten years later he can tell story after story about being a part of this new church development. And, how he and his wife with their numerous years of experience as both Elder and Deacon in a Presbyterian church continue to play the role of the wise, veterans who help the congregation claim its Presbyterian identity as it welcomes new members with no connection to church or the Presbyterian church.

1. Not only a powerful story of call.
2. But about being intentional.

b. Samuel

1. Does not understand the voice of God when he puts it in the context of his work for Eli.
2. But when he intentionally listens for the voice of God, he hears what God has in store for him.

Listen for God's call.

Move 2: Someone helps us hear God's call.

a. Samuel

1. If we go back in the story, we discover that Samuel's call grows out of his mother Hannah's deal with God.
2. As you may remember, she promises to give her child to God if God will allow her to bear a child.
3. Literally from the womb, Samuel's mother begins the process of helping Samuel hear God's call.

b. IN that specific moment, the priest Eli comes to Samuel's assistance.

1. When Samuel does not recognize the voice in the night.

2. When Samuel does not understand what it happening.

3. Eli guides him.

c. Priscilla and Aquila

1. They'd already been driven from Rome because of their religious beliefs.

2. Now they are in Corinth when Paul comes to town.

3. Paul's a tent maker, so he stays with them./

4. Imagine those conversations that took place as they worked or hung out at home at night.

5. IN addition to being a fellow tent maker, Paul also happens to be the most persuasive, most compelling, most persistent evangelist in the early church.

6. Before too long, Priscilla and Aquilla are packing their bags and moving to Ephesus to help start a church there.

7. I bet some days they wish they had not been tent makers when Paul comes to town.

d. Presbytery meeting

1. Jr. High leader

2. Yes, something good and of /God can happen at a presbytery meeting.
3. A committee of presbytery reports on a new church development about to happen and someone hears the call of God to be a part of that church.

500. Just before I went was going to start law school, I took the Sr. Highs to a Sr. High convention.

1. Singing, praying, small group, worship.

2. Keynote speaker – David Barry, a minister from Houston.

3. Friday night final worship service – “I'd Rather Be Fishing” Is he talking to me?

4. Talk myself out of it.

5. Arrive in Houston the next day.

6. Minister is at the closest Presbyterian church to where Leslie, now my wife, lives.

7. Go hear him.

8. Too lazy to write a new sermon.

9. Preached the same sermon.

10. went to see him the next morning – you don't know me but...

11. A week later I was in seminary.

e. Do not ignore your role in helping others hear the God's call.

f. Sometimes we need somebody to help us hear God's call.

Move 3: Call demands a response

a. Every situation led to some type of response.

1. Samuel – he is going to take on the mantle of leadership for God's people
2. Priscilla and Aquilla
3. Jr. High leaders

b. Warning

1. God is alive at work in the particularity of our world.
2. That means that when you hear God's call, you are often asked to do something.
3. Do not seek God's calls unless you are ready to make some changes.

God's call demands a response.

Move 4: Passion

One of the most compelling conversations I had on Clergy Renewal was with a colleague who serves a church in TX.  He and I were in the same prayer group in seminary and now still connect via email on a somewhat regular basis.  We had not talked in person for more than a minute or two since we left seminary.  What a treat for me to spend an afternoon with him.  We actually did less reminiscing than I expected and more reflections on how being ministers had turned out for us and the struggles the Presbyterian church faces.

One of the churches he served in W. Texas had significant financial struggles; now he serves a church that faces the same struggle we face -- the dying off of the old guard and the challenge of finding new members who have time and want to make the commitment to be part of a community of faith.

We also talked about how our being in ministry had impacted our families.  He had gone to seminary after being out in the work force for 10+ years, so his wife and kids knew life before dad became a minister.  We talked about the difficulty some minister's families have adjusting to that in their lives.

He has done a lot of work with the Committee on Ministry in his presbytery, so he has seen lots of problems in churches and in minister's lives.

In that moment, I asked him -- given all the struggles you have had and have seen in the church, would you go to seminary again?  I confess to thinking as I asked that question, with the conversation still full of the challenges and struggles we had faced and witnessed, that he's going to give me the honest, logical answer, "I'm not sure I'd go to seminary if I had to do it all over."

Instead, he looked me in the eye and said with conviction, "My only regret is that I waited the ten years to go to seminary.  I wish I had those ten years of ministry to do more ministry!"

He overwhelmed me with his sense of call and passion for that call.

Conclusion: I hope and pray you feel that sense of passion for what God calls you to do.

"Answering the Call" I Samuel 3: 1-18; Acts 18: 1-4

One of the most compelling conversations I had on Clergy Renewal was with a colleague who serves a church in TX.  He and I were in the same prayer group in seminary and now still connect via email on a somewhat regular basis.  We had not talked in person for more than a minute or two since we left seminary.  What a treat for me to spend an afternoon with him.  We actually did less reminiscing than I expected and more reflections on how being ministers had turned out for us and the struggles the Presbyterian church faces.

One of the churches he served in W. Texas had significant financial struggles; now he serves a church that faces the same struggle we face -- the dying off of the old guard and the challenge of finding new members who have time and want to make the commitment to be part of a community of faith.

We also talked about how our being in ministry had impacted our families.  He had gone to seminary after being out in the work force for 10+ years, so his wife and kids knew life before dad became a minister.  We talked about the difficulty some minister's families have adjusting to that in their lives.

He has done a lot of work with the Committee on Ministry in his presbytery, so he has seen lots of problems in churches and in minister's lives.

In that moment, I asked him -- given all the struggles you have had and have seen in the church, would you go to seminary again?  I confess to thinking as I asked that question, with the conversation still full of the challenges and struggles we had faced and witnessed, that he's going to give me the honest, logical answer, "I'm not sure I'd go to seminary if I had to do it all over."

Instead, he looked me in the eye and said with conviction, "My only regret is that I waited the ten years to go to seminary.  I wish I had those additional ten years of ministry!"

He overwhelmed me with his sense of call and passion for that call.

Samuel's call story points out the excitement and trepidation Samuel feels when God calls him.  And, I also feel a certain sadness that Eli's call to lead God's people will end on terms not of his choosing -- surely he would have preferred for his sons to have lived in ways that would have allowed them to carry the mantle of leadership for God's people.

I have to laugh when I read the story in Acts of Priscilla and Aquila meeting Paul.  We are told that Paul shared the same trade with them, so he stayed with them in Corinth.  The next time we hear of them they are in Ephesus helping the church there.  What luck to share the same trade with the the most persistent, challenging evangelist in the early church!

How would you tell your call story?  Both a call to discipleship, but also your story of where God has put you at this time and this place for the particular purpose you now serve?

Peace,

Richard
  

Reflections on "Telling Stories" Matthew 8: 28-34; Psalm 124

I enjoyed being back in the pulpit, but I did feel a little rusty!

I tried to model telling stories in my sermon, but it may have been too many stories or the stories were not focused enough.

I was really struck by how we can be intentional in our storytelling and make our stories part of our faith claim by exploring where God is found in the midst of our stories.

Psalm 124 also provided a powerful reminder of how our stories can shape our self-understanding.  The Israelites claim of being God's people is best understood and proclaimed when the stories of their relationship with God are told.

I would like to explore more the idea that the swineherders told others about Jesus in a way that made them want to run Jesus out of town.  That fascinates me!

“Telling Stories” May 8, 2011; Acts 2: 36-41; FPC, Troy

Introduction: Imagine you have just seen Jesus cast out demons; send them into the pigs and then direct the pigs to run down a steep bank and into the sea where they drown.

How would you tell that story to others?

Apparently, when the people herding the pigs when into town to tell the story of what happened, they told it in such a way that the people from town came out and asked Jesus to leave the neighborhood.

We do not know, but I'm guessing they did not tell the story about Jesus in a way that invited others to come and meet the incredible Son of God who could send demons to their death. I suspect they told everyone about this strange guy who killed off their pigs and hurt their livelihood.

Telling stories...how we tell our stories can scare people or inspire them or invite them think new thoughts.

I have spent three months away on the Clergy Renewal having some wonderful experiences and reflections that bring me back into your midst with lots of stories to tell.

I hope you have spent some of the Clergy Renewal time reflecting on your own faith so that you have some stories to tell me as well.

This fall, I will be sharing some of those stories and reflections in the sermons I preach.

Not all the stories from the Clergy Renewal time will get told in the sermons. For instance, if you want to hear about the man walking in on Leslie in the communal shower on the train to Spokane, you're going to have to ask her yourself.

This morning, let's reflect on the power of telling and hearing stories.

Move 1: Thinking about stories calls us back o the biblical texts.

a. the great collection of the stories about God and God's people.

b. One of the my goals for the Clergy Renewal time was to engage in daily devotions.

1. I would give myself a B+/A- in that category.
2. I followed a devotional guide geared toward ministers.
3. Each week had a Psalm, so I read the same psalm every day for a week.
4. There was a different scripture lesson and brief devotional reading each day.
5. There were also a couple of prayers that I said and a hymn of the week, that I confess to ignoring most weeks.
6. Each week had a different topic that were geared about ministry.

c. No surprise, but I discovered that reading the Bible with no sermon to preach or class to teach gave me a very different point of engagement.

1. It sort of weird in a way to read a text and not wonder how it might be preached, or what was an interesting point of engagement to teach the text.

2. But, then I kept having this recurring “aha” – this story connects with this part of my life or this text makes me think such and such.

3. It served as a wonderful reminder to me of how important it is to read the biblical texts to not only be reminded of how God has been at work in people's lives, but how that God is still at work in our lives and our world.

As we think about telling stories, we are reminded to reclaim the biblical stories.

Move 2: When we tell stories, we share our interpretation of and event and invite others to interpret the story as well.

a. Clergy Renewal

1. I spent a lot of time explaining what I was doing as I showed up in different places with no agenda except to be there.
2. I would tell about the Clergy Renewal grant from the Lily foundation, share what ya'll were doing back here in Troy and describe what I was getting to do.
3. Most people seemed interested in hearing the story, and I told it in such a way that it sounded like a good thing for both the congregation and the minister.
4. In fact, several people asked about how to learn more for their congregations.
5. Near the end of my time I went to Ghost Ranch, national conference Center of PCUSA. Ed DeLair, formerly on staff in our presbytery at the Kirkmont Camp and Conference Center is now the Program Director at Ghost Ranch. I stayed several days with Ed and his wife Becky.
6. Ghost Ranch had 600 or so people there that week, most of who were taking a class or involved in a service project, although some had signed up for Rest and Relaxation.
8. The next morning before the breakfast gathering, Ed made me a name tag. And he put Clergy Renewal as the class I was taking.
9. Suddenly I found myself involved in lots of conversations, many of which began with “what's clergy renewal? I don't remember that as one of the courses being offered this week.” So I got to tell the Clergy Renal story a lot.
10. The last day I was standing with another group of people I had not met, someone asked about Clergy Renewal, I began to tell the story, and a woman interrupted me when she exclaimed, “ Oh I know all about Clergy Renewal. My church has one this summer and our minister is gone for three months. Boy am I glad to get rid of him for the summer.” She did not sound like she was kidding.
11. We both told a story about Clergy Renewal. IN some ways our stories agreed that Clergy Renewal could be good for a congregation. But, our interpretation was very different.
12. I must say it also broadened my understanding about how people in a congregation might interpret Clergy renewal.

b. No surprise that Jesus often told parables or other stories.

1. Very often when asked a question, he would answer with a story.
2. Jesus understood that when he told a story he invited the listener to engage the story from their own context.
3. When we tell stories, we invite others to engage with us as both teller and listener grow in understanding.

Move 3: Telling our stories can be a way we make our faith claim.

a. when we read Psalm 124, we are reminded how the Israelites tell their story to define who they are.

1. I imagine that they learned early on that to teach the next generation or announce to the world that they were God's people was not that compelling.
2. But when they say we are God's people and remember when God rescued us.
3. Or remember when God appeared to Moses in the burning bush.
4. Or remember when God led us into the Promised Land.
5. Then they had a way of defining who they were and whose they were.

b. Telling stories can allow us to make out faith claims.

1. First Saturday night of Clergy renewal in Coer d'Alene, ID; out for dinner in this neat little resort town near Spokane; parked and then were walking down the main drag to find our restaurant
2. We encountered an intersection that had people with posters and on either side of the street and a man shout at the top of his lungs something about God; I'm not sure exactly what he was saying,but it had something to do with going to hell and/or heaven.
3. We were so mesmerized by this spectacle, we walked by and missed our restaurant and had to turn around and walk by them again. They were making their faith claim in a powerful, loud way.
4. Most of us are not going to stand on the street corner in Troy or Piqua or Vandalia or Tipp City or Pleasant Hill shouting our faith claims.
5. But, consider the opportunity you have to share your faith claim when you tell your stories – you talk about what happened to your mother in the hospital or what happened in your life when everything seemed to fall into place. And you add where you saw God at work in that.
6. Now you have not only an interesting story, but a powerful story about how God has been at work in your life.
7. As others hear the story, they may gain new understanding of how God is at work;
8. Maybe they will not agree with your assertion – I did not like what I was hearing from the man on the street corner.
9. But either way, those who hear the story grow in their own understanding and maybe someone hears your story and discover the God for whom they have been looking.

Conclusion: Tell your stories. Listen to the stories others tell. And proclaim the God about saved the Israelites and saves us.

"Telling Stories" Psalm 124; Matthew 8: 28-34

I will be in the pulpit at FPC, Troy for the first time since 5/22/2011.  I had a wonderful time on my Clergy Renewal, with much of it spent listening and sharing stories with people.  This fall I will be preaching on ideas/stories/reflections from my Clergy Renewal experience.

This Sunday we will begin by thinking about stories - God's story, our stories, the stories of the community of faith, and other people's stories - and how they shape and inform us as we grow in our own faith.

Psalm 124 indicates that the Israelites told the story of their experience of God to guide them and sustain them as a people.

In Matthew I was struck by how the story told by those who had witnessed Jesus cast the demons into the herd of swine led the listeners to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood.  I wonder how they told the story?

How we tell our story does matter as others notice (or miss) the faith claims we might (or might not) make.  When you tell stories from your life, do you connect what has happened to your faith claim?

Finally, I am reminded that in order for God's story to continue to impact us, we need to not only see how our story is a part of God's ongoing story, but we need to read the stories (yes, the Bible) of God's people who have come before us.

Looking forward to being back in the pulpit!

Peace,

Richard