Monday, September 12, 2011

There is a force at work in the world greater than fear.

There is a great debate amongst preachers and church leaders over the use of the common lectionary in organizing Sunday worship and as the basis of Sunday Sermons. The aim of the Common Lectionary is to take the church through the scriptures over the course of a three year period. The readings are meant to coincide with the Christian calendar or liturgical year, reflecting the meaning of the seasons of advent, Christmas, ordinary time after epiphany, lent, Easter, Pentecost, and ordinary time after Pentecost. The years a labeled A, B, and C and the readings are always the same for those specific years. The other side of the debate encourages pastors to prepare topical sermons and sermon series based on their perceived needs of the church. In fact, studies have shown that topical preaching is more popular and is used more often in growing churches. I’m a lectionary preacher. Mainly because the lectionary is tied to the Christian calendar and I believe that following the Christian calendar is one of those ancient practices that give order and meaning to my life as a Christian. Additionally I believe it is good for churches to be on the same page, preaching, teaching, and praying over the same text each week all across the world.