We had a discussion yesterday at Ministerium (surprise!) about the length of our preaching. I told the group my sermons are typically 8-10 minutes. They seemed shocked by this and even teased me about it a little. This surprise came primarily from the Assembly of God pastors and the Methodist pastor. Their thought seemed to be that if it isn't around 25-30 minutes, the sermon can't be any good. I countered by saying that if I can't do it in 8-10 minutes and make my point, then I should just sit down because I'm apparently not good at cutting to the chase as it were. Then they expressed some fear that parishoners might complain because "what do we pay you for if you only preach 10 minutes?" I wanted to say something like, "then maybe you need to get out and do more stuff that they're aware of if you're so worried about that" - but I didn't say anything.
I'm venting a bit because I'm not sure I enjoy going to ministerium anymore. There isn't much respect for what we do as Lutherans - i.e., liturgy, short sermons, emphasis on communion, etc. It's not that they're mean about it - they do sometimes ask questions in an attempt to learn about some of these things, but when I tell them how we do it, I sometimes get smirks and/or smart-alec responses. Not often, but just enough to drive a person semi-bonkers. It seems like when we get on these topics, my only ally is the RCA pastor. Maybe ally is a bad word, but he is good about helping me to explain things to them and to try to temper their negative responses.
But the whole thing is getting a bit frustrating, and I'm wondering if I should minimize my attendance. What do you think?
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3 comments:
I think if you are unhappy going, and aren't getting support or anything else good out of it, why waste your time?? I think I would walk out on a 30 minute sermon... 10 minutes is PLENTY long for me with all the other worship and praise we do during service.
Rob-
I think you should lay your cards on the table with your colleagues. Why not simply tell them your frustrations with their responses, not in a playground going to the teacher way, but as professional ministry colleagues. You have the qualifications to defend your beliefs and practices as a Lutheran. It sounds like these other ministers do not realize the comprehensive nature of being Lutheran. Why not open dialog and ask them to explain their functions and principles?
If you let their "jabbing and negativity" drive you away now, how will you respond to these situations in the future when you are trying to integrate into a new community where you are called? Here it is temporary, thus your learning and interactions are fine and you'll be gone in a few months. When you get to a first call, you're there for the long haul.
Just my thoughts, Merry Christmas to you and your family from the Amlins.
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