theo|digital

(Etching of Jesus is 1647 by Rembrandt)

O.C. Edwards writes an encyclopedia article on the History of Preaching:

There are several genres of Christian preaching, including at least the missionary or evangelistic, catechetical [teaching/training], and the liturgical [context of worship]. … Such a sermon may be defined as a speech delivered by an authorized person applying some point of doctrine, usually drawn from the biblical passage, to the lives of the congregation with the purpose of moving them to accept that application and to act on the basis of it

Clearly there is little in the New Testament that can be identified according to these criteria as Christian preaching. … The preaching of Jesus could be thought to provide an exception, but it fails to on at least two counts. First, since it’s content was the breaking in of the reign of God, and it refers only by implication to its proclaimer’s role in that inauguration, it is not, strictly speaking, Christian preaching.
Edwards Jr., O.C. “History of Preaching” in Willimon, W., & Lischer, R.. Concise Encyclopedia of Preaching. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995.

Edwards goes on to invalidate most of Paul as a model for preaching as well. I’m not sure I could disagree more. If Jesus proclamation doesn’t fit out definition of Christian preaching, isn’t it time to examine our definition?

My model for “preaching” for a number of years has been modeled on Jesus, phrased perhaps as:

“Like Jesus, we use stories, (i.e. narrative, setting, character, plot (tension), etc) set in our down-to-earth lives to illustrate (<– too weak…embody?) the kingdom of the heavens—the subjective revealing the objective, the temporal as eternal. We tell stories contrasting what life is like inside the kingdom and outside the kingdom for the ears of four “rings” of people within earshot: the absolutely committed, the followers, the apathetic or curious, and the skeptics.”

This is my model of preaching, using what I find from Jesus. I know it’s not typical of whole streams of the church’s exegetical preaching. But I think this is one that many got wrong. I wonder what O.C. Edwards would think.

When I was originally on my grad school and then seminary search, I was hugely attracted to Mars Hill Graduate School in Seattle. Already familiar with their President Dan Allender, the way MGHS framed their approach to theological education through a Deep Beauty view of the world called to me like family I hadn’t yet known.

But in the end, though I struggled, I wound up dismissing them because they did not yet have the accreditation I needed to keep the door open for PhD work. But I still like to keep tabs on them now and then.  Check out this great promo video on loving your neighbor.

mhgs what no. 2 from blaine hogan on Vimeo.
(I don’t know who Blaine Hogan is, but I have noticed that it looks like he just recently moved over to my neck of the woods to work for Willow)

I still have this funny hope that’ll I’ll find some connection with MHGS people. It’s been a rather different experience here at NPTS… as an artist I sense I’ve shelved an entire side of me.  The social tone and space is warm, but encourages a traditionalism more akin to the Thanksgiving silk flowers on your parents table than the open mic, silver and expectant in the upstairs part of the gallery. The portraits in the halls are of elderly Swedes (none of whom I know about).  Culture is recognized here, but as something “other?”—something to be studied (vs. created). Sometimes it is perhaps presented in contradictory ways. My communicating the faith class made attempts, but at the end of the day had a superficial, contrived approach (to its defense–it’s focus was personal evangelism). My theology class and others have had a incredibly dim view of beauty in the face of sin. I haven’t had a class with missiologist Paul DeNeui (I typically find the missiologists the most insightful on culture in general). But I suspect that none of our classes embody expression that is detailed, creative, playful, and revelatory. I haven’t seen professors here that think this way. (Nor at TEDS, where I’ve taken some additional courses).  Honestly, I think there are only a few classmates here that would naturally fit in a MHGS-lensed world.  Only a few of us who want to talk about life as art, indie music, and discover truth while tracing a twilight skyline.

Which again is hardly to discount the things I like very much at North Park. Just to wonder again at how I’m a “different person” here than I might be elsewhere.

First snow that’s stuck.