Print this issueFrom the Kerux Staff
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Merry Christmas from the Kerux staff. As the snow falls and the anticipation for two weeks off builds, we ask that you take the time to experience anew the mystery of Emmanuel. In this issue, a new writer, Cori Cypret, reminds us to proclaim this mystery through a stance of loving offensiveness. Along these lines, we report on the "Disruptive Preaching Seminar" hosted by Sean Baker and include another article by a new writer, Aaron Gonzalez, about taking a stand from the pulpit. On a softer note, Chelsey Harmon wishes farewell to Pat Zandstra whose work in setting up the FFM program is only now beginning to bear fruit. We conclude with an heart-felt reflection from John Huyser about an unexpected blessing in the midst of Alzheimer’s disease. As a postscript, we have a quick reminder from the denomination: "Future Candidates, submit your stuff!"
Blessings,
Kerux Staff
NVD
Saving Christmas
The stance of "loving offense"
"I saved Christmas!" This rather odd declaration was uttered by a woman at my Bible study last week. She went on to tell a story about how she had done something in an effort to profess the true meaning of this season. And ... it started me thinking. Does Christmas need saving? I thought the whole point of Christmas was that we needed the saving. Why would it need to be saved? What does it need to be saved from?
Current Preachers Disrupt Future Preachers
Calvin Seminary hosts "Investigative Reading for Disrupting Preaching Seminar"
Rev. Brian Ochsner and Rev. Paul DeVries of Brookside CRC met with Calvin Seminary students and professors on Wednesday, December 3 to discuss a recent sermon series they preached entitled. "Think It Through." In this series, they tackled some of the pressing social issues of our day. This meeting was the first of the Disruptive Preaching series. According to Sean Baker, series organizer, "Investigative Reading for Disruptive Preaching is a lunchtime seminar designed to explore the what and the how of preaching in a politically-charged context." The seminar is sponsored by CRWRC.
Preach with a Prophetic Voice
Taking a stand in a sermon
Someone once said to me that, when he preaches on controversial matters, he doesn’t tell his congregation what to believe or do. Instead, he just preaches from every text which addresses the issue by stating only "what the text says." He claimed that this alone is enough to compel individuals to act or change. Though I agree that Scripture by itself holds the power to convict and compel change, I believe that the preacher holds a crucial responsibility to exhort with conviction. As for this approach of always being neutral, I believe it is not founded on Scripture, but on the church’s recent interactions with the world.
Thank you, Pat Zandstra
A Farewell Wish to an Influential Member of Calvin Theological Seminary
We are a community who takes for granted the numerous people God uses to guide, educate, encourage and sustain us. One such person in this community that deserves our thankfulness is Pat Zandstra. The following are just a few words of thanks and memories that model the beautiful ways God blessed us (and will continue to bless us) through Pat.
A Little Bit of Heaven on Earth
Grace in the midst of Alzheimer’s Disease
I awoke at 5:30 Tuesday morning to the pager going off. I was asked to visit with a patient who was very confused. She was 99 years old. She was determined it was time to leave for church. She awoke singing a hymn loudly in her thickly Dutch brogue. The nurse went out of her way to read a prayer pamphlet the patient had brought with her. After that the patient was still determined to go to church. The nurse said, "The patient wanted to leave for church so much, I thought it might help to bring church to her. So I paged you."
Future Candidates: Please Read
Qualifying persons who wish to be candidates in 2009 for ordained CRC ministry should request application procedures by January 30, 2009.
For further information, please email Karlene Werner at kaw5@calvinseminary.edu or write her at Calvin Theological Seminary, 3233 Burton Street SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546.