If you stop and think about it, it’s kind of weird how sometimes a whole bunch of water falls out of the sky.
Not only that, but it’s also weird how we have an entire industry based on trying to figure out when it’s going to happen.
30 Weeks and Counting
Carolyn is at 30 weeks. Hard to believe we’re three-quarters of the way there!
What’s A Sermon?
Just now I went to the kitchen here at work to get the goods to make some coffee. As I passed one of the classroom doors, a boy came over and asked what I was doing. “Writing a sermon,” I said.
He asked, “What’s a sermon?”
If you ever want to force yourself to bring clarity into your life, get a preschooler to follow you around for a day and ask questions.
When he asked this question, I realized I had about two seconds to clearly and succinctly explain my life’s calling. Preaching is the central task not only of my job, but my vocation (the distinction between the two will have to wait for another post). Suddenly I was faced with explaining in simple terms what exactly it is that I do.
So I told him, “A sermon is where you study the Bible and then share with people what you learn.”
I’m grateful for that encounter and that penetrating question because it forced me to return to my task with renewed purpose, intentionality, and clarity. A sermon is where you study the Bible and then share with people what you learn. That means a sermon is not:
- a chance to tell that story I’ve been itching to tell (which, of course, could somehow be squeezed into the sermon disguised as an “illustration”).
- a platform for airing my opinions, frustrations, and personal biases.
- an opportunity to relive my childhood dreams of being a performer.
- an avenue for telling my favorite jokes.
- a channel for voicing the latest trends in church ministry.
- a way for me to tell people what I think… supported, of course, with Scripture. (If anything is supported with Scripture rather than based on Scripture, that should be a red flag.)
- the time to try to impress people and get them to like me.
- for the purpose of showing everyone how spiritual or knowledgeable I am.
Now obviously it’s okay–and often even helpful–to tell stories, crack jokes, share personal illustrations, implement effective speaking practices, and so on. But all of these things are secondary to the biblical text. The point of a sermon is to share what God says, not what I say; it’s about God’s Word, not mine. If I begin with my ideas and simply wrap it in Scripture like a Bible fajita, where the meat is my ideas instead of God’s, I’m not preaching a sermon. An authentic sermon begins with God’s thoughts and expresses them through the preacher. It will look different with every preacher, just as the sunlight looks different shining through different stained glass windows.
By the way, after giving my definition of a sermon, the boy merely said, “Oh,” and ran off to play. Sometimes that’s the same response I get after preaching a sermon, but again, that’s for another post….
Random Thoughts in Alphabetical Order: The Letter A
Recently I heard a comedian sharing some random thoughts in alphabetical order. What a clever idea for a comedian–it eliminates the need for those forced, awkward transitions! It’s also a great idea for the random world of blogging. So I thought I’d set out on a journey to share some random thoughts in alphabetical order. It will take however long it takes. Today we begin, of course, with the letter A.
- A is for apples. They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away. I can’t think of anything more untrue than this. Since Carolyn has been pregnant, she’s eaten at least one apple every day, and during this same span of time she’s been to the doctor more frequently than ever in her life.
- A is for ADD. I’m about as un-ADD as you can get, but I’ve discovered a new phenomenon: PADD (Preaching Attention Deficit Disorder). For some reason when I’m preaching I often struggle to filter out stupid or irrelevant thoughts. Sometimes they pop into my mind and go right out my mouth before I can ascertain their appropriateness.
- A is for age. Right now I’m the same age that Jesus was when He was crucified. But today I was feeling much, much older when I was outside on the playground with three- and four-year-olds and I got totally winded before they did. When Troy Aikman was my age, he retired from a Hall of Fame career as an NFL quarterback. In baseball, Red Sox second baseman Bobby Doerr retired from his Hall of Fame career at the age of 33.
- A is for appetite. And call it a sympathy symptom or whatever you want, but it has been insatiable the past 25 weeks.
- A is for Anabaptist. And I’m glad to be one. If you want to learn more about who Anabaptists are, check out the Third Way Cafe.
Principles & Principals
This afternoon I was part of a pretty exciting meeting. Several pastors and church leaders from our community met with the top education administrators in north Worcester County. It started out great because lunch was provided, but then it got even better. The churches’ agenda was simple: we wanted to find out how we can help and support our local public schools.
After Pastor Daryl McCready from SonRise Church and Pastor Gary Baer from Buckingham Presbyterian Church opened the meeting, one of the principals who was there observed that kids who are in church tend to be more successful in school than those who are not involved in a church. So he said the best thing we can do is work to connect unchurched families to our churches–which, of course, is already foundational to our mission!
Several of the pastors commented afterward that they were surprised by the meeting. The school administrators, rather than coming prepared with a long list of unfunded projects, had one simple request: Mentors. One heartbreaking story after another was shared about kids who don’t have a caring adult in their lives. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room! Rarely have I been to a meeting with so much passion, drive, and commitment to action.
I admire the way they were so focused on the one need which can have the greatest impact; and which, incidentally, the Church is most equipped to meet.
So now the church leaders will meet again to discuss practical ways we can plug our congregants and ourselves into the mentoring programs that the schools already have in place. I’m so excited about the potential! I’ve already talked with the principal of one of the elementary schools in our community, and we’ll be meeting soon to discuss how CrossWay can begin serving and partnering with them.
God is as much at work as He’s ever been!
Dad Wisdom
This morning I had breakfast at Panera Bread with a couple dads from the Training Station. They’re twin brothers and have seven kids between them. Very interesting guys!
Every time I see them around their kids, they have that whole dad thing going on. Their kids are their pals, but also respect them as parental authority figures. That’s a pretty cool trick to pull off!
I had a great time with them and learned a few things, too. Some highlights:
- Parenting is like a lot of other things: how much you put into it determines how much you get out of it.
- When a second child comes along and requires more attention from the mom, it can be a good opportunity for the dad to build a bond with the first child.
- Hit the bottle! (Not that bottle.) Otherwise, forget trying to get a babysitter for more than an hour and a half during the first two years.
- Relax. The dad instincts will kick in.
- On delivery day, bring Kleenex. Be prepared for a new level of emotion. There will be crying involved.
- With a girl, forget trying to be macho. Accept the fact that I’ll have tea parties and practice cheers. Just be sure there are no YouTubers with cell phones nearby.
- She’ll be watching me. Always. Just be aware of what I’m teaching her through what I say and do.
- Cherish every moment, because it’ll fly by!
Thanks Greg & Dennis for sharing your combined quarter century of experience!
The Shot Heard Round My Mailbox
When I was a kid one of my hobbies was collecting autographs of baseball players through the mail. Recently I’ve been reading The Echoing Green, a book I borrowed from my brother Dylan about what is probably the single most famous home run in baseball history. So I decided to revive my old hobby by writing to Bobby Thomson.
In 1951, the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers battled for the pennant down to the last game of the season. The Giants staged an amazing comeback and forced the Dodgers to a playoff. In the deciding game, the Dodgers were up by two in the bottom of the ninth. With the Giants at bat and two men on base, Bobby Thomson hit a rocket into the stands in left field to win the ballgame and the pennant, sending them to the World Series to face the New York Yankees.
This famous home run has become known as “the shot heard round the world.”
I bought an 8×10 photo of Thomson slugging the famous homer and mailed it to him with a letter and a self-addressed stamped envelope. It’s only been a week since I mailed it, so I was happilysurprised to find it waiting for me in the mailbox today.
Mr. Thomson signed the picture and wrote “The Shot Heard Round the World, Oct. 3, 1951.”
Though I’d never done this before, I decided to send a brief questionnaire with the picture. I never thought he’d actually fill it out and return it! But he did, so here are the questions along with his answers:
- Who were your favorite teammates? Whitey Lockman and Alvin Dark.
- What were the personal highlights of your career? Hitting “The Shot” against the Dodgers & winning the pennant in 1951. Also the homer I hit on Oct. 1, 1951, to win the first playoff game.
- Who was the toughest pitcher you ever faced? Don Drysdale.
- Who was the toughest team you ever played against? Brooklyn Dodgers.
- Who was the greatest hitter you ever saw? Ted Williams.
- Who was the greatest pitcher you ever saw? Allie Reynolds.
Pretty cool mail day! Now I remember why I had so much fun doing this as a kid.
Our First Glimpse of Little Laura Marie
Okay, a little more info about yesterday’s ultrasound…
Carolyn’s parents and my parents all joined us for the sonogram at RMS Sonography in Salisbury. When we went back to the room where they do the ultrasound, we were all very impressed with it: it looked like a very cozy living room. There were leather couches and chairs, plants, lamps to provide light but still keep it dark enough for us to see the big TV screen hanging on the wall at the end of the room.
On the other end was the table where they put Carolyn for the show. Right away the baby popped up on the TV screen. We all gasped–it was so awesome! The technician had already asked if we wanted to know the gender, if she was able to see it. She was definitely able to see it! The baby had her legs stretched out toward her head, so we were all able to see very clearly what the technician announced very nonchalantly: “It’s a girl.”
A girl! Woo hoo! Carolyn’s wanted a baby girl all along. She had even bought a little dress already. We would have been thrilled either way, of course. But Carolyn was extremely happy to hear that it’s a girl, and I was just happy that we can now call the baby by name: Laura Marie Hyde. It’ll be nice to say “she” and “her” instead of “it.”
For about half an hour we looked at the baby’s arms, legs, heart, stomach, brain, spine, skull… even her cute little tiny bladder!
Speaking of bladders, did you know that before you have a sonogram you have to drink 32 ounces of water–and hold it?!? Carolyn was such a trooper!
For most of the time the baby was squirming around, tossing all over the place, doing flips. At one point she turned her head toward the screen as though she was watching us. Another time she stuck out her little hand and–I’m not kidding–gave us a thumbs up! It was so amazing.
Here’s a pretty clear shot of Laura Marie’s cute little tiny foot:
And here she is lying on her back and reaching up as far as she possibly can with her legs so she can kick her mom’s guts:
I’m still kind of spaced out, shocked, by the whole thing. I’m having a daughter. Wow.
