JW June 5, 2014 Paul Koch

Today’s Sermon Brought to You By…

I had an interesting conversation with a few of my colleagues the other day about preaching. We weren’t talking about preaching in our own congregations but in the strange environs of other churches. The conversation turned from a discussion about being invited to preach at your childhood church (or some sort of district event) to the offers made by church bureaucrats to come and preach in the church where you are called to serve.

Now perhaps many of you don’t even know that such a thing happens, but trust me, it does. Every so often you receive mail from some bureaucrat or washed up pastor making a second go of it by trying to garner support for a new missionary opportunity or Synodical pet-project by offering to “preach” in your congregation. What they are really doing is coming to give your congregation a prepackaged commercial.

What concerns me is that there must be a great amount of acceptance out there for these commercials to be heard in our churches. Why else would they send out the letters if they don’t get any takers? I can’t begin to tell you how distasteful I find this. It would be like me writing you and inviting myself to come into your home on Thanksgiving and carve the turkey. Now I can carve one hell of a turkey, but what right do I have to invite myself to do it at your place?

Aside from the hubris, it is a bit terrifying that we would opt for a commercial over our regular sermons. So, what does that say about our regular sermons?

Then again, perhaps we are missing the boat with the possible benefits of such commercials. After all, they give us some extra time off from preaching; it means less work, more time for whatever the hell it is a pastor does when they are not preparing a sermon. In fact, if we just go all in we could make a tidy profit from embracing commercials.

I remember visiting a church down in Florida a few years ago with my family. They had these really nice large flat screen TV’s mounted on each side of the chancel wall. My daughter leaned over and whispered, “Dad, what are the TV’s for?” And I answered, “For the commercials.” To which she just nodded and continued coloring on her bulletin as if commercials were the most natural thing in a church (after all they were on TV).

But really, think of the possibilities. I could be getting discounts or even freebies by allowing commercials. “Your pastor’s shoes were provided by Johnson and Murphy.” It’s not like it would have to run all service long, just a spot during the prelude and postlude – maybe the high dollar sponsors can get a shout out during communion distribution. Hey, I like the sound of that! After all, if Thrivent can get a plug in the bulletin why not my mechanic or favorite bar? I mean, why waste a captive audience, right? Just think of the kickbacks… I mean, the increased capital for ministry.

And for those of us who don’t have TV’s or projection screens in our sanctuaries, not to worry. We could simply sew patches on our stoles so they would look like NASCAR racing suits. Hey, I think I just solved your church’s budget worries.

If your Sunday sermon began with the words, “This sermon is sponsored by…” How would you finish the sentence?

4Comments

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1

Lora Horn on June 5, 2014 at 5:18 pm

Are you referring to LCMS missionaries who have been called out of the parish to go abroad, and so according to the current synodical model, must visit congregations to garner support for the mission, like my husband?

I know when he visits congregations and preaches, he preaches the text, and most of the others that I know, from the sermons they have posted, do too. Maybe you are not referring to them, maybe you are, but it would be easy from what you wrote to have loyal, not washed up pastors who have been called to serve in missions, who need the help of congregations, and who kind of dread being viewed as showing up with their hand out– to be grouped into that category.

It would be nice if there was another way in place for congregations to fund synodical mission work, but this is also an era where people and congregations like to know what kind of work they are supporting.

I know when we visited your congregation last Summer, after we were done with fundraising, we were very blessed with the gospel, and the friendliness and support of your congregation.

God bless.

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  pastorkoch on June 5, 2014 at 5:51 pm
  
  Lora, great point. I wasn’t thinking at all about our missionaries. My focus was really on those who come to give their commercial in the pulpit.
  While I suppose a missionary could fall into that category; like you, this has not been my experience. Think only of the sort of sermon we hear from our district presidents and you’ll know what I was thinking of.
  Thanks for your input and I hope all is well with you and your family.
  
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fysherofmen on June 6, 2014 at 3:48 am

I agree that it can been seen as “inviting one’s self” to give a commercial. I see your point. I suppose a pastor can take offense if he likes at such overtures. But for me? In all my time in my present parish (14 years) I have NEVER had a District representative ask to preach… and I have had perhaps 3 or 4 other “offers” from missionaries, etc., for a “commercial”. I think I have taken one or two of them up on their offer. After 14 years sometimes I wonder how my congregation can stand my voice any longer and I would be THRILLED to have a representative of the wider church come and encourage my congregation. One of the real weaknesses in my congregation’s faith life is that they have so little connection with the wider communion of saints. They are just “happy” with their navel gazing little bungalow church. Obviously, the called pastor is called to preach and teach on a regular basis and to regulate the spiritual diet of the congregation, making sure it is healthy. But, to put it crassly, “commercials” are not necessarily evil. Perhaps the analogy is not quite right, but like the readings of New Testament letters to their original recipient congregations whose regular pastors had to step down to make way for their reading, there really could be “good” “commercials”. Just my humble opinion. 🙂

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  pastorkoch on June 6, 2014 at 10:12 am
  
  fysherofmen, I think your point about having a greater connection with the wider communion of saints is a great one. I believe it is a good thing to have others preach to our congregations, it helps us all remember we are not alone and can offer perspectives and insights that can serve to strengthen our fellowship and confession. In fact the colleagues I mentioned at the beginning of my post are brothers who join me each Advent and Lent to do a preaching rotation. I doesn’t necessarily mean our preaching is any better but it does regularly bring in voices from outside our little circle to hand over the goods. And this I think simply helps us all be better churchmen.
  
  I still feel weird about those who offer to preach whom I don’t know. I’m not sure that there are any good commercials. If the pulpit is used to sell something then it becomes something other than what it ought to be, it becomes a joke (which was the point I was seeking to make about embracing commercialism). I wouldn’t place the New Testament epistles in the category of a commercial, for they’re not selling anything and certainly drive toward proclamation. I’n fact, I’m sure for those congregations that originally received them they served as that needed connection to the wider church – I just wouldn’t call them commercials.
  
  Thanks for your input, I think we ought to take up the concern about the wider communion of saints in the near future.
  
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