www.thehighcalling.org

I have heard radio spots sponsored by this organization, which in turn is sponsored by www.laitylodge.org, an organization Dr. Mark Roberts now leads. Visit Mark at his website, http://www.markdroberts.com/.  The radio spots explore the spirituality of the marketplace and sort of ask people to step up to a higher level of transcendence in the routines and responsibilities of their world. Very enjoyable and effective spots. Roberts is a general “all-around-good-guy-resource” for evangelicals. You ought to visit his sites. Much to think about. Much is very useful.

The Bush twins give some advice to the Obama girls

Why I use the lectionary in worship

The use of the lectionary is about the most opposite of the “one big idea” model for worship as there is. The latter is a model for worship planning that keeps the worship service and all that focuses around it on one central theme. No grab bag here. The soloist isn’t singing her favorite song and if any testimony is offered it is related to the “one big idea.” Even Sunday School and children’s programs relate to the one big idea. A lot of work, planning, and focus to keep the lose ideas out, like swatting at moths flying around the light. Don’t let them land, lest the one big idea get muddled or meddled with.

And then there is the lectionary, the four readings each Sunday that are incorporated into the service – a reading from the prophets (Old Testament), the apostles (New Testament), Psalms and the Gospel. The schedule of readings are in a 3 year cycle (Years A,B,C) that essentially cover all part of the Bible over that span of time. As you might imagine, it is almost impossible to keep these readings in any kind of meaningful relationship to the rest of the service. Go to http://divinity.library.vanderbilt.edu/lectionary/ for the schedule of readings used by Protestant churches. It is a take off on the RC schedule, but with, of course, readings from the Apocrypha taken out.

I think that is the point!!!! We don’t get to choose our themes, our favorite passages of Scripture, the more inspiring over the less inspiring, the more culturally near over the less culturally near. In other words, we don’t get to choose what part of God’s Word to ignore. The fact is that if a person is a regular participant in worship, he will have been exposed to every part of God’s Word in some way or other several times, and some more than several times.  I often ask myself when looking at TV preachers, something I rarely do, what texts are they not preaching on. What they are not preaching on tells you something about where they are coming from, both theologically and in terms of integrity of ministry. Is it the whole counsel of God or just what’s “hot”? Can they say the unpopular thing?  Will a text be read on hell, predestination, etc.?

The other thing I like about the lectionary is that it puts the Scripture right in the middle of the service, and by middle I don’t mean in the middle time-wise. I mean that all parts of the service are an exaltation of God’s Word: beginning, middle and end. It makes clear that the central feature of our communal life is the shaping Word of God. It leads us away from that feeling we have all had when we walked away from a rip-roaring good service that it was essentially a man-made thing, as good as it was. There was still too much about it that was a “chiseled altar”, an Old Testament prohibition about taking man-made tools and using them to fashion the altar. It was to remain roughhewn and unchiseled.

The lectionary forces the church to give honor to the whole Word of God.