The Kingdom of God - different meaning takes its worst

The same story can be understood differently by the listening audience is a common experience, but when it happens with a sermon it calls for observation. This topic aroused me to think of the Kingdom of God. The story of the Kingdom of God was a difficult concept for the different Jewish religious parties and as a consequence they ascribe to it different meanings. Jesus must have difficulties trying to explain the story of the Kingdom of God (Lk14:18-21) but even his disciples have different meanings. For some people the Kingdom of God is political and for others it was a spiritual one. What matters to me most is until today the story of the Kingdom of God here and now still has different meaning even within the Christian church. This is a serious topic for preachers and theologians to make sure the story has the same meaning. The example of Jesus telling the story of a mustard seed to illustrate the Kingdom of God points the preachers to the significant use of story to illustrate biblical truths in sermons. On the cross above his head a notice of accusation of meaning was written, “the King of the Jews” (Mk15:26) a different meaning takes its worst.

The preacher making story an enemy or a friend in sermon

I found Steve Taylor very helpful in his blog that stories create credible introduction, capture attention and aid biblical understanding and yet at the same time it is a sermons worst enemy. (http://kiwimadepreaching.wordpress.com/2010/03/23/steve-taylor-stories-can-be-sermons-best-friend/) This happens when the focus is rather personal. It robs off the truth of the scripture which is biblical and Christological. We need to be careful and extra sensitive in crafting the story details in the context of congregational opinions. An example would be to speak of evil spirits going from a woman into the pigs and drowned at sea is a difficult concept and almost unacceptable in Melanesia. A story in a sermon has potential to “lend itself to perhaps an infinite variety of applications.” (Senehi, J. 2002). This means the preacher can either cause story to be a friend or worst enemy. I found a personal testimony based on scripture in sermons is powerful, convincing and embracing.

Preachers are Storytellers and Comedians.

Preachers are story tellers. They are retelling the story of the Christian faith and proclaiming salvation history. In Melanesia storytelling around the fire at night is still obvious; a place where values influence and the power to shape life are compelled by the web of tribal stories. Coming from a very strong oral society one would imagine how powerful identity is created by story. The use of storytelling in preaching is therefore fundamental in my context. The story teller has a wide capacity of memory and can indulge in the telling for hours. The preacher is expected likewise. “Some stories gain acceptance for their ability to communicate a fundamental truth about life. These stories are incorporated into the culture of a particular group of people.” (Franklin Jon,1994). Preaching during special events like wedding and funerals the preacher is expected to be eloquent and rhetorical. The adoption of the comedian style is therefore found necessary. If the preacher cannot perform; the community is not only bored but was let down.

Organisational design verse Leadership and Vision

The selection of organisational styles significantly determines the achievement of congregational aims. While many factors such as uniformity, communications, policy and action, management overloading, economic maximisation, alienation and “all eggs in one basket (Eunson Bade, 2005) are true; I have observed the centralised organisation operates with specific scepticism. Communication in urban Melanesian congregations is often distorted by structural, multilingual, ethnic and gender based factors. The minority and those on the cutting edge were often humiliated with feelings of unempowerment, negligence and a permanent attitude of slow response to hear their call. However the Melanesian society with congregational structures and organisations largely in the rural setting are decentralized. I have seen our model of a tribal church where the responsibility of leadership could have been exclusive completely lacks discontent, propaganda and distortion. Greater participation is fostered and can be seen in our great feasting, dancing groups and a daylong congregational celebrations and ceremonials. While there is greater motivation, empowerment, accountability and transparency which is important to congregational life, leadership in centralised organisation does not value those in responsibility compared to the decentralised. As a consequence congregations in decentralised models are growing faster and independent. Some leaders have come across as archiving the aims of the organisation determines the organisational design and not vice versa.