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One of the things I miss about Evangelicaldom is good, lengthy sermons.My last pastor couldn't do a good one to save his life (fortunately, he had other necessary abilities in abundance), and my current one is getting better as his English improves, but he has a ways to go.
Sometimes I wish for better sermons. Usually, I wish for better hymns. But I never wish for a better Church. That much I realize is up to me to be a better Christian. The pastor does his job not only with the homily but also with confession and the other pastoral services. I know that this is the same in every church, of course, but my impression is that the first thing for a Protestant pastor is the Word, and therefore his own ability to examine it and bring its lessons out.
The sacraments, thankfully, are there no matter how dull the sermon.
I sing with the music team every Sunday and our music is great! One of the knocks of worship music in evangelical church is the repetition, the lack of meaningful words.
Our church uses a mix of classic hymns and Bible verses set to music. But they are all songs that actually have something to say.
Especially the Bible verses set to song. I know it's an attempt at brainwashing, but it's the kind of brainwashing I wish would happen to me.
Some evangelical writers are concerned that we don't take the Lord's table seriously enough. In my church we are trying to fix that. Of course our Catholic friends are serious about it because the Lord is RIGHT THERE.
Why preach for an hour when you can get the message across in less time? I'll admit that I'm spoiled in my parish by the pastor, the assistant, and the president of the high school (his residence is at our rectory so he helps out sometimes). The pastor is really great but he likes to talk about marriage a lot, mostly because it is the closest reflection of what God's relationship with us is, and probably because the majority of the people are/were married. I'm just not in a position to appreciate it fully (or listen without sniffling). I think he does help us *be* more "serious" about the Mass--so maybe it's that he "preaches" for an hour, just only sometimes using words--but I still hear people complain they "don't get anything out of it." There are a number of books written about getting more out of the Eucharist (hint: part of it is that it's what you put into it), so. . . we're getting there.
Bible verses set to music--is it more like a teaching aid, to help you remember them, maybe?
The "brainwashing" remark was a joke. And it is the only way I memorize verse. Many times I would be reading and the music would pop in my head as I read the verse.
Oh my gosh, I really need to lighten up, don't I?
One thing I wish that I had memorized is chapter and verse. I might be able to tell you which book it's from, but not exactly where. Except the usual suspects, like John 3:16 and 1 Corinthians 13.
If I were to be brainwashed, I would want to have my brain washed with God's Word.
LOL! That's a quotable quote right there.
(Is anybody else have a hard time accessing this combox from the post? I can get to it only from the comments in the sidebar.)
Kate - I had trouble myself as well. I think it was Haloscan, as they were also having trouble keeping up with the number of comments in the thread: it kept saying one or none instead of six or seven.
Washed brain instead of brainwashing - excellent, Spider! He is in the business of washing us clean of our sins, and those in thought certainly qualify.
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