Time to Sow

The work of concentrated study and reflection is not for the faint of brain. I am currently at a lectionary-based sermon development retreat called “Time to Sow” at the Alton L. Collins Retreat center in Eagle Creek, Oregon with 12 other United Methodist pastors. Over the past day (and, beginning at 1:30 - for the next hour or so) we have been reading through the gospel text for each week in the year and writing our personal reflections of what happened in them. Then, after a particular season, we have a group discussion about patterns that we saw, problems that arise in us, ways to connect the gospel story to what's happening in our churches, among a myriad of other conversations. All present are having the experience of having our minds swimming (drowning?) in story by this point.

My hope is not that we will have all our sermons written and prepared by the end of the week (we adjourn on Friday). Instead, the hope is that, by the end of the week we will have a road map with a pretty clear idea of what text we will be preaching on, possible sermon series that reveal themselves through all the readings in scripture, and ideas for making the seasons a more connecting moment for people with their God and their place in God's kingdom.

The Lord knows that I am not always the most organized person. In fact, “most-organized” is an award I have never won, and there remain a very few solid and proud moments in my life when I was so organized that I arrived with little to tie together in terms of preparation. When that did happen, it kind of threw me off-guard. I admit that I feel more comfortable in the chaos. Which has its strengths, too. I tend not to get frazzled, for one thing, when, in the words of Rev. Wright, “the feces hit the quickly-rotating metal blades.” However, living in the chaos prevents me from walking the pathway that I know is set before our churches – by whom I am called to be “leader.”

This week is a way for us to see the scripture in contexts of other scripture, the history, our churches, and the year. AND, for some of us, to be malleable enough to let the Spirit mold us into a more complete image of leader.