On Sunday, we'll continue our first glance at faith stories by focusing on the present, "the now," in such stories. As you well know, a big part of my faith story, right now, is that I am an ordained minister who serves as pastor of a church. While this is a somewhat unique story of faith -- many more faithful people are called to serve, to minister, in ways different from ordained ministers -- it is not so different as to be unrecognizable.
My professional position -- pastor -- now is the most prominent way in which I live out my faith. What I do as a pastor, and why I do those things, all grow from the faith that was fundamental to my childhood. But what I do as a pastor, and why, also grow from specific growing points -- even turning points -- in recent years: meaningful things that I have learned from. (And, I happily add, my faith story continues to be lived out in ways that are not essentially a part of my job as a pastor, though that's for another time.)
The middle part of a faith story is often the longest, filled with details and anecdotes, relationships with others, activities, dreams pursued and dreams deferred. There is also a key part to the "now" in a faith story, which is not a necessary part of all stories: purpose. As Christians, we are called to live our lives with purpose, to do things for others in Christ's name. Often part of our faith story is about discovering, defining, and acting on that purpose.
This part of the story will be related to the beginning of the story, where the roots of our faith are developed. But they also grow out of turning points -- out of important changes or decisions -- that we've made over the course of time.
So in this sermon, we will talk about continuity and change, and about God-given purpose, in our lives. And we'll consider how we learn to talk about these parts of our lives.
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A Radical Suggestion
Janet told me that Pastor Josh continued his “testimony” in his sermon today, and I do look forward to listening to the recording.
While this may be somewhat incongruous, I am reminded of a bit of scripture:
Proverbs 18:17 - The first to plead his case seems right,
Until another comes and examines him.
And so, I conclude that to test Josh’s “testimony,” he is in need of “cross-examination,” and, by strange coincidence, CCC has an abundance of skilled cross-examiners. Perhaps between the sermon and the offering, we can stick a cross-examination time. Just my little suggestion to add something to the order of service.
Roger-the-Just
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