Volume 1, Number 15
ADVENT PREPARATION: THE TIME IS NOW COME!
Advent, the holy season for celebrating Christ’s coming, is almost here. Resources abound to enrich your efforts to lead your people in celebrating the meaning of the season. Make the most of the rich heritage that is ours in colors and symbols and services. Walk through a volume like Robert Webber’s The Services of the Christian Year to discover Christian traditions that may be worth reintroducing in our time.
Remember, Advent embraces two themes simultaneously: Jesus came, and Jesus is coming again!
Save Room for Christmas Preaching—Christmas choir and children’s programs are wonderful and special and usually inspiring. Rejoice in them and thank those who lead them. Still, you can’t afford to lose the hush of whom Christmas is about in the Christmas rush. It is important for your people to hear you preach on the great themes of Christmas. Find a fresh word and preach it with passion. Don’t forget that the promise fulfillment we find in the first “advent” anchors our faith in the second!
Preach Great Christmas/Advent Themes—Advent is about Christ’s coming into the world. Prophecy should be on center stage. This is the time to take a deep look into the details of what God did to bring salvation to all the nations of the world. Please, no fluff on subjects like, “How Not to Spend Too Much at Christmas,” or “Does God Believe in Christmas Trees?” Try these instead: “What God Has Said, He Will Do,” “His Name Is Immanuel,” “Behold—Tidings of Great Joy,” “The Surprises of the First Christmas,” “Now Let Your Servant Depart in Peace,” “Behold! He Comes! Riding on a Cloud!”
Look for a New Preaching Perspective—Read the meditations of others when considering the Christmas themes. Consider what the events of the story might have looked like through the eyes of one of the participants. How did it look to the shepherds, to Mary, to the Wise men, to Joseph? Ask fellow pastors where their Advent preaching plans are taking them.
Consider Sacraments and Liturgy—High, holy moments call for awe and reverence. They call for silence during which we can reflect upon what we have heard or seen. Ask yourself where Communion best fits into your Advent preparation. How should a group respond to those amazing movements when God, in history, acted to bring salvation to His people? Should a group prepare to read Mary’s response to the angel’s words? Should parishioners be invited to bring written prayers of thanksgiving, prayers they can share in a service, in response to the angel hosts’ tidings? Should special, non-traditional offerings be brought on the day we think about the Wise men—perhaps gifts to the local crisis shelter? Too often the holidays turn our congregations into spectators, just when they most want to participate.
Chart the Christmas Carols—Too frequent repetition can kill the joy in any song. Decide from the beginning what you will sing when. There are only so many Christmas carols. If you want to sing “Silent Night” and “O Come, All Ye Faithful” in candlelight on Christmas Eve, save them and use other carols on the two previous Sundays.
Consider Your Own Family—Be certain your attention to others during the holidays doesn’t cause you to overlook your own family. Make commitments early, and then plan around them. You can minimize interruptions by advance planning.
Schedule a Personal Advent Retreat in October or Early November—Many pastors complete their Advent sermons before the season starts. This allows them to focus on other pastoral duties during the month of December. At the same time is allows them the spiritual serendipity of advanced, personal preparation for Advent. Even if you aren’t able to complete all of the sermons in advance, sketching them out or committing to certain themes will give you a head start on your sermon preparation at a strenuous time of year.
—DEW/NBW
ADVICE FROM AN ESTEEMED MENTOR
Milo Arnold served Christ as a pastor in the Church of the Nazarene for 40 years, and then multiplied his ministry as an inspiring professor of pastoral ministry at Nazarene Bible College. His book, The Adventure of the Christian Ministry, offers many timeless insights about the privileges of being a pastor. Let us share these insights:
The Adventure of Curiosity
A minister must have an insatiable curiosity. If they do not, they will never plumb the depths of the vocation nor adventure into the far reaches of their field.
There are those who say that a minister loses effectiveness after he/she reaches a given age, but it would be better to say a minister loses effectiveness when he/she ceases to wonder. In fact, some who are unable to follow a holy inquisitiveness have discovered that the ministry was no place for them.
The minister who becomes content with what he/she has discovered of truth will starve both him/herself and those who look to him/her for spiritual food. No wonder Paul kept useful to the last, for he willfully drove himself through the years saying, “That I might know Him.” His motto might have been, “I press on.” For Paul there was not only a new field of evangelism over the next hill but a new discovery of God in the next experience.
WORSHIP AS PROBLEM—OR POSSIBILITY?
Marjorie Thompson, in her excellent book Soul Feast, helps leaders think through common issues about worship. As part of the process, she lists the kinds of problems congregants experience when they come to worship services in our churches.
Jesus makes us get very serious about worship planning when He says, “These are the kinds of worshipers the Father seeks.” What kind of attitude, atmosphere, and action pleases the Lord and takes His people into His presence? These statements, with a few added, help us understand the diversity people seek as they approach the Father:
¯ Some come seeking a lively community of faith, but find people who are bored, preoccupied, and only interested in themselves.
¯ Some come seeking connection, but find themselves unable to penetrate the circles of people who seem to be the key players in church life.
¯ Some come to hear the word of life in the scriptures and to receive edification from the preached word, but are subjected to passages rendered meaningless, dull or exaggerated.
¯ Some come wanting to be challenged by the scripture, but instead are dished a heavy dose of ideology, the preacher’s personal views, or endless anecdotes strung together.
¯ Some come anxious to pray, but find no space in the service for their prayers . . .
¯ Some come hungering for a deeper sacramental experience . . .
¯ Some come with an eagerness to sing the great hymns . . .
¯ Some come expecting lively, spirited worship . . .
¯ Some come expecting to hear a word that relates to the issues they are facing in their contemporary lives . . .
¯ Some yearn for greater freedom of expression . . .
¯ Some long for periods of silence to balance the barrage of words . . .
¯ Some crave the visual blessing of beauty, light, color and richness of symbol . . .
¯ Some crave spontaneity and intimacy . . .
¯ Some crave depth and thoughtful preparation . . .
While we can’t expect to meet the expectations of every person who comes to worship with us, what should folks be able to expect, each and every Sunday?
—Soul Feast, Marjorie Thompson, p. 59ff
EVALUATING WORSHIP
In his book, The Pastor’s Manual for Effective Ministry, Win Arn offers this chart for evaluating worship:
ATMOSPHERE
Joyful/contagious Dull/drab
MUSIC
Inspiring/instructive Empty/repetitive
WELCOME TO VISITORS
Friendly/warm Ignored/embarrassed
ORDER OF SERVICE
Balanced/useful Predictable/boring
USE OF SCRIPTURE
Relevant/connected to theme Almost none/no connection
VISIBILITY OF PASTOR
Not enough Too much
PASTORAL PRAYER
Prepared and relevant Predictable/no importance to my life
EFFECT ON YOUR LIFE
Added value to my life Assertions and duty talk produced guilt
Thanks for this opportunity for dialogue and sharing.
Here’s an important principle for ministry from Mother Teresa: “Make sure that you let God’s grace work in your souls by accepting whatever he gives you, and giving him whatever he takes from you. True holiness consists in doing God’s will with a smile.”
Every blessing! Keep the faith. Be well and effective, pure and useful.
—Dan Whitney and Neil B. Wiseman
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