Tuesday 30 December 2008

carols... the sequel



Had a chat with Ben over Christmas something like this:

‘Practically everyone I knew came to the CU carol service at Christmas.’

‘Great, how did it go?’

‘Dreadful’.

- basically everyone came out saying ‘why didn’t that guy like Christmas?’ It sounds a classic case of someone answering the questions those outside the church are not asking, or just choosing the worst time imaginable. Why are Christians so stupid? I can’t answer that one, but I’ve certainly asked it myself a time or two. I also have heard a few Christmas talks/sermons/ramblings. We came out of one (not at our church  for those who know) and everyone wondered what the guy was on about. It’s Christmas for goodness sake, there’s no shortage of decent material, even if as a preacher you feel everyone’s heard it all before. I’ve got news for you: they haven’t (if hearing = what I think it’s supposed to mean). Some would argue the style is appropriate for today – more conversational than structured, more story than concept. With the example I’m thinking about, you’d struggle to make such a claim, but I'm also conscious most story writers never get published and I’m wondering whether preachers today should be vetted in the same way!

Oh, the only good thing which came out of Ben’s experience was some good conversations, but preacher guy – it’s no excuse! 

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