Yeah, I gave the message for our church community yesterday... and lived to tell about it. It was touch-and-go for awhile.
This is an actual picture taken by a friend of mine - who actually is the pastor of the church that allows our church to rent space in their building! Their service is done before we start, and this was the first time I'd seen him sneak into one of our services (we are on the third floor of their huge building, in a space that wasn't being used). I was glad to see him, and am actually kind of glad he took this pic if I'm honest (plus I wanted to use the word "actually" once more).
Everything was mostly fine during the sermon, but as mentioned the other day, I had to bartend for a concert the night before. That seems to really tire me out anymore. Plus, what I intended to be just one glass of wine towards the end of the night ended up being a few more. The band ('Bayou County') was a pretty good Creedance Clearwater Revival tribute band, and they were having loads of fun and just kept playing and playing. The crowd was fairly small (100-some), but as is often the case, smaller crowds can be a bit more fun and a little rowdy. And when the guitar player asked if he could have one more beer at the end of the evening - I hated to make him drink alone. So... that happened.
Anyway, I wasn't feeling the greatest Sunday morning. One thing about not drinking much anymore - it really messes with your perceived tolerance level. But I was fine by the time church started at 11.
My main text was John 15:5: "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit..." I purposely left off the last part ("...apart from me you can do nothing") because I wanted to emphasize the 'connecting with Jesus' part. I approached the 'not being connected' differently in the message.
Basically I talked about the practice of Solitude (staying connected to the Vine) and its place in friendships/relationships. My main point was: Sometimes we need to get away (time alone with God) in order to get better connected with others. It was right about the 30 minutes it was supposed to be, and even though I got a little flustered at the end and left some stuff out, I felt what I added at the end left a better impression. All told, it went okay.
This was the second time I've "preached" at our current church. I don't know what it is, but it just feels different here. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I actually kind of enjoyed myself yesterday. Everyone stays so engaged while listening, and I've yet to witness any judging or critical spirits. There were many compliments afterward - which is a bit hard for me to deal with, but I guess it beats the opposite. So, today I'm trying to do my best to put it out of my head and not get caught up in any emotions one way or the other. I will also say, the main pastor does a really good job of encouraging, providing just the right amount of input and feedback, and just sort of 'being there' throughout the whole process of preparation, delivery, and follow-up. He really helps. It also doesn't hurt that I can wear shorts and a t-shirt and nobody bats an eye! :)
Now... it's time to put away the piles of used and unused notes and books and things... and dig into the rest of my 'to do' list. I'm also diving deeply into Fitch's book on power before the two-day event with him coming to town. And... I hope to start on another sermon soon. I'd like to be able to just sort of have one in my pocket in case there is ever an emergency sickness or something and they need a last-minute sub. It's been awhile since I've felt this good about being in front of people in any respect (preaching, public speaking, whatever).
Right now I'm debating whether to do my scheduled run, mow the lawn, make a trip to the store... or try to recharge my almost-completely drained body battery...
Here's the Youtube link to the message (about 30 minutes): https://youtu.be/VdW_0QkZUVo?si=83odTCMICqP2qT18
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