A Review of Housing the Sacred

Having read several books on preaching this semester, I was sure I would find nothing new or exciting in Glen Wiberg's Housing the Sacred. Coming into this book with low expectations I was delighted to find that Wiberg speaks my language. As a former English major with a love of poetry and metaphor it was a joy to read this book as page after page was full of language that presented familiar themes in a new and vibrant way.

In Housing the Sacred, Glen Wiberg, the pastor emeritus of Salem Covenant Church

has written a book on preaching filled with the wisdom that comes after decades of soaking in the Word of God and proclaiming that Word to the church. This book overflows with sound advice from a seasoned pastor passing on his own experiences to benefit another generation. Wiberg writes as a pastor who is still on the journey of discovering what preaching is all about. As the subtitle to the book hints at, this book is about what he has learned and is still "learning about preaching." In this book he offers his own story not as a template or a blueprint but as a way to assist pastors in "finding one's own way from preparing the house to delivering the good news" (Wiberg 96).

Housing the Sacred is built around an architectural metaphor that draws upon the prophet Ezekiel's vision of the temple to explain the elements involved in preaching. Wiberg's thesis is that the goal in preaching is to find a way to "house the sacred" and use one's "art, skill, and poetic imagination so as to reveal the presence of God" (4). To that end each chapter of the book begins with Wiberg unpacking an architectural metaphor related to sermon-making (like how the preacher should "prepare the house"), followed by a sermon that demonstrates what this might look like in practice.

Each chapter of the book like a gourmet meal provided much to chew on and savor, but the second chapter of the book on "Preparing the House" was one that really breathed new life into sermon preparation. Wiberg lays out four ways to engage the text: 1) Imagination - a pastor needs to read in a such a way that it feels like like the first time he/she has read the text, 2) Senses - Building off of imagination, all one of one's senses need to be engaged in bringing the text to life for the listeners, 3) Emotion - by bringing out the emotions found in the text, one gets beyond the scholarly aspects of the text to the deeper parts that resonate with our humanity, 4) Design - the sermon should take listeners on a trip, rather than simply list three points (20-24). Reading this chapter, the quote that hangs with me the most is the Frederick Buechner quote in Wiberg's discussion of the senses. He says to "listen to your life" (21). What congregations need more than anything is not a scholarly pastor who engages the text at an intellectual level alone, but a poetic pastor who delves into the text like one mining for gold who shouts "Eureka!" on Sunday mornings as they relay this new discovery to the flock.

My only critique of Wiberg's book comes in his chapter on "Delivering the News." This chapter features a discussion on turning the sanctuary into a lecture hall. Wiberg's concern is that some churches in projecting the outline of a sermon or the main points onto a screen are robbing the sermon of its ability to keep listeners in suspense or surprise. The problem he sees in this approach is that listeners cannot join the preacher on a journey if they already know where the journey ends. I understand Wiberg's concerns, but I wonder if a teaching approach to preaching is really a bad thing as we live in what Wiberg calls a "bilically illiterate culture" (90). For those who have not really engaged the Bible, I feel that it might be appropriate at times to use a teaching approach to preaching as a way of demonstrating how one can engage the scriptures and apply it to one's own life.

After reading this book I hope to take the lessons about preaching as a communal act into every congregation I serve. In the first chapter of Housing the Sacred, Wiberg tells a story about a prayer meeting before a morning service with some elders at the first church he served. Before going up to start the service, one of the elders pointed Wiberg to Acts 2:14 where it says, "But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice" (5). The elderly gentleman's point was that the preacher is never alone. The whole community is involved in the act of preaching as the preacher gives voice to the faith of the community.

So how does one involve the congregation in the act of preaching? Wiberg offers helpful advice in his chapter on the "Front Porch" where he talks about listening to other voices in preparation for preaching. This could be done in a formal way, either in a meeting with deacons or a weekly Bible study meeting where the biblical text is opened and the preacher listens to the voices of the people as they encounter the Word. This can also be done informally, by simply taking this text out into the world as the preacher visits with his congregation.

Overall, reading this book fed my soul and gave me a lot to think about in terms of my own preaching. At just around one hundred pages, it was a quick, but rewarding read and I think that quick and rewarding nature might be what has me returning to this book time and again when I need inspiration and a reminder of why I preach. I preach as Wiberg says because in the sermon "Jesus is trying to speak once again in his own community" (91). So I hope in my ministry to engage the text in such a way that while my voice may be the one hitting peoples' ear drum, Jesus' voice might be the voice speaking to their hearts.

Back in the Saddle Again

The world of blogging, how I've missed you! I have had many starts and stops on this site over the years, but as I'm starting a new era of my life I figured it would be proper to give it another go and share my new experiences.

I will be on vacation till August 15, but when I return I hope to make blogging a daily adventure, so check back then to see what's new at LikeFadingWords!

resolution

It is my endeavor to read what is good and profitable and to read with purpose. Reading aimlessly and absorbing information without digestion seems to carry with it the same problems as overeating. In that food is swallowed often without being broken down and the palate fails to make distinctions in flavor. Reading whatever is put in front of me has the same effect. So I want to read broadly and with discernment.

haiku

Guitar Dave, a street musician and friend wrote this haiku on a napkin and gave it to me.

*Haiku*

Impermanence is;
Haiku scrawled on a napkin,
That once was a tree.

-- "Vogue Rogue"

Thoughts on the Resurrection

Easter is next week. It seems like this time of year the History Channel and various other outlets make some announcement meant to diminish the Christian aspect of this holiday. Take for example last year when the "Tomb of Jesus" special appeared which was supposed to be proof that Jesus did not leave behind an empty tomb, but rather that he died and was buried and stayed that way like everyone else. These shows don't bug me, I expect them every year and there are always flaws in their arguments. What bothers me, is when the scholars on these shows make claims that Jesus didn't die and that they are still Christians in spite of that fact. What?! I'm not a philosopher but the logic behind those claims is what loses me. If Jesus didn't die then how did a new religion rise up based on his death with 30 years of his death? If Jesus didn't die then why do we have documented evidence of people that were willing to die for a belief in his death and resurrection? Couldn't somebody have told those people that the guy they were dying for was living in Jerusalem and having kids with Mary Magdalene? Obviously this is not hard, scientific evidence. I'm just saying from a logical point of view a religion should not have come about based on his death and resurrection. I don't see any reason that his followers would have made that up. There is no reason to assume that someone's death and resurrection somehow brought about the forgiveness of your sins, unless this actually happened and the resurrected Jesus appeared to them and explained it.

Paul, one of these first century Christians wrote,

"Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied."
-- 1 Corinthians 15: 12 - 19

I think he realized how foolish it would have been to worship someone who had not died and rose again.

it's the end of the world as we know it....

I've been having interesting conversations with friends lately about the end of the world. I'll admit right now that I'm a big History Channel fan, though I think a lot of their facts are skewed. Over the last week they have been showing a plethora of specials about the Apocalypse, the end of the world and various doomsday theories. One such show parallels the prophecies of Nostradamus, the Mayan priests, and others and their belief about something catastrophic that will occur on December 21, 2012. I have my doubts that there is anything significant about that date other than it will be the Winter Solstice for that year.
I guess I bring this up because I feel like for the first time in my life I'm beginning to think about my own mortality. In a lot of ways I feel a sense of fear and apprehension about the future. This is probably common, and I might return to this subject in a later post. For the moment I'm just curious what your thought are concerning the end of the world. What do you believe about it? What are your feelings regarding it?

It's the 50th anniversary of Legos.

HT: brickshelf.com

narrative or absolute truth?

I've been thinking lately about how to read the Bible. Some people read the Bible dogmatically and seem to just be looking for ammunition so they can support their own arguments. The converse option seems to be to look at it as a grand narrative, which is great I think. But then I wonder if that can be harmful as well. If the Bible is simply a narrative or a good story (a true story, but a story nonetheless) then it seems robbed of its power. When we come across something we disagree with or something that disagrees with my worldview then I can simply dismiss it. After all, it's only a story written by men with their own preconceived opinions. So I guess I'm just writing this out to see if there can be a balance; a way to read the Bible and see the grand narrative, but also see it as divinely inspired and worthy of my obedience even if it calls me to different conclusions then those of the world.
These are just some thoughts I'm having and they may not make much sense. What are your thoughts on this subject?

rest in peace...

Author Norman Mailer died at 84.

Don't worry I'm not making a habit of posting only when someone famous dies. This one really broke my heart though. I guess to me Norman Mailer represents the last of a great generation of writers. I know there are still all kinds of great writers, but I think the 20th Century was really the last century in which writers could have such a great impact. Looking at our generation I find it difficult to think any writer will really affect the average American for the sheer fact that everyone thinks he or she can be a writer. So here's to you Norman Mailer and all the wonderful books you wrote, and all that you represent!

fare thee well...

Robert Goulet died today.

the earth is not a cold dead place...

So we're at about two years and counting here in Lawrence. It feels like longer. These two years have amazing/depressing/uplifting/draining/joyful/sad and almost every other feeling in between. We moved here with a couple of goals in mind. We wanted to finish school and I wanted to pursue music with my band, the setbacks. I'm still in school knocking off credits here and there going part-time. The band however has kind of fallen apart. Our bass player left to pursue work doing music production in Arizona and recently our guitar player left for an undecided amount of time.
This summer was hard emotionally. I won't go into details but it left me feeling drained. Things are getting better now and I'm ready to pursue music again in a way I wasn't able to when we first moved here, but now it's down to just John and I. We're playing stuff as a two piece and talking about putting a full band together, but it feels strange and I think I just have too much on my plate right now with work, school, church, and trying to maintain a social life.
I hate using this blog as a forum for my complaints, but I needed to write this down, and I needed to complain just so I could ask any of you who read this to pray for me. Pray for renewal and strength for me.

more secondhand thoughts...

"I think relevance is a crock. I don't think people care a whole lot about what kind of music you have or how you shape the service. They want a place where God is taken seriously, where they're taken seriously, where there is no manipulation of their emotions or their consumer needs."

--Eugene Peterson, Christianity Today

secondhand thoughts for this day...

"When we read more books, look at more pictures, listen to more music, than we can possibly absorb the result of such gluttony is not a cultured mind but a consuming one; what it reads, looks at, listens to, is immediately forgotten, leaving no more traces behind it than yesterday's newspaper."

--W.H. Auden, Secondary Worlds

who is my neigbor?

Josh's post got me to thinking about a lot of things, like Cornerstone and how amazing it was, but something really struck me about it, "I have been spending a lot of time here...and it’s been a lot of fun, and become kind of a new community that I’ve gotten pulled into." It got me to thinking about the communities I've been "pulled into." The one that comes to mind most easily is my community at the coffee shop where I work. It made me think about community and the question of "who is my neighbor?" I ask that question of myself because I see these same people everyday, some of them like clockwork; they show up at exactly the same time everyday and order the exact same thing. I guess I think about that because I realize how little regard I have for my neighbors, these people I see everyday. I learn their names, but only to enter them into our Coffee Club and I know their drinks but only because I'm hear everyday and my brain gets used to the repetition. I talk to some people, but not usually by choice, only because they talk to me first, and most of the time I'm only thinking of a way out of the conversation or daydreaming. I'm at my worst with homeless people (I wish it wasn't this way), I sympathize for them, but at the same time I don't want to do anything for them or enter into their pain. I keep my relationships with people at a distance, I don't know what I'm afraid of, and I really wish I knew better how to love. Jesus told the Good Samaritan parable after the teacher of the law asked him who his neighbor was. He asked this question because he wanted to know what his required of him so he could do the least and still get to heaven. I pray this isn't my attitude. Lord, teach me to love my neighbor.

prayer.

The Prayer Appointed for the Week

O God, who by the glorious resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light: Grant that I, who have been raised with him, may abide in his presence and rejoice in the hope of eternal glory; through Jesus Christ my Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be dominion and praise for ever and ever. Amen. † From The Divine Hours

for i know the plans i have for you...

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD.  "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."
Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)

Thy beauty fills my soul...

Starting this week John and I have taken on the responsibility of leading worship at our church. We've been helping out with the transition over the last month or so, but always with the guiding hand of our worship leader, Kyle. Now we're on our own and we have his notes and tips, but it still seems like a daunting task. It's exciting, but it still just seems like so much to take care of. Everyday we need to be doing something in preparation for the following Sunday whether it be e-mailing people to remind them that they're playing, picking songs that deal with the topic or meeting with Pastor Paul or whoever is teaching to see how our songs fit into the overall order of the service. It really isn't that bad although it does add to a bit more of what I have to do throughout the week and I'm sure I'll feel the strain of it more next semester when I start taking classes again. Kyle did give me some helpful advice though. He said not to let responsibilities to the church overwhelm my time with my family. There needs to be a balance between the two or else I'll only be giving pieces of myself to them both and that's not fair to either of them.

So, that's what I'm doing this week. Preparing to lead worship and trying to coordinate things with everyone else who is a part of it so we can welcome the congregation into God's presence. It's an awesome responsibility, and it will definitely bring with it much joy, but again it's a lot of work. Pray for John and myself that we will not get burned out during this experience and that it will only bring with it a lot of joy, and that will it will carry with it more positive memories than negative ones.

in your eyes i am complete...

It's an unbearably slow day at work today. The time change just makes everything seem so much longer! Although there are good points to the time change. For example: Mari and I were able to sleep in till 10:30 on Sunday morning and it felt like we got an extra hour of sleep because we did. We needed that hour too, on Saturday I had to open at work so I was up by 5:45 in the AM, and our plans kept me up all day until about 1:30 on Sunday morning. We had a virtual birthday extravaganza if you will for Bryan. We had a birthday dinner at our house where we loaded up on some delicious cavatini, garlic bread, and salad. We followed that up with the only thing that would logically follow a large Italian feast...an evening at World of Fun Amusement Park. We got lost on the way there, and some of us weren't the best of moods when we arrived at the park, but alas it is an amusement park after all so we quickly snapped out of it after our first rollercoaster. That was a great time with the exception of the extremely disappointing Haunted House. I kid you not we waited in the longest line that we would have to wait in all night for that stupid thing. We waited for two hours to go through a crappy Haunted House with too many fog machines and too many strobe lights! Other theme parks really should take a lesson from Disney...they would never let that crap fly in one of their parks.

There's really not a lot to say about yesterday...it was just a lazy day. Although I did see an amazing Dallas Cowboys game last night! Tonight I'm watching the Vikings game when I get home!

i win

It's been awhile. I haven't had much to say lately and frankly I was trying to stay away from this blogging stuff (as no one reads this anyway), but alas work couldn't go by any slower today so here I am.

So what's current?

Well, the setbacks are in a bit of a transition period right now. We realized that we spent too much time last year aiming for the stars and in the process we ended up not playing too many shows and not being very happy. Which seems kind of like a strange situation. I think we just got too caught up in talking ourselves out of doing things because we have to do it perfectly or something. Also a lot of the songs we've been playing really aren't a good reflection of who we are as a band. That's mainly due to the fact that when we started no one else was writing music but me, but now we're all songwriters. So we're not completely rejecting everything, but we're going to be more selective about what old songs we keep and focus on writing new material in the new year. Adam's going to study at a recording school in Arizona for a year and then after that we'll be reborn from the ashes like a phoenix or something. A name change may be in store too.

Home life is good. My folks just moved to Lawrence, and it's really great to have them around. We've spent a lot of time catching up with them and letting them catch up with Joel.

This weekend Mari and I will be seeing the Nightmare Before Christmas in 3-D, on Saturday the setbacks are playing a show in Manhattan, KS, and then on Sunday Bryan, John and I are leading worship at Heartland.

So that's what's current. That's what you've been missing...

ministry of archers...

What is man, that you make so much of him, and that you set your heart on him, visit him every morning and test him every moment?
Job 7:17-18 ESV

I've been reading through the book of Job lately, and it's really been a powerful experience. I've read it before, but it's hitting me different this time. It used to really depress me, and now I really find myself relating to it. Not that my world has all come crashing down around me like Job's, but I guess I just really appreciate his honesty. He is honest enough to call God out, and ask him questions like that in the verse above. He also writes, "he (God) set me up as his target; his archers surround me." Job 16:12-13 ESV
Life really feels like that sometime. I know that God is good, and that I serve a loving, wondrous God, but at the same time there are days when it feels like God is out to get me. Everything goes wrong and I forget God and all His promises.
Keep me ever mindful of you, o Lord.