My preaching group meets for about four days every year but we do much more than
preach/share sermon preparation. I was thinking about sharing the Top Ten Quotes of the week, but I can’t because:
- Some of my favorite quotes are too revealing in terms of keeping confidence, and
- Some of them make us sound a little unhinged.
One of the quotes I can share though is this one: “I need someone to give me a benediction.” A benediction – for those who don’t do church – is a blessing usually imparted by the preacher to the congregation at the end of a worship service.
In my most exhausted moments of ministry, my voice cracks during the
benediction because I am done. I can barely utter another word, much less a holy word and I think that means that I need someone to give me a benediction too.
Yesterday our preaching group did something that worked wonders for our ability to preach/breathe/keep going. We spent the afternoon at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center outside Austin, TX. Because sometimes we need someone to give us a blessing.
Sometimes we need beauty. Flowers and trees are among God’s best benedictions.
Images from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center outside Austin.
A Church for Starving Artists 