Pastors or Hirelings?

[The Liturgist]

So do all of that... in small groups. Again, not everything has to happen on Sunday morning!

Nor should it. I really like to push for weekday services.

 

[The Liturgist]

Hmm... I often have people discuss sermons with me, even up to weeks later. They listen, quite a few take a copy of the text or read it when I post it on my blog, they reflect, pray, and continue the discussion. My impression is not that their engagement with the material is passive.

I mean, sure, some are probably sitting there daydreaming. But some people would be doing that no matter what.

I've done discussion-style preaching and my experience is that it works less well the larger the group gets. Once you're beyond a dozen or so people relatively few tend to contribute anyway, and the discussion gets dominated by the more forthright personalities (which isn't good either).

I don't think the format of our services is necessarily a problem. "Body ministry" should happen throughout the week.

Sometimes I “cheat” and, giving appropriate credit, extract bits of classic sermons and homilies, usually from the Patristic era, but translated into modern English phraseology. Which can actually be harder than writing an original one. But I think its important people hear the homilies of St. Ephrem, or Gregory of Nazianzus, or John Chrysostom, and also some of the reformers, like John Wesley.

 

[charsan]

(For comparison, I have an average weekly attendance of about 40 people

Now that's a big Church, we have 7 people usually and if one parishioner brings their children we have 11 people with Father that makes 12.