The lectionary?

[RomansFiveEight]

This is just sort of a fun and light hearted topic, one that (hopefully) doesn't have a lot of theological baggage.

Clergy; do you use the lectionary or not? And laity, how important is the lectionary to you, if at all? And does your church use it? And do you think they should?

Just sort of gauging the overall point of view!

For our friends who aren't aware of what the lectionary is, it's a set of readings in a 3 year cycle that are prescribed during the Christian year. They fit with the seasons of the church, like Pentecost, Lent and Advent; and are used by thousands of churches across numerous denominations around the world.

In my own practice, I am a series preacher. That means during the year everything is planned out in series that last several weeks and follow a central theme. Sunday School, weekly classes, and even youth programs tend to fit that theme; sometimes very tightly (using the same book, curriculum, questions, etc.) and sometimes more loosely (A general theme, a place to start, and they run with the rest). I try to fit my series into the lectionary but I don't shoehorn in. That means many weeks I use the lectionary, some weeks I do not.

I think it's really special when our churches are all using the same scriptures, and I've seen examples where congregants have talked to friends and family in other churches and have 'compared notes' on the sermons from each of their churches, since they all used the same scripture. Which can be a great way to learn and edify. But I also like the freedom of looking at an issue or topic, and saying "You know, this scripture fits this issue better than any other", and not being bound to what the lectionary tells me to use.

What say you?

 

[GraceSeeker]

Clergy; do you use the lectionary or not?

Occassionally. For instance I am using the lectionary right now during Advent. But, I didn't during the fall when I preached through the 10 Commandments. Next year I'm preparing a year long sermon series on Christian praxis with a theme for each month: prayer, missions, evangelism, discipleship, stewardship, worship (and lots of other ships) and won't be using the lectionary much during that time. Of course, when it comes to some of the major days on the Christian calendar (Easter, Pentecost, John Wesley's Aldersgate experience) I'll return to the appropriate liturgical texts and preach accordingly.

 

[circuitrider]

I primarily follow the lectionary though I often drop it during the summer for a series or two.

 

[RomansFiveEight]

Thanks for the perspective gentlemen!

I'm curious to find out what our lay counterparts and other clergy have to say. My first three years in ministry followed the lectionary 100% without a single weeks deviation. Then I began to drift away from it, and now I sort of use it when it's relevant. My advent series follows the lectionary, and my upcoming lent series probably will. But I've gone to 100% series preaching, and it's worked well for me in my context. Plus I have a lot of fun with it.

What surprised me was when I had a parishioner tell me they were glad I didn't follow the lectionary all of the time, and another one within a couple of days said that they really liked when I DO follow the lectionary (citing the fact that her friends and families churches in other areas used the same scriptures). I was a little surprised that I could find two lay people who really cared whether I used the lectionary, much less that would comment on it unprovoked.

 

[BryanW92]

Thanks for the perspective gentlemen!

I'm curious to find out what our lay counterparts and other clergy have to say. .

When I was a Methodist, my church used the lectionary nearly 100% of the time. On those Sundays when I was preaching, I was glad because:

1) It challenged me to write a sermon based on more than just what I wanted to talk about.

2) There is some continuity from one Sunday to the next in many cases.

3) I enjoy looking at the lectionary assignments for the upcoming Sunday and then figuring out how (or if) all the readings fit together. I still use it as a study tool since my new church does sermon series.

The downside:

One Sunday, I was scheduled to preach and I had the rough draft of my sermon done by the previous Saturday. On Sunday morning, the pastor sort of ran past his lectionary scriptures and got into mine and covered much of what I wanted to talk about the next weekend. So, I had to start over. We got a laugh out of it. The roles were reversed a few months later during the annual stewardship campaign. I delivered a 10 minute talk on stewardship and covered much of what his sermon (also on stewardship) was supposed to cover.

 

[RomansFiveEight]

When I was a Methodist, my church used the lectionary nearly 100% of the time. On those Sundays when I was preaching, I was glad because:

1) It challenged me to write a sermon based on more than just what I wanted to talk about.

2) There is some continuity from one Sunday to the next in many cases.

3) I enjoy looking at the lectionary assignments for the upcoming Sunday and then figuring out how (or if) all the readings fit together. I still use it as a study tool since my new church does sermon series.

The downside:

One Sunday, I was scheduled to preach and I had the rough draft of my sermon done by the previous Saturday. On Sunday morning, the pastor sort of ran past his lectionary scriptures and got into mine and covered much of what I wanted to talk about the next weekend. So, I had to start over. We got a laugh out of it. The roles were reversed a few months later during the annual stewardship campaign. I delivered a 10 minute talk on stewardship and covered much of what his sermon (also on stewardship) was supposed to cover.

Thanks for your perspective!

The three years I did the entire (all three year cycles) lectionary it was nice to sort of be forced to preach scriptures I otherwise might not. Though, I sometimes wonder if some of those sermons really weren't all that effective. Hey, I could preach Romans 5:8 every week! But that wouldn't work either. (And it would probably be a communion sermon, as I think Romans 5:8; "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this; while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" is the perfect embodiment of what communion is. Still-sinners communing with the crucified and risen Christ)

I still reflect on the lectionary scriptures each week, and sometimes find uses for them even when my 'focus scripture' might be different than the lectionary.

 

[circuitrider]

I've been preaching following the RCL I think for a good 20 years. So that means I've been through the cycle nearly seven times. I find that I always learn something new from the texts.

Also I find lectionary preaching helps me to avoid a couple of pitfalls in preaching.

1. Getting stuck preaching my favorite texts so that the canon basically becomes what I like/want it to be.

2. It forces me to preach on difficult passages I might be tempted to avoid.

3. it helps me to avoid isogesis. That is picking a topic and then hunting a scripture that makes my point. I believe most of the time one should start with the scripture and let it write the sermon rather than bending the text to our views.

 

[BryanW92]

Though, I sometimes wonder if some of those sermons really weren't all that effective.

I think they're more effective than you thought. After all, if you preach on what you want to preach about, you just do it. If you have to take some scripture and find a way to present it to the congregation, you have to bring the Holy Spirit in a lot more and you are a lot more dependent on him. Of course, after you get all experienced and you have a sermon in a file for each week of the 3 year cycle, then you have to resist the desire to pull it out, dust it off, do some updating, and take it to the pulpit.

 

[RomansFiveEight]

1. Getting stuck preaching my favorite texts so that the canon basically becomes what I like/want it to be.

My list of favorite texts is actually small. But this is a valid concern of mine, and one of the reasons I make it a practice to reference the lectionary each and every week, even if I don't end up preaching on it.

2. It forces me to preach on difficult passages I might be tempted to avoid.

This is a concern of mine, and one of the reasons I try to make time to include a couple of lectionary series each year; even if I am no longer a 100% preacher.

3. it helps me to avoid isogesis. That is picking a topic and then hunting a scripture that makes my point. I believe most of the time one should start with the scripture and let it write the sermon rather than bending the text to our views.

That's a really fair point, and something I try to avoid but am occasionally guilty of. Beginning with a concept and thinking "What texts help best illustrate this concept". Although, and I could be wrong; I don't think that's ALWAYS bad. Sometimes, I think, it's okay to think that a topic or concept is important and needs to be addressed, and it may be important to select scriptures that help illustrate that concept. Though one can definitely fall into "proof texting" here, very easily.

I try to be mindful of that when I plan series, and often; I'll plan series using a broad-stroke biblical 'part', like preaching through one particular book or finding some other way to structure it. Currently I'm doing an advent series that is sticking to the lectionary, before that was a short lectionary stent, before that was "Revival", based on Adam Hamiltons book of the same name and structured on what it would look like if John Wesley was here today encouraging and challenging the UMC. I used Hamiltons scripture references he used in the book, and looked to what scriptures J.W. used for writings on whatever part of his life I was preaching on or topic I was preaching on. That was fun. And before that, was preaching through the book of Hebrews!

 

[Maid Marie]

... I was glad because:

1) It challenged me to write a sermon based on more than just what I wanted to talk about.

2) There is some continuity from one Sunday to the next in many cases.

3) I enjoy looking at the lectionary assignments for the upcoming Sunday and then figuring out how (or if) all the readings fit together. I still use it as a study tool since my new church does sermon series.

Also I find lectionary preaching helps me to avoid a couple of pitfalls in preaching.

1. Getting stuck preaching my favorite texts so that the canon basically becomes what I like/want it to be.

2. It forces me to preach on difficult passages I might be tempted to avoid.

3. it helps me to avoid isogesis. That is picking a topic and then hunting a scripture that makes my point. I believe most of the time one should start with the scripture and let it write the sermon rather than bending the text to our views.

My previous church followed the lectionary 100% of the time but not all passages for the week were read. The gospel always was and I think the epistle was too. I loved preaching and leading the weekly bible study based on the lectionary for the above reasons. It was especially nice to know in advance what the passages were so that I could study them and be mentally preparing for them long before the sermon occurred. I feel that I got so much more out of the sermon [preaching or listening to the lead pastor preach] than going in and listening to a passage that I didn't know about in advance.

My current church and the church I attended from 2006 -2013 does not follow the lectionary. One of the pastors for the one that I attended 06 - 13 would have month long sermon series which was nice. I would have preferred the lectionary but at least with a month long series, I still could come mentally and spiritually prepared for the topic even if I didn't know the passage in advance. My current pastor does neither. I find that my anticipation, excitement and ability to listen well have seriously gone downhill. I don't have a clue what the topic or passage will be and I feel like I flounder during the sermon as my mind wanders because I don't know where he's going with the topic.