April 22 Worship: "The Long Run"

After all of the special Holy Week services and last week's special installation service, I suppose that Sunday was a return to a more normal style of Sunday service.  Of course, we have several special Sundays in the next few weeks (Haiti Sunday, Youth Sunday, Mother's Day, Graduation Sunday, and Pentecost) before we enter so-called "Common" time.

(Of course, I can think of a few people who would laugh at the idea that any worship service I lead be described as 'normal.')

In the sermon, I encouraged us to take Paul's metaphor of faith as "running a race" seriously by thinking about how a distance runner prepares and runs an endurance race.  I developed this sermon after reading a chapter in Bearing Fruit: Ministry with Real Results by Lovett H. Weems Jr. and Tom Berlin, which suggested distance running as a model for pastor's seeking to sustain their leadership in a congregation.  The authors identify six lessons of long-distance runners:

• Take Time to Stretch
• Move at the Pace of Your Success
• Be Discerning about Pain
• Make Time for Recovery
• Find a Cheering Section
• Remember the Dream

I think that these lessons apply to our individual faith, not just pastoral leadership.  I also think there is another vital component of running the race that Weems and Berlin overlook.  As my friend John Sowers wrote in his most recent pastor's note: "racing is what always takes my running performance to the next level."

I strongly believe that this can be a helpful model for us to think about our individual faith and our shared ministry as a congregation, which is why I wanted to share them with the congregation on Sunday.  Certainly it is not the only useful model, but it has the potential to nurture us toward a more mature faith.

If you missed Sunday's sermon, if you'd like to listen to it again, of if you'd like to share it with someone, you can listen to an audio recording of it here.