Who am I?
My name is Jon Herrin and I am a United
Methodist minister. I began serving God's Church when I was in my
20's, back in the early 1990's. After several years as a 'part-time
local' pastor, I completed the requirements for ordination and in
2005 I was ordained an 'Elder in Full-Connection' in the United
Methodist Church – North Georgia Conference.
After serving the US church for 12
years, my family and I moved to Venezuela to help with the birthing
of the Methodist movement there...and then to Mexico to train pastors
and leaders for the well-established Methodist Church of Mexico
(Iglesia Metodista de Mexico).
In the summer of 2011, we moved back to
the US...sort of! We located in the border city of McAllen, Texas,
where we live and work in the community...and from where we travel
back as able into northern Mexico to help in ministries we were
involved in when we lived there.
While I have often wrestled with what
it means to be an ordained minister in the UMC, I have determined to
remain in this dynamic, growing movement of God's people. God has
called me to be a instrument of His grace through teaching and
preaching of the Word, administering the Sacraments, providing
leadership and order for God's Church, and serving all People in the
name of God.
While all four of the pastoral
responsibilities mentioned above remain very important, this blog
focuses on the teaching and preaching of the Scriptures.
Presuppositions:
The sermon-time in the local church is
the most important moment of the week.
The sermon-time is when most
parishioners are together; this is one block of time when the
preacher/teacher has the attention of the people; because more people
are present and are giving most attention, more pastoral care can
take place at this time than any other. Because of this, sermon
preparation is the most important part of pastor's week. One
Saturday evening, I was with a young pastor in Venezuela and I asked
him, “So, what are you preaching about tomorrow?” He looked at
me for a moment and then responded, “I'm thinking I'll do something
about God's love....” Really? On Saturday night? If we really
and truly take seriously our call to proclaim the Good News of God,
we cannot be scrambling on a Saturday night to find a sermon. Oh,
I've been there on a very few occasions. But, my habit and practice
is to begin sermon preparation on Tuesday morning. I work hard for
five days on my sermon...because the sermon-time is the most
important time for the church each week.
Time in Scripture is Primary
If we are going to preach and teach the
Bible, we better be IN those words day after day, week after week.
Some pastors and teachers will read
through a book of the Bible and allow that book to teach, guide and
shape their lives.
Some pastors will follow the RevisedCommon Lectionary or some other guide and will allow those readings
to teach, guide and shape their lives.
Some may employ a combination of
personal Scripture readings with lectionary readings. My own
practice is to follow the Revised Common Lectionary during the
special times of the Church Year (Advent, Christmas, Holy
Week—Easter, Pentecost Sunday) and then follow personal readings
during other times of the year.
The Text Determines the Sermon
Too often, preachers get ideas...and
then go find a bunch of verses or pieces of verses to support their
own ideas. Not good. We should allow the Text to guide us in the
direction we should go...we should allow God's 'living Word' to
actually live and guide our preaching.
Because of this, you'll find that I am
a proponent of 'expository' preaching—I focus on one primary
passage of Scripture, unpack that passage and discover the
application of that passage to our lives and situations.
Preaching IS a Response
While there is a resurgence of the idea
that we should “preach for response,” I believe that we should
preach AS a response. A study of the Book of Acts will reveal that
in almost every instance of preaching the preacher is responding to a
situation or issue or emergency. Since Acts remains the 'Book of the
Church,' I believe the pattern is set there that our teaching and
preaching should respond to the real and perceived needs of the faith
community.
If we can accept the absolute
importance of the sermon, if we spend time in Scripture daily, if we
allow the Bible to speak to us and to guide us, and if we realize
that our sermons need to help people to respond to the very real
situations of their lives—civic, moral, spiritual, then I believe
we will have effective sermons that reveal that we are channels of
God's love and grace for the people we serve.
In this blog, I invite you to journey
with me each week as I develop sermons that speak to the lives and
situations of those around us. I invite you to read and to respond
along the way. Each week, I'll begin a sermon and edit it throughout
the week. You may take anything you wish from what I write or from
whatever is shared here. It's all here for you, for you to use and
to share. Enjoy!
(I will attempt to parallel this blog
with my Spanish-language blog: Teologia Practica)
