Reflections from the Pulpit [with a headnote]

Blogging is one of the most refreshing technological mediums for people boggled with thoughts on their mind. We receive so much information on a daily basis and often times opportunities do not present itself for that information to be processed. Ideas we have might bore some of our peers, so we talk about other topics of lesser depth when we gather. We are in a hyper-social and hyper-connected culture -- so much so that time alone is best protected rather than compromised. I'm thankful for blogging. But blogging is made public rather than private in order that ideas being processed might make its way to the minds of those reading; hopefully that it would make some kind of contribution, not just to the reader, but to society.

I also take pictures. And although I'm not a professional photographer, and never really intend to be, I do aim to create images of meaning; images that inspire thoughts, emotions, passions; images that inspire other images that may be even more powerful than my own, and really, I do hope that it would go on saying something, whether implicit or explicit, about the gospel that I have so unequivocally been changed by. 

I have been thinking lately of how best to integrate these two things so that I would be able to paint a fuller image with my writing, and that I wouldn't only take pleasurable images on instagram, but meaningful ones. So I've decided to always include my posts with an image and vice versa. Sometimes, the idea inspires the post, and other times, the image inspires the idea. I hope you, who are reading, would not only be encouraged by these thoughts, but that you'd be inspired -- inspired to live. I guess it's kind of a daunting task.

_____________________________________________________________________

Since being at Bible Church International, I have been preaching very consistently. Every Friday night I would preach to the youth. 3-4 times a year, I'd preach on Sunday. 2-3 times a year I'd preach at the monthly prayer meeting. And then, there is guest preaching. The Lord has truly challenged my life through the practice of preaching. Before, when I was simply given opportunities to preach, it was in the forefront of my mind that each time I preach, I am undeniably learning more than I actually teach. The prayer I go through, the studies I peruse, the stories I am given the grace to reminisce, and the anecdotes that I google. Sometimes, I even get to use comic strips and other creative inlets to capture the power and presence of the gospel narrative. Now, I believe and have experienced more palpably that this practice goes beyond the growth of the mind. It is a growth of the entire being. I cannot stand on the pulpit and preach a truth that I myself do not actively practice. God sanctifies me in the practice of preaching. It is a holistic growth of every part of me. My emotions, my thoughts; my life. 

I was having a conversation with my head pastor, who also is my discipler, and he told me that when he lives his life, there is little room for mistakes because he knows that the flock is watching. He said it not denying that grace covers over a multitude of sins, but he did know that when he makes a blunder, a domino effect would result. That made me reflect about my preaching because my inquiry following was whether or not my thoughts translate to praxis. When I confront sins on the pulpit of our whoring after gods created by our own hands or having fallen into the beguiling promise of full life that the American dream has to offer, do I do that same thing? Am I all talk? Does personal integrity percolate from these messages? When I speak on humility, am I prideful? When I speak on grace, am I condemning? When I speak on love, am I spiteful, bitter, and selfish? The Lord challenges me. And he leads me to my knees before the cross each time before I preach; not asking me to list to him the many ways that I've failed, but beckoning me to his all-embracing love that produces that very repentance. This leads me to my next point. 

Preaching does not make me a perfect Christian. Many of you might be thinking, "well, then there is a lot I can't be preaching because I am a sinner always in need of grace." You're right. In fact, if we could only preach on things we've succeeded on, we actually cannot preach on anything. The Apostle Paul's words in Romans, taken from a collection of Psalms, no one is righteous, no not one, no one understands, no one seeks God, comes to mind. We are not preaching a condition we have to strive for, we are preaching a condition we are already in; and we are pleading for realization -- inward and outward realization while we are positioned in the condition of holiness. As I preach, I am also confessing. Confessing that I'm in a place where, though I have thoughts, am also being sanctified. I am making the attempt to be better. It is an invitation to realize what the Lord Jesus has for us in its fullness.

With that said, I believe that preaching is also dreaming. Looking at the world as it is and dreaming as a collective of what it can be and what it will be. I've been thinking of an image for this idea for some time now and God literally poured the idea on me from the heights of the heavens. I was taking a stroll yesterday while the snow was coming down in the neighborhoods of Bayonne, NJ and the tree branches were clothed with snow. It was one of the most remarkable pieces of nature I've ever been given the privilege of seeing. This is one of the advantages we get living anywhere in the East Coast or Midwest of the United States [& apparently the south too]. The intricacy of each flake. The formation of the flakes into one unparalleled tapestry of coats and coats of pure white. The sheets of white, though cold, is also refreshing. And when it covers the land of its deep filth, we begin to taste a bit of the glory of eternity. The prayer of David resounds in my mind. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. It is like heaven touching the face of the earth. 

In preaching, as we invite others to realize with us the reality of being whiter than snow [and with the woods as a backdrop, I guess] we are saying that we don't have to look at our inadequacies, our inabilities, our depressions, our insecurities, our mediocrities, our offenses, the darkest of our darknesses, the most unaccepted of our unaccepted sins, and our most unreconciliable relationships, and wallow in them. We can dream of a reality that has been promised and needs to be realized in our mind, heart, and body. In fact, I believe that we should be dreaming of such a reality. When I preach, I am dreaming a very conscious and realistic dream. I dream of a holy nation and royal priesthood before the Spirit of God who says blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.