2014 KCU Convocation Invocation

Opening Convocation, Fall 2014

Nash Chapel; Kentucky Christian University

19 August 2014

Almighty God, creator of the universe and provider of grace and mercy, we come before you this morning to ask you to bless our upcoming school year.  We thank you for bringing us to this holy place to share in the radiance of a new academic year. 

However, before we pray for ourselves, we pause for a moment to entreat you to intervene with peace, justice and reconciliation in places like Ferguson, Missouri, Iraq, Syria, and Indonesia.  We pray for those who are suffering as a result of turmoil, for those who stand to protect the innocent, and for those who profit from violence.  May your people courageously rise up to bring restoration the broken and the despairing.  Sustain them with your grace and strengthen them for their mission.

Now, as we turn our thoughts to this new academic year, we pray that we do all things to bring you glory and expand the borders of your kingdom.  We pray that we will seek your presence in and your will for our lives.  Whether in the classroom, on the athletic field or in the professional context, may we strive to be people of courage, compassion and conviction.  Fill us with joy in our learning, joy in our service, and joy in our relationships.

In the name of Christ Jesus, our savior and redeemer, we pray.  Amen.

Rob O’Lynn, ABD

Assistant Professor of Preaching and Ministry

BE: Poor (KCU Faculty Sermon Series)

Listen

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him.  Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.  Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.  Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.  Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.  Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:1-12, NRSV).

Discern

As I opened my sermon, I asked what the kingdom of heaven is.  What is the kingdom of heaven?  We are often taught that it is something far off, something that we will not discover until an appointed day in the future when God reveals it to us.  Yet, Jesus, in the opening of Matthew 5, seems to indicate that the kingdom of heaven is something already present.  Did you notice the reward for those in vv. 3 and 10?  The poor and persecuted are blessed because “theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  As Tom Long writes, “What the Christian community possesses in the present is the promise of the coming kingdom of heaven.  What will be for the whole of creation in the future is theirs now in the present.”[1]  Heaven, then, is not just some far-off celestial nation; it is a present and active force coursing the terrain of this planet right now.

Articulate

The question then is how do we enter the kingdom of heaven?  This was my second question, the question that hopefully plunged us deeper down the theological rabbit hole.  Yet it is not only how do we enter into the kingdom of heaven.  I enter Disneyland on a yearly basis, however I do not live there (as cool of an idea as that sounds).  It is also how do we stay in the kingdom of heaven, how do we pledge our allegiance to the kingdom of heaven.  What Jesus offers us in Matthew 5 are descriptions of the type of citizens that live in the kingdom of heaven.  And he begins with those who are poor, those who are completely dependent on God.  As Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it, “For his sake they have lost all. . . .And in that very poverty they are heirs of the kingdom.”[2]  Citizenship in the kingdom means renouncing all other allegiances.  It means to embrace worldly poverty in order to attain spiritual wealth.

Approach

1. In the film Kingdom of Heaven, those wishing to become knights were admonished to follow this oath: “Be without fear in the face of your enemies.  Be brave and upright that God may love thee.  Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death.  Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong.  This is your oath.”  What is at least one way that you can live out this oath each day?
2. In light of Matthew 5:3, what is something that you are clinging to that is preventing you from swearing complete allegiance to God?  Pray and ask God for the strength to break that bond.

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[1]Thomas G. Long, Matthew, Westminster Bible Companion (Louisville/London: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1997), 48.

[2]Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Cost of Discipleship (Reprint: 1959.  New York: Touchstone Books/Simon and Schuster, 1995), 107-108. 

Hosting God and the Church

In an essay aptly entitled "Preacher as Host and Guest," John McClure, a preaching professor at Vanderbilt Divinity School, talks about how we who preach fulfill the ancient role of "host" in that “we welcome all with a word to share into dialogue so that the word and wisdom of God might be discerned for the community.”[1] In short, our pastoral presence through word and deed sets the stage for experiencing a divine encounter. Yet, how do we serve as “host”? My practice has always been to greet as many people as possible before, during and after the service. Yet, try as hard as I might, I cannot shake every single hand or hug every single shoulder. Most people, I have found, understand this--there is only one of me and 100 (or 150 or 200 or whatever) of them. . .and the line at Applebees' is only getting longer.

However, some take great offense when I do not speak with them or shake their hand. At a previous congregation, I was criticized for not being "friendly" enough. When I probed the criticism, I discovered that there was one wealthy couple that did not think that I was giving them enough attention (meaning, ALL of my attention). My focus had been on welcoming the new families who had been attending and encouraging our new, young leaders rather than “buttering my bread.”

Yet, there are some who are quieter and more reserved who are personally appalled by the thought of talking to the minister, of "wasting his time." If I am not attuned to this, he/she will come to think that I am excluding them from my circle and, conversely, from the congregation. We should and must shake the hands of our friends and benefactors. Yet we should not forget that we are the host of the party and should make sure that all feel welcome and accepted, even if that means catching up with someone later in order to be pastoral to the other.

_______

[1]John S. McClure, “Preacher as Host and Guest,” in Slow of Speech and Unclean Lips: Contemporary Images of Preaching Identity, ed. Robert Stephen Reid (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2010), 123.

The Match and the Microphone

Note: This is a continuation of posts from my Advanced Preaching students at Kentucky Christian University.  I (and they) would appreciate some feedback.

Guest author: Trevor Stone (@_Tstone_)

"Catch a fire of enthusiasm and people will come from miles to watch you burn." - John Wesly

Fire is a funny thing, take a match for instance, If you've got a match you've got a fire. All the match needs is for it to be struck. Once a match is struck, you essentially have three things. 

1. The wood. (Piece the flame burns upon)

2. The fire. (The part that’s struck, the flame)

3. The smoke. (The result of the flame)

And as I began to think about this, I began to visualize this event, and the more this simple match became much more. The match became a symbol, something that illustrated a much larger concept then itself. In the Old Testament the most common form of worship for the early Israelite people was sacrifices. A ritual in which had three key elements much like that of a match.

1. An Altar (Piece the flame burns upon)

2. A Sacrifice (the part that’s ignited the flame)

3. Smoke (The result of the flame)

Each piece of a sacrifice resembles a piece of the match.

1. Altar=wood stem

2. Sacrifice=the flame

3. The smoke=the result of the flame

As you read through the Old Testament, this form of worship is continued on until Jesus enters into mankind, sacrificing himself for the sins of the world. It is because of this act the great apostle Paul goes on to write in his letter Romans. "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship." Paul is telling us that in response to this great love, the sacrifice is now one of our own lives. This sacrifice is our true form of worship. Paul illustrates that, true worship, is the sacrifice of how we live our lives. Worship is not singing songs; worship is not a stage, or lights or music. These things are great and even effective in ministry, but they not the whole entirety of true worship. True worship begins when you walk out the church doors. True worship is how we treat others. How we talk to others, how we think about others. True worship is about showing the characteristics of Christ, showing his love, his grace, his mercy, and peace to those around us. True worship is showing people Jesus. It's like the match, our lives are the altar, and our bodies the living sacrifice, and our praise the smoke. When we are truly worshiping, when we are truly being a living sacrifice, the praise is just the result of the flames. So may you have a fire set down into your very soul, that burns so bright and shines so radiantly, and produces so much smoke, That people come from miles to watch you burn.

Take a Moment

So, how busy are you today?  I wonder something.  I wonder what a future archaeologist would say about our society a couple of centuries from now.  There she is in her floating laboratory.  Can you see her?  She is conducting research on 21^st-century daily life.  Since it is the future, information is readily available.  She is research these social media platforms called Facebook and Twitter.  She is scratching her head because there are a couple of things that puzzle her.  First of all, did people in this century speak in a coded language?  Post after post used abbreviations that only seem to make sense to the sender.  Also, what is it with the nauseating use of the # sign?  Was humanity a deeply math-oriented society?  Second, did people in this century ever catch a break?  As she scrolls through page after page of status updates, she comes to the conclusion that humanity was rest-less, that we did not need times to relax and recharge our batteries.  (If I’m correct, you should be nodding your head here J.)

In his powerful yet small book Telling the Truth, Frederick Buechner writes, “Before the Gospel is a word, it is silence.  It is the silence of their own lives and of his life.  It is life with the sound turned off so that for a moment or two you can experience it not in terms of the words you make it bearable by but for the unutterable mystery that it is.”[1]  There is something profound here.  As I mentioned in my March 29 homily for Holy Saturday, there are times when all we can do is be still.  There is nothing to say in those moments.  Unfortunately, we find those moment almost torturous.  Join me in a quick experiment: Find a place where you can be alone for just a few moments.  Got it?  Now, shut off all noise.  Shut off your phone, iPad, computer, television, game system, even the lights.  Sit in total silence and darkness.  If you’re like most people, a couple of things probably happened.  First, you could only make it a few seconds before that uncomfortable feeling set in.  Second, silence was almost immediately replaced with humming in your ears because your body is adjusting to the lack of stimulation.  The point is, however, that silence is difficult.

Yet, we need silence.  As Buechner noted, the Gospel is silence before it is spoken.  Pain comes before pleasure; sin before salvation; reality before reconciliation.  Yet there is a place theologically for silence in our lives.  It is in silence that we best hear the voice of God.  Remember the words of the Psalmist, “Be still, and know that I am God!  I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10).  We need silence in order to hear directions.  We need silence in order to get our bearings.  We need silence in order to live loudly for God.  Today, I encourage you to take a moment, stop with your status updates, and be still in God’s presence.

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[1]Frederick Buechner, Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale (New York: HarperCollins, 1977), 23. 

Massaging the Thorn

Have you ever been called on to fulfill a role and your immediate thought was either “Have we given up completely?” or “Was there no one else?”  Two different friends of mine have voiced such a concern when asked to fulfill administrative roles at the particular institutions where they served.  In both cases, there was an immediate need, and these individuals were selected because it was believed that they could work appropriately and effectively in the position, even if it was for only a short time. 

When confronted with such a challenge, I think we respond the way that we do for one of two reasons.  First, we think that we are not ready for such a position.  Perhaps we are new to the institution or organization.  We do not feel comfortable enough in our role in order to lead effectively.  Perhaps, we are not completely familiar with the rules and regulations that we must live under.  Perhaps an extended period of adjustment to the new role hampers our effectiveness.  Whatever it may be, we think we are just not ready to take on such a role. 

Second, we realize that we are deficient in the area of leadership or administration that we are being called to.  Perhaps we simply do not have the adequate training or experience.  Perhaps we are not credentialed enough.  (I experience this one quite a bit—both appropriately and inappropriately--as one who is currently pursuing his doctorate.)  Perhaps we are simply not skilled, and our leadership is less than stellar.  I have been tackling this concept recently in the congregation that I serve.  I am tone-deaf.  I cannot read music.  Thus, I am a natural candidate to lead singing, right?  I made it through over a decade of professional ministry without leading more than a verse or two of a hymn.  Now, I am the regular evening song leader.  Well, at least it is the evening service.

First, pray for the patience of my congregation.  Second, it has been a learning experience for me.  No, I have not miraculously learned to read music or carry a tune in a bucket.  The learning experience has come in confronting this “thorn” and experiencing God’s grace each week.  In 2 Corinthians 12:6-10, Paul writes, “But if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be speaking the truth.  But I refrain from it, so that no one may think better of me than what is seen in me or heard from me, even considering the exceptional character of the revelations.  Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given to me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated.  Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’  So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.  Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.”  Do I enjoy leading singing?  Not at all.  Am I willing to lead singing?  Absolutely, for in my weakness I am made strong through the grace of Christ expressed through God’s people.

"Snow-Day" Sunday

Well, the weather this winter has been interesting.  It was 70 degrees one day and 30 degrees the next.  One day, the tornado sirens were sounding as I drove onto campus at the university that I teach at.  It was snowing the next day.  The winds blew so strong one evening that it knocked trees down, and the next evening was calm and peaceful.  And now there is snow.  Classes at most local schools were either cancelled or put on delay on Friday.  And while it does not happen often, the leaders of my congregation have wisely decided to cancel worship services Sunday.  In essence, we are having a “snow day” this Sunday.

So I guess this means that we can skip on worshipping God when our congregation cancels worship, right?  Of course not. J While we may not be able to gather with our regular church family, we can still worship God.  Here are some options:

• “Attend worship” via a webcast.  Many larger congregations have developed the option of webcasting their worship services live online.  While I do not recommend it on a regular basis for those who can attend worship, it can certainly provide benefit on an occasional basis.  A couple of good options are Saddleback Church (www.saddleback.com), North Point Community Church (www.northpoint.org), and Kentucky Christian University's chapel services (www.ihigh.com/kcu;I recommend the service from January 29)  .
• Have a family worship service.  Everyone can sing with worship songs on YouTube or iTunes.  Dad can read his favorite Bible passage and discuss why it is important to him.  Mom can serve “bread and juice” for breakfast or lunch as a lesson on Communion.  And the kids can take up a collection for a local charity.  Some resources are Ernest Boyer’s Finding God at Home, J. Bradley Wigger’s The Power of God at Home, and Terry Johnson’s The Family Worship Book.    
• Spent some time alone with God.  I am a firm believer in Christians maintaining a daily devotional practice.  Whether it is a daily Bible reading and prayer, working through a study plan, or reading a devotional book, our regular practice can be just as meaningful as momentary Sunday worship as gathering with our regular congregation.  You can even have a personal Communion service: prepare a Saltine cracker and a glass of juice, read one of the narratives (Matthew 26:26-30; Mark 14:22-26; Luke 22:14-20), and thank God through prayer for the blessing of Christ’s presence in our lives.

However you choose to spend tomorrow, let us make sure that we continually seek to “Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples” (Psalm 96:3)!