Nashville Surprise

This past week I had the great joy of gathering in Nashville for a week of continuing education at the Festival of Homiletics. (Homiletics is the art of preparing and preaching a sermon or "homily"). It is so good to be nourished, inspired and challenged through worship, lectures and conversations with many of the top people in this area. It is good to be reminded again of the joy and awesome responsibility that is preaching--the task of being a vessel for the Word of God in weekly conversation with God's people.

Of course this year's festival was special in part because we gathered in Nashville three weeks after historic floods devasted the city and surrounding areas. Signs of cleanup were all around us, and people had flood on the brain and on the tongue. The buses were running a reduced schedule because many MTA buses were damaged. The good news was that the bus was also free all week--the machine that opened the fare boxes was also damaged! We contributed to Nashville relief efforts through special offerings. Some of 1250 attendees spent Thursday afternoon volunteering in various parts of the city. My group ended up in the Bellevue area near Bellevue Presbyterian Church. We moved wet, moldy sheetrock, wood and household items out to the street for pickup. Nasty, smelly work. The shoes I wore that day remained in Nashville!

Our conference opened up with the news that one of the featured preachers, Otis Moss III of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, had received threats so he thought it best to stay home with his family. A reminder that the gospel is a scandal in a world that often prefers lies and violence. A highlight for me: John Bell of the Iona Community in Scotland (and the Wild Goose Worship Group whose songs we sing in worship) led a discussion (via Skype) on imagination and creativity as essential to ministry and spirituality. In the midst of floods and threats and Skype and songs and stinky sheetrock, the Word always sustains and inspires us.

Joyful in the Lord, David