Preaching as a Three-Way Conversation
A good sermon is one side of a passionate conversation. It has to be heard in that way. There are three parties to it of course but so are there even to the most private thought: the self that yields the thought, the self that acknowledges and in some way responds to the thought, and …
The Holy Trigonometry of Pastoral Calling [Working the Angles with Eugene Peterson, part 3]
In his attempt to recover the essence of pastoral ministry and help pastor's hold onto their essential vocation, Eugene Peterson takes an image from an unlikely source: mathematics. I have found a metaphor from trigonometry to be useful in keeping this clear; I see these three essential acts of ministry as the angles of a …
Faith When the Writing is on the Wall [Daniel 5]
We returned to our series on the book of Daniel, "Daniel: Apocalyptic Imagination and Exile Faith," this past weekend at Eastbrook Church after a two-week hiatus for our annual MissionsFest. This weekend we looked at Daniel, chapter 5, where a mysterious hand appears in the midst of Belshazzar's feast with a divine message for the king. There …
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Learning to Pay Attention [Working the Angles with Eugene Peterson, part 2]
If we are to hold onto our identity and calling as pastors in North America, then we must resist the consumer-driven impulses that have infested our culture and even the church. We must become, as Eugene Peterson suggest, more than religious shopkeepers who keep the budget growing, the building improving, and the congregation busy. We …
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