Friday, July 9, 2010

New Blog!

This post is to announce the beginning of a new blog I've started entitled The Lectionary Pulpit. I got the idea a while back and started the blog but have only recently begun working it. 


The site is based upon the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). My goal is to construct and publish at least one sermon a week based upon one of the weekly readings. Additionally, I hope to be able to add ideas and resources related to the other weekly readings. 

I know this concept is not new. There are allot of blogs and resources on the Net devoted to the lectionary, so there will be nothing novel about what I do there. However, for me, the lectionary is a rather new concept and I have been enriched by my exposure to it. I just want to pass along what I am discovering as I use the RCL in my personal devotions and in sermon construction. 

I was not raised in a tradition that used anything remotely similar to a lectionary. Once I was exposed to it, I immediately began to understand its value. Many pastors tend to concentrate on the same religious themes and scriptural passages in their preaching and teaching. Following something like the RCL helps to resolve this by forcing the minister to consider passages they would not normally choose. The minister is intellectually and spiritually stretched and the congregation is exposed to a broader (and hopefully more balanced) sampling of scriptural truth. I am sure there are negatives associated with it as well, but from where I am sitting, if used properlly, the positives win.


Lastly, if anyone reading this uses the lectionary in their devotions or sermon preparation and would like to help me in this endeavor by publishing your own sermons or thoughts on the weekly readings, please let me know. I would love for this to become a collaborative project with multiple authors. I would just need a sampling of your work and then I could add you as an author on the blog. 


I look forward to hearing from potential authors as well as reading your comments to the post made there. God bless you!