Free Range Pastor

In the past several months, I have rediscovered something I love. Perhaps rediscovered is not the correct term, because it is only in the past half a year that I have realized the joy and sense of fulfillment I that gain from doing this activity. It is with this new appreciation that I understand I did not know myself enough ten years ago to recognize the value of this activity, both for myself and for the people I share time with.

The activity is Supply Preaching. This means I have no established congregation, but I can schedule with various churches to be the guest preacher for the day. I can either substitute for a pastor on vacation, or I will visit a church that does not have a regular pastor and lead worship.

I have learned so much spending time with these varied churches, especially having served a congregation for many years. That context is what I was missing in my previous era of Supply Preaching. Before my ordination and subsequent installment in a church as the pastor, I saw supply preaching as something I was occasionally asked to do. I would spend hours pouring over online resources for good prayers to add to service, and even longer exegeting a passage of scripture in the attempt to impart knowledge, every scrap I could find, about these few verses. I was not certified to celebrate communion or baptism during that time before ordination, so all I had to bring was a technically brilliant sermon (note: these sermons were not necessarily good, they just had a lot of information). I did not take time to know anything about the context in which I was preaching. The church had hired me for the day, so I would bring myself to the gig, and hope to get my check at some point.

Ten years, and one church call later, Supply Preaching is something that brings me extraordinary joy. There are so many people who are doing excellent work in their communities, so many churches who, without a pastor, are rallying together to be a loving and supportive community. Yes, the building maintenance is a perennial issue, and the older the building the bigger the drain on the resources. Yes, an aging, exhausted congregation with no pastor to lead will see themselves as without a head, no focus, and no one to take on the work. Yes, these churches face the very real threat of closure. We can talk about changing cultures and values, we can lament Christian Nationalism that appears exciting to the families who feel it is important to raise children within the church. We can feel superior when we think of how one theology is “better” than another. None of this matters.

Something I often asked members of the church I served was, “Do you know why you come to church? What keeps you coming back?” This was always a bit of a conversation stopper when people realized the answer was as simple as church was a habit, but otherwise they did not know why. Perhaps ten, twenty years ago when their children were young, they came in order to give their children a group of playmates and to have an opportunity to have adult conversations with other parents. But children grow up, job situations and schedules change. Life is supposed to change, and the church remains ever the same: unchanging or unresponsive.

Church life, especially Presbyterian church culture, can be a series of long meetings where everyone takes a long time to say anything, and when the discussion is concluded, it turns out the debate was about the wrong topic.

For a brilliant illustration of this, I encourage you to watch the Meeting of the Ents from the movie the Two Towers, which is the second movie in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The Ents are a race of living trees, sometimes called “Tree Herders” who care for the green, growing things. They have long been forgotten by the races of Middle Earth, and then Ents themselves do not know all the current folk, like the three foot tall Hobbits. There are various factions at play in the story, but chiefly relevant for the Ents is a wizard “who should know better” has turned his mind toward metal and machines, destroying the forest to make an army. The Ents are prodded to meet and discuss their options in the wake of this threat to their home, and they gather at the beginning of the day. Several hours later, after night has fallen, it is revealed these beings have only just finished saying, “Good Morning.” The two Hobbits whose presence was a catalyst for this meeting are frustrated, but when the Ents return to their gathering, surely, they must be discussing the war? No, as it turns out, because what the tree herders were debating this time was whether or not the little three-foot beings were actually orcs. While eventually the Ents do march against the wizard, the movie contains a few more delaying shenanigans than the book, and whenever Justin and I watch the film, we joke about the Presbyterian scene.

None of this explains why I love being a supply preacher so much, though. For me, it is a gift and a joy. I come as a guest to these different houses, and while I am there to do a service, there is also the element of hospitality in the engagement. Some congregations have a polished lay leadership element, and I have a co-worship leader from the congregation to keep me pointed in the right direction. In some cases, while there is someone to do announcements, and perhaps someone to read scripture, I am leading the service. I have also learned that in many cases, after a series of different supply preachers who direct every action of a service, even a congregation with strong lay leadership can feel unempowered. I have compassion for these churches most especially, and perhaps part of my aptitude to supply preaching could be to help these congregations see they have a role in making this world a better place. I have seen congregations thrive in their mission and work without direct pastoral leadership because the people claim ownership of the mission. They know why they come to church – to renew the ties of friendship and shared dedication to a cause.

One of my goals this year is to resume a publishing schedule, and especially share when I have shared time with a congregation. I already missed sharing about my time with First Presbyterian Church in Hudson, but I have a few more engagements with them coming up. Yesterday, I visited New Covenant Presbyterian Church in Albany, and it was another lovely time.

After worship, several of us were chatting, and one gal began singing. One by one, each of the other four people in the conversation joined in, and after listening to the gift of their harmonies for a bit, I was encouraged to lend my voice as well. We ended in an impromptu five part harmonious chord at the end, with invitations for the next time I preach there to plan some special music. I am looking forward to this joyful event. Perhaps I will see if I can encourage other churches where I am becoming known to explore their own creativity as well.

As yesterday was Baptism of the Lord, I was able to make use of one of my favorite sermons from several years ago which wove Harry Belafonte’s song Turn the World Around throughout the lesson.

Harry Belafonte and the Muppets