Home, sweet home
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
I'm home again after being away for a few days to preach a sermon series for my friend Alex Jackson at his church, McKendree Memorial United Methodist Church in Portland, TN. Alex and I had been talking about me coming to preach a revival series at his church since Emily and I moved to North Carolina, but we had never been able to make a time work until now.
My series was called, "Commitment, Community, and Power," and it looked at the way in which we are called to live our Christian lives within the body of Christ. I preached - and firmly believe - that the Holy Spirit's power is always poured out in the context of Christian community first and foremost. That's a hard thing for us to remember in our overly individualistic, consumerist culture. And in that sense, it is probably as hard to truly be the church as it has ever been. But it is what we've always been called to do - all the way back to Acts 2.
There's a lot I've wanted to blog about, but I didn't have much time on the road. Thanks for everyone who responded on the blog and through e-mail to the Winnie-the-Poohcharist satire. That was a piece I originally submitted to a magazine that didn't get picked up, so I decided to adapt it for the blog. And for the record, there is no Amazing Grace UMC and no Karen Teasely. There's also no such thing as Winnie-the-Poohcharist (and hopefully, there never will be!).
My brother, Barkley Thompson, is the pastor of St. John's Episcopal Church in Roanoke, VA, and his church recently launched a new website. It comes complete with Barkley's own pastor's blog, too. Enjoy.
My series was called, "Commitment, Community, and Power," and it looked at the way in which we are called to live our Christian lives within the body of Christ. I preached - and firmly believe - that the Holy Spirit's power is always poured out in the context of Christian community first and foremost. That's a hard thing for us to remember in our overly individualistic, consumerist culture. And in that sense, it is probably as hard to truly be the church as it has ever been. But it is what we've always been called to do - all the way back to Acts 2.
There's a lot I've wanted to blog about, but I didn't have much time on the road. Thanks for everyone who responded on the blog and through e-mail to the Winnie-the-Poohcharist satire. That was a piece I originally submitted to a magazine that didn't get picked up, so I decided to adapt it for the blog. And for the record, there is no Amazing Grace UMC and no Karen Teasely. There's also no such thing as Winnie-the-Poohcharist (and hopefully, there never will be!).
My brother, Barkley Thompson, is the pastor of St. John's Episcopal Church in Roanoke, VA, and his church recently launched a new website. It comes complete with Barkley's own pastor's blog, too. Enjoy.
Labels: Preaching
posted by Andrew C. Thompson at 11:02 PM
4 Comments:
This post has been removed by the author.
You got me! But my church sure did love it when we did the Skip-to-my-Loucharist last Sunday. Next up, Horton Hears a Whocharist!
Speaking of Acts 2. I am an associate pastor at a very large UMC in Houston, and am the lead pastor for our 'non-traditional' worship community on Sunday morning is making a much needed shift to being centered around the four community gathering practices of the early church highlighted in Acts 2:42 - fellowship, breaking bread, reading scripture, and prayer.
Its a way for us to try simply being the church in a place that often finds itself seeking to be THE church for x,y,or z.
Hi Andrew,
We are members of McKendree Memorial in Portland and we absolutely loved having you! You are a very gifted person and it is our hope that God will continue to bless you as you serve HIM. Blessings to you and to Emily! Please come back to see us when you can! Thanks for making the trip. Sincerely,
The Roddy's
David & Jennifer - Thanks for your kind words! The days I spent in Portland were wonderful. It was great to be able to preach at your church, and I had an awesome time catching up with Alex and Erin. Blessings on your family and your congregation.
Daniel - Thanks for stopping in. I hope everything is going well with your ministry in Houston. It sounds like the developments in your contemporary services are moving in a good direction.
Peace,
Andrew.
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