emerging mosaic

The folks over at the Extensible Scripture Markup Language group are pioneering some great new technologies for making use of the net and internet technologies on the web. Here’s quote from their site.

Some examples of how ESML might be used:

• Bloggers can comment on a certain passage, easily access the text in multiple translations, and see who else has commented on that passage recently
• People can tag scripture with keywords as they read, creating a personal topical study index as they go
• More ideas needed - please leave a comment

I can’t wait to see how this develops.

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I’ve been reading and thinking about the proclamation part of what we do as a part of our worship in most churches. That sermon, message talk thing. Why do we calling it preaching or teaching or speaking? Do we need preachers any more? Can we get along fine with just telling our stories to each other? Is preaching in the Bible? Is preaching the same as teaching.
I’ve always had a hard time seeing what I share in worship teaching. I don’t fell that primarily trying to teach anything. Instead I hope to proclaim the great story  in a way that people see themselves in story and find that the story is their own. SO what tis it that we are dong this part of worship is it preaching teaching or speaching?
I’ve just been reading Pagitt new book preaching re-imagined. In it pagitt suggests that preaching as we currently practice it (speaching he calls it) is a less that effective way of communicating the good news story. Speaching he says limits the seat of God’s authority to one.

Speaching set the story of god in a prefabricated context where it all makes sense from the perspective of the person speaking

I think that accurately described much of Anglo preaching which has a focus on transmitting information. However “good” preaching in the Afro Christian church is as interactive as Pagitt calls for, eliciting responses and comment from those engaged. Though I’m not sure this is what Pagitt is re-imagining. Scott McKnight has a good conversation going on Pagitt at Jesus Creed
This raises the question what exactly is preaching for? Are we showing off our communication skills? Telling truth? Proclaiming the good news? what? is the ultimate goal for this activity in worship to empower the priesthood of all believers? Do we need to take our cue form the church in Waterford England where the heart of worship was written and stop all preaching and just  let worshipers bring a sacrifice of praise? Kester Brewin at The Complex Christ: asks Can Anyone Tell Me What Preaching Is For?
I’m a preacher. A reluctant introverted preaching (who is working against my  personality tendencies whenever I get up to preach) but a preacher nonetheless so I’m am probably biased when I say, ”I think God can speak through anyone, but some are particularly called to share the story through the ministry of preaching.”

If our preaching became more opened ended and less propositional more expreintial stroy telling then I think we would be more engaging and interactive. If we saw preaching as illuminating elements of the great story for others to enter into that story so we all could find ourselves there then the seat of authority would rest only with God and preaching has great value. I think real dialogue about God’s message can follow from this kind of approach not just dialogue born out of our own thinking.

Ultimately is it a false dichotomy to think that it either everybody talks (good ) or one person talks (bad). Or maybe there are different ways of sharing the story. Two weeks ago had a tag team message  at Mosaic Life where two people with very different ways of approaching telling the story shared in the preaching. The process was the mosteffective ways I’ve participated in preaching. I guess I’d like to get beyond the either or and do both/and.

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My previous post on faith like jazz sparked some interest and comments so I thought I’d keep fleshing this out. As the wise one Q says in Ecclesiastes. There is nothing new under the sun so it was exciting to see others working out this concept. Here’s what some other people are doing with the concept.

from blue like jazz

And jazz is this very real - free flowing music that is created as you go . . . Jazz is passionate, raw and honest - and as a musician playing jazz . . . you see the music as something to be explored - never knowing exactly what may be coming next - but confident that the music itself is a passageway to a treasure chest of even richer melodies, rhythms and harmonies . . .

A true jazz musician doesn’t think so much about what he’s playing . . . but he feels it first . . . in the very center of his being . . . and the music (the expression) flows out of that center - and true jazz is improvisational (often made up as you go) - each musician taking his cue from the musician before . . . and so creating the music together with one another . . . . . so jazz is this . . . amazing melody, that with each moment the song is played, - step by step - line by line . . . the music becomes more complete . . .

Here a quote from Juan Williams’ book  This Far by faith

It comes from an old gospel song and suggests the idea that faith has been essential to the African American religious experience in a unique way. For a variety of reasons, black Americans had to rely first and foremost on the notion of faith in God, that they had a personal relationship with God outside of any church. To me, the miracle of the African American Christian experience is the idea that the slave master introduces Christianity to the slave, but the slave reinterprets this faith and recasts it as a vehicle for liberation and social protest. You speak of black Christianity as being almost jazz-like in its expression. Jazz is an authentic American art form that includes elements of both African and white American musical traditions, but it was formed and given birth by black musicians. It’s a response to having been denied training in other classical forms of music, and having limited opportunities and places where black musicians could practice their craft. They created this new art form that gives them full expression, and it ended up being a gift to the world. I think of African American religion in the same way. You have people being denied opportunities, denied education in terms of being able to read and study the Bible, denied the ability to practice leadership in the white church, and so they create this authentic American entity called the black church. Despite the dehumanizing force of slavery and segregation, these men and women were fully

Over a the image journal forum was this quote from a post about faith and music

True faith is genuine freedom because you trust in Someone outside of yourself. Improvising is freedom within order where you trust that the rules of the music will take you somewhere as you use them creatively and wisely as a jazz artist.

Also, one must trust those engaged in the same musical adventure as musicians. There is the fragile interplay that comes from listening to each other in the moment, responding, pushing the envelope, and challenging each other to go beyond what is safe and comfortable, but together in unity.

Faith in Christ is like that. If we let him, he calls us to the new, the challenging and the freeing, but in unity with him.

Faith and jazz can learn from each other.

Chris Morris who is a pianist and Christian has a great example of improvisation on a theme based the hymn Holy Holy  It is released under the creative commons license so you can download for free and share as long as you attribute to the author.

Here’s quote from a sermon by Dean Angell at Lakewood Church

In fact the more you know about jazz and what it’s about - I believe the more you’ll be able to understand faith . . . because faith to . . . . . . is meant to be . . .

Free - Flowing - Passionate - Raw and Honest . . . something that is felt deeply to the center of who you are . . . and like jazz, God designed faith one step at a time - improvisational if you will

You can download the audio mp3 here or read the text here.

The jazz theologian has this to say about jazz and faith

Jazz and the African-American experience are not just about emergence but also convergence.

What would a jazz approach to theology look like? What about the current emergent church conversation…is emerging enough?

So maybe faith like jazz can redeem this conversation about faith and life we are in. Can faith like jazz help us shape a more dynamic, creative, expressive and inclusive expression of our historic faith?

If so here are some questions to ponder. What role does a pastor play? Band leader band member? Which standards do we all need to know? How do we use our “fake book” the Bible? What new songs will be composed?  What form will the group take?

what say you?

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