Sermon Seeds. Dottie Escobedo-Frank

painting, sculpting, weaving, drama, and even cooking into a sermon. The first time I heard about a creative sermon was when I served in my first church. The pastor who preceded me, Rev. Steve Marshall, had delivered a sermon with no words and a little music, as he painted a picture of Jesus on canvas before the very eyes of the congregation. It was so memorable that the church hailed it as "the best sermon ever," and that painting still hangs in the church. Artistic expression is valuable, and it is a form that has possibilities beyond the scope of these pages. Let your artistic imagination run wild!

       FINDING THE OBVIOUS

      In the church, we have delineated between the "clergy" and the "laity" for so long that we have forgotten that we are really more a collective group of people than a separate group of people. That is what the phrase "priesthood of all believers" is all about. But when it comes to sermons, we have maintained our distinctions. What I'd like for us to consider is how the laity and clergy can form sermons together for the next generation. In fact, I call that combining of resources "claity," because it describes the way clergy and laity are one. We are connected as clay, and to separate us too much only minimizes our strength and mass.

      So find what you've got in your congregation. Find the artists, the musicians, the technicians, and the firefighters. Ask them how they would interpret certain scriptures that involve their craft. Get their advice and ask them to help form a message. You will be surprised at the new things you'll discover when you ask the experts in the fields to be your guide.

       WILLING TO FAIL

      It will happen. Failure is a sure thing in creative messaging, so if this is something you can't do, then just re-gift this book to someone else right now. I remember feeling like a fool more than once. I have had to get back up and do-over more times than I'd like to admit. But things get smoother as we learn from our failures. Bigger patterns of what works in the art of communication emerge. Our understanding of what works is heightened by what doesn't work. Don't be afraid to fail. Just get up, dust off your britches, and get back at it.

       REST

      Creativity doesn't emerge from tired souls. It takes rest and space for a soul to create. My best advice to you as you begin this journey to create sermons is first to study the passage and get the main point firm in your mind. Then, forget about it for a while. Set it down and go do something fun, or do something that has nothing to do with church work. Some of the best ideas I get come while I am out jogging or gardening or following around my teenagers. It is when I forget about sermons that the ideas pop up. When you have an idea—a seed—write it down quickly before it slips away. Often the idea will directly relate to what your brain was working on before you went to play, and you will be delightfully surprised by what comes to you. Most creative people know the secret that it takes rest to be able to do the work of creation.

       NOTE TO WORSHIP TEAMS

      In working with worship teams, remember to put first things first. Encourage them first to be worshipers: to come to the worship moment with their whole heart and soul, laying aside the work of worship to just worship. As we lead in worship, we must first be worshipers. Next, encourage your team to pray for worship. Pray that they will be protected from things that draw us away from worshiping God, and pray that the people will come ready to meet God in community. Pray for the sacrifice of praise to be acceptable and honorable to God. And finally, plan well ahead for the worship moment. When we do the work of planning well, we can do all that is possible and then set it aside and worship God. It is when we don't plan well that we spend the worship hour worrying about the details instead of meeting God. Plan and prepare so that you can set aside worry and be in God's presence.

       WORD OF WARNING!

      Worship the Creator, not the creativity. The one hesitation I have in writing this book is that it can become a manual of form alone. We cannot become so enamored with our creativity that we worship it. No! We worship God and offer our creativity as an expression of our love for God. Let's draw the line in the sand well so that we don't step over into the area of idolatry of form. For that reason, I don't recommend doing creative sermons every week. Most times we just need to talk to the people straight from the heart. Then seed your sermons with creativity as you feel the need. These are not tricks to learn. They are only tools for expression. Worship the Creator with your creativity.