Looking Back...Why we're here. What we're doing

Communal Sermon Writing

In the contemporary church, the Pastor brings the sermon. He is charged with communicating the truth of God through the medium of thought, word, and idea. We seek to write a new type of "sermon." We desire to communicate the eternal truth of God not solely through the medium of thought, word, and idea, but also through dance, movement, art, image, sound, smell, etc. We desire to create sermons that are not only heard but also seen, felt, smelt, touched, and experienced.

Further, the sermon will not be written by one person, but by a community of believers. We engage in an ongoing spiritual dialogue. Each one of us has been filled by the Spirit of the living God and granted a variety of different gifts and talents. As a community we seek to each bring our piece of the "sermon" for mutual edification, challenge, and encouragement.

As an aside, does that mean we would neglect the spoken word? Never! It remains a vital element of our "sermon," but not the ONLY element of our collective sermon.

Themes

Instead of choosing a weekly theme, we have a monthly theme. For example, March 2006 was about "I Believe" and we spent the entire month exploring all the varied dimensions of belief (faith, trust, doubt, risk, fear, the object of your faith, etc.). Our gifted and spirit filled community has always produced more than enough creative expressions to fill our time together.

It has provided us ample opportunity to explore the depth of God's truth utilizing a broadness of expression and method that has prevented it from ever feeling repetitive or dull. And after a month of seeking God individually and corporately in an effort to understand and express these truths, we all possess a deeper and richer understanding - far greater than what we might have obtained simply listening to one 30 minute lecture!

Further, spending a month on just one theme allows us to build upon one another's thoughts and reflections. For example, it might be that the first week someone would show up with a half finished song regarding that month's theme. They play what they have written and it might stir someone to offer a lyric or verse to the song. Or maybe someone adds a harmony. Or maybe the song might contain an idea that needs clarification or entails a further discussion - leading to a deeper understanding of that month's truth.

Imagine the artist shows up the second week with a half finished painting. However, as the group sings together, inspiration strikes and she takes up the brush and paints her worship to God as the music continues. Further the unfinished work itself inspires questions of the artist and of the theme, and takes the artist in a new direction as she finishes her work later that week. Community based creativity and creations!

Or imagine that all of us show up with a half finished thoughts and ideas about the month's theme. We bring together all of our broken fragments and arrange them into a magnificent mosaic of thought, beauty, and understanding.

Further, having a month on the same theme means that someone may show up at the first gathering of the month and be inspired by something he has seen, heard, or experienced. Then she may go home and create something related to that month's theme, which she will be able to bring to one of the following gatherings. It allows us to be challenged by and to build upon one another's interpretations, thus being inspired to deeper reflection and more profound expression.

Our Structure

Most are familiar with the Apostles' Creed:

• I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
• I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.
• He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell.
• The third day he rose again from the dead.
• He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
• From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
• I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
  

The Apostles' Creed is our structure. Each month we focus upon one phrase of the Apostles' Creed. For example, March 2006 we reflected upon the phrase "I believe" and in April 2006 we dialogued about "God the Father Almighty." May 2006 we turn our attention to the phrase, "Maker of Heaven and Earth." As I said earlier, we spend the month exploring the depth of what each phrase means. It has proven a simple structure that is thematically leading us through the central tenets of the Christian faith.