I’ve been tagged by J. Evans for this 1-2-3 Meme. Here’s how it works: “The game is to grab the book nearest to you and turn to page 123. Find the 5th sentence and share the next 3 sentences with everyone. Then you tag five people.” So, from my desk to your screen…

Preaching Re-Imagined, by Doug Pagitt

“Is it possible that this kind of phrase (ball hog) could also apply to pastors who do all the studying, all the talking, and even have the gall to think they can apply the messages they create to the lives of other people? In this setting there is little for the hearers to do besides decide if they agree or not. Is it possible that we have, through the practice of speaching, created a culture in churches where agreeability is the necessary posture of our people?”

As a preacher-type, this hits really close to home. I’ve struggled for awhile with tying together the notion of the priesthood of all believers with the role of preaching. Certainly, a vocational pastor will have time to devote to exegesis, study and meditation on Scripture that others do not. Hopefully, prayerfully, this hard work will translate God’s voice to, in and for a particular community. However, I would love to see a more active, participatory engagement of Scripture from our entire community. I don’t know if we’d approach this in quite the way Solomon’s Porch does, but Doug’s thoughts here are a great jumping off point.

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I haven’t really participated in a meme before, but I am really interested in discovering what is on the bookshelf of Sam, Rich, David, Wayne and Dan.