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A "Cross and Follow" Kind of Life
I have to be honest. I have never cared much for the whole "take up your cross and follow me" thing (see Matthew 16:24). I always get hung up on the "take up your cross" part, because most of the time I really do not know what that means. Or maybe it's because theologically, if I am honest, I have a rather negative reaction to cross language. It's not simply that I have issues with gruesome deaths. Or that I am one to eschew the meaningfulness of the crucifixion. But the ubiquity of the cross and our rather bland and rote statements about it have tamed the rather complex nature of its significance.
I have a feeling that there are people in our pews who might have some similar thoughts. How does Jesus' cross have anything to do with life today? Sure, there are necklaces, rings, pendants, bracelets, but when asked "what does the cross, Jesus' cross, mean to you?" how will we respond? What we confess about Jesus and his cross better really matter and make a difference for our lives, for how we think about God, and for how we live. If it does none of this, then I wonder if we take Jesus seriously at this point. I'm quite sure that Jesus' statement here is not theoretical or rhetorical but that Jesus actually wanted the disciples to live it and be it.
Too much of our biblical interpretation and preaching hides behind theologically accepted tenets. Acceptable to whom? And in what circumstances? Atonement theories are a case in point. There are certain things that we think we should say when it comes to the cross that if we don't, we are not a true "fill in the blank." What does the cross really mean to you? I mean really? Not what you think it should mean because you've been told what it should mean, because you are a Christian, because you go to church, because you are a preacher, because you are worried about what others will think, or because you fear that you might be discovered as some sort of imposter believer.
So, I am going to answer my own question. The cross doesn't do much for me. Call me a heretic. That's fine. I've been called one before and survived, quite well, in fact. Say that I have a problematic atonement theory. That's also fine. My pneumatology has already been questioned and I survived that, too.
Here's what I mean.
When it comes to what matters to me theologically the life of Jesus means more than his death, in part because of scholarly interests in the past few years that have caused some serious personal theological reflection. At the same time, I resist "take up your cross" as a justification for suffering. I reject "take up your cross" as some sort of victimization or martyrdom for its own sake. I renounce any claim where I could imagine coming anywhere close to Jesus' sacrifice.
Yet, if the cross is a symbol for defiance of empire? If the cross is representative of the absolute certainty of the incarnation? If the cross is a model for resistance to the status quo? If the cross is a reflection of our human propensity to eliminate the voices that call for justice, for mercy, for compassion, for love? Well then, I am all for the cross. And I will readily take up that cross, any day.
Just what cross are you willing to take up? And which one are you not?
I find it interesting that Jesus says, "take up your cross and follow me."
Taking up your cross is not an individual act that validates your faith or demonstrates your willingness to go the distance or a statement of self-sacrifice or self-denial. The cross has everything to do with community. Take up your cross and follow. To follow, by definition, demands something or someone to be followed. Follow me – how do you answer that? Literally following Jesus to the cross, following the person? Isn't it also following those things that Jesus preached and taught? When Jesus says follow me, what Jesus do you follow? What parts of Jesus' ministry and teachings do you follow?
One of the things preachers don't get many opportunities to do is to engage some theological self-reflection. Give yourself some time this week, block it out in your calendar. Take yourself to a coffee shop, to a wine bar, a brewery, out for lunch. Or just be in a place that is comfortable for you. If someone asks to meet with you during that time, say, sorry I have an appointment – you have an appointment with yourself, and with God, trusting that God, Immanuel, is going to be present in your honest exploration of your theological thoughts. Our preaching needs theology time. We are better preachers when we have occasions for assessment and reassessment of where we are theologically. Then we not only know what we bring to the text, but also what we are willing to take up and follow ourselves.
A "cross and follow" kind of life is not a one-time decision but demands and deserves ongoing discernment and deliberation. Note Matthew's slight change from Mark's version, "for my sake will find it" (16:26) rather than "for my sake will save it" (Mk 8:35). Thinking about your "cross and follow" life, you never know what you might discover.
When We Can't Walk on Water (Matthew 14:22-33)
Those of you who listen regularly to Sermon Brainwave, the weekly podcast text study that I co-host at http://www.workingpreacher.org with my colleagues at Luther Seminary, Rolf Jacobson and Matt Skinner — and if you don't, why not? You should. We are the Car Talk of the preaching world! — know that in January of 2013 I led a group of students on a trip to the Holy Land. For a number of weeks after that trip, more weeks than my colleagues likely appreciated, my "go to" response for virtually every text was, "Well, when I was in the Holy Land … "
My references to that trip have tapered off considerably over the last year, but with this week's passage from Matthew, I just can't help myself.
"When I was in the Holy Land … " we stayed at a kibbutz on the east side of the Sea of Galilee. We could see Tiberius from the shore. From that location we traveled to various places where Jesus "could have" fed the 5,000, the Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes; where Jesus "possibly" preached the Sermon on the Mount, the Mount of Beatitudes; where Jesus "could have" hosted breakfast for his disciples, the Church of the Primacy of Peter. These sites were certainly significant. I will never forget listening to the Beatitudes on that mountain overlooking the Sea of Galilee.
But the moment during that leg of the trip where a biblical story literally came to life was our last day at the kibbutz. In the morning, the winds started up; trees bending from the force, lawn chairs scattered on the shore, and whitecaps on the sea. Suddenly, there I was, in the boat with the disciples. So this is what it would have been like? Our guide, Johnny, said wind storms like this were sudden and frequent, a characteristic feature of the weather pattern for that region.
In reading the story for this week, however, I realized that the disciples don't seem to be too afraid of the storm, that this is not the same story as Matthew 8:23-27, and if Johnny is right, and I am sure he was, that these fishermen should be used to these kinds of storms. I also noticed that Jesus doesn't actually rebuke the winds in this passage. He just shows up.
So, of what, then, are the disciples actually afraid? They think Jesus is a ghost, some sort of phantom, and that would probably scare me, too.
"Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid," (14:27) are Jesus' words to the disciples. Jesus will say the same thing in Mark (6:50), also the boat scene. In John, "take heart" appears in Jesus' last words to his disciples before turning in prayer to the Father (16:33), "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (16:33 NIV). Why "take heart"? What is Jesus saying to the disciples with these particular words? Only Matthew's version includes the dialogue between Peter and Jesus and Peter's attempt to walk on water.
Peter thinks he can walk on water. What will that prove, anyway? How is Peter being able to walk on water going to help him believe that it's really Jesus? Maybe Peter hopes that by stepping out on the sea, that will be the act of courage he needs for faith. Maybe Peter wonders if he will be convinced of Jesus' promises if he thinks big. Maybe Peter will believe in himself if he is able to do what Jesus does.
"'Lord, if it is you … Is it really you, Jesus? We need to know. How can we really trust that you will be with us always, to the end of the age?"
And I have in mind that Jesus' answer would be something like, "Well, it's certainly not because you will be able to walk on water, if that's what you are thinking, Peter."
Another way to translate Jesus' words to the disciples is, "have courage" and it's also in the present tense. Jesus is not saying "buck up, be brave, Peter. Have some fortitude, for crying out loud. Where's your gallantry?"
Is courage the same as bravery? Courage seems to be connected to faith in this passage. Unlike Mark's version, Jesus follows Peter's less than successful try at walking on water with, "you of little faith. Why did you doubt?" How is courage connected to faith?
The root meaning of the English word "courage" is the Latin cor and the French coeur — "heart," which may explain English translations that vary between "take heart" and "take courage."
What is Jesus saying to Peter, to his disciples? I wonder if Jesus is saying to them, to us, faith means living out of your heart. You are going to have to lead, live, and love with your heart, Peter. You know who I am. Deep down in your heart, you know me and you know I will be there. Trust yourself. Trust your heart. Jesus' words call Peter back to himself — to his truth, to his heart, to his faith. And no valiant feat is necessary to verify what Jesus wants Peter to see that is already true about who Peter is.
I have a feeling that this is something preachers need to hear as well. It seems that only impressive statistics substantiate Jesus' presence these days — that you are successful in your ministry if attendance numbers look good, you have a large staff, a nice, big church building, an impressive budget, or some other outside acknowledgement of your worth. Trust yourself. Trust your innermost space, your heart, that what you are doing matters, that what you preach makes a difference, and that truly, Jesus is with you and trusts you. Sure, there will be times when you feel like you are walking on water, or at least think you could, no problem, and that is a great feeling. But in the end, only Jesus can manage such a miracle. The daily life of ministry is not extraordinary acts of faith, but hoping for a little more than "little faith." Take courage.
When A Miracle Is More Than A Miracle (Matthew 14:13-21)
Think about it. How many of Jesus' miracles are recorded in all four Gospels? Let's count. It shouldn't take long because the feeding of the five thousand is the only one that made the cut (cf. Mark 6:31-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:5-15). That fact alone should encourage pause and reflection when it comes to preaching this miracle that most certainly put Jesus on the map. Why this story? What is so important about it? What does it reveal about God, about Jesus, about who we are called to be in the world that each of the evangelists said, "Hey. Now that story is definitely worth remembering."
Spend some time this week pondering these questions. For yourself. For your congregation. For real.
Of course, there's the obvious answer: this is a pretty awesome miracle, after all. It is an encapsulation of provision and the poignancy of need. Sometimes we forget that to be provided for and to have our needs met are indeed miraculous moments themselves.
Taking away the reality of miracles does no one any good. We need them.
At the same time that it is Jesus' provision for the crowds, to what extent is it also miraculous provision for Jesus' disciples? There is a sense that this story sums up discipleship. An invitation to action and involvement. That discipleship is not just about following but participating. In this provision of food for many, the disciples witness that the promise of provision is their future.
And Jesus signals this promise with one pointed phrase, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat."
In other words, you do it.
Of course, Jesus then miraculously expands the rations. That is certainly a miracle. And I am not suggesting that the miracle is better understood in the disciples sharing so as to explain how the miracle happened. Taking away the reality of miracles does no one any good. They exist. We need them. And Jesus gets that.
But I do think that the meaning of the miracle is more than the miracle itself.
In that one simple statement, Jesus is saying to his disciples, "Live already. You can't sit back and watch me do all this awesome stuff. Live it. Live life. I am counting on you. I need you."
This past week, a colleague and friend, Deanna Thompson, shared on her Facebook page a recently published article. Deanna was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer five years ago and yet, here she is, living. And living life fully and extraordinarily, called to new places of teaching and witness and vocation and discipleship because her illness. She writes, "For too many who live in the aftermath of traumatic events, a tidy, linear cross-to-resurrection narrative simply doesn't map the reality of their undone lives."
This made me consider Jesus' directive to his disciples in a different way. I wonder if Jesus is trying to disrupt our tidiness, our penchant for cause and effect. The disciples are thinking linearly. Practically. "This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves." A deserted place? Where will the food come from? Late? Time to go home. We are done here. What more do you want? And come on, Jesus. These people need to fend for themselves.
This is a major lesson in discipleship, Discipleship 101, to be exact. This is what I love about Matthew. OK, I know last week I said he'd be my dead last choice if I had to rank the four. But here's where I get it. Discipleship is from the get-go. For Matthew, the Sermon on the Mount is the "no going back moment" as far as I can tell.
Discipleship is rarely tidy or convenient. What you will be asked to live — and when — may just be a miracle itself.
As Deanna writes later in her post, "If communities of faith are to help make it possible to 'live like we're dying' for those of us haunted by the lingering, unpredictable effects of traumatic events, attention must be given to the space between death and resurrection. That space where we might experience healing and redemption, but sometimes only faintly. Where people go on even when they can't."
I suppose our particular Christological commitments will determine whether or not Jesus knew he was going to die. At the same time, one can't go around being Jesus and think that no one will notice. In fact, if you do, you can expect to be targeted for arrest and elimination. The lives of the disciples became undone the moment Jesus showed up on that mountain. Experiences of "undoneness" make up what it means to be a disciple.
Surprisingly, unexpectedly, the feeding of the five thousand gives witness to what the space between death and resurrection looks like. For the crowd. For the disciples. Maybe even for Jesus. Where there is the knowing of profound lack, but experience of provision. Where we exist in the meantime of life, but can see, albeit dimly, solutions. Where and why and when we think we can't go on, but then we do.
Therein, perhaps, is the miraculous.
Inviting A Kingdom Imagination (Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52)
Anyone out there tired of parables yet?
To be honest, Matthew's plethora of parables is perhaps my biggest problem when it comes to the first Gospel. Some of you know that were I to play the "stranded on a desert island" game, my Gospel of choice would be John. Matthew would come in dead last. It does make you stop and think why we are drawn to particular stories of Jesus — our theology? Our Christology? Our soteriology?
Or, maybe I just have a problem with parables.
It's not that I need Jesus to be more direct. After all, the Jesus of John can be equally perplexing. I also worry that with so many parables told in a row, we tend to want to find their consistency, some shared theme, a nugget of truth, connect the dots, the primary point that they are all trying to make about the kingdom of heaven. But then to what extent do we end up smoothing out their specificity, ignoring the details that themselves are worth preaching? Or, maybe when there's parable after parable I tend to lose my bearing. Which one is it, Jesus? I have to admit, I am a little jealous, or maybe suspicious, of the disciples' certainty in 13:51. Really, they understand "all of this"? Way to go, disciples! I sure don't.
Yet perhaps that is exactly Jesus' purpose in telling parables — and a lot of them. You never know what might click for you, when the connection will happen, for your faith, for what you believe. What illustration, what analogy will resonate? Each day is different when it comes to being a disciple, isn't it?
Maybe there's a logic in Matthew, or better, a logic about Jesus.
After all, how does one depict the kingdom of heaven? The possible pictures of the kingdom of heaven are certainly not exhausted by Matthew, not even by Jesus. No one impression will suffice.
The promise of the parables about the kingdom of heaven is that even when the kingdom is not seen, it is near.
Several years ago, Starbucks Coffee launched a campaign called "The Way I See It." Various quotes from different sources were printed on the coffee cups. I am not sure of the exact marketing strategy behind the promotion or if it was successful, but I do recall remembering and writing down "The Way I See It" #230:
"Heaven is totally overrated. It seems boring. Clouds, listening to people play the harp. It should be somewhere you can't wait to go, like a luxury hotel. Maybe blue skies and soft music were enough to keep people in line in the 17th century, but Heaven has to step it up a bit. They're basically getting by because they only have to be better than Hell." — Joel Stein, columnist for the LA Times
How we imagine what the kingdom of heaven is like depends a lot on what we need the kingdom of heaven to be, which frequently hinges on factors we'd rather ignore. Our penchant for certain visualizations of the kingdom of heaven have less to do with what the Bible says and more about what's at stake for us theologically. Our language about the kingdom of heaven tends to be attached to how we think God should act and not how God has already acted. Our assumptions about the kingdom of heaven rely heavily on our system of rewards and not on God's choice to bless.
Several strategies for preaching these parables come to mind that suggest preaching this week might be less descriptive and more dynamic. That is, a sermon will model curiosity and creativity around the kingdom of heaven and not simply state facts about it. Preaching could invite a kingdom imagination. Not explanatory sermons that say this is what kingdom is, but exploratory sermons that suggest this is what it could be today, here and now.
Encourage your parishioners to make up their own parable about the kingdom of heaven, later that day, maybe later that week, and affirm that in doing so, they are making a critical connection between a perceived theological need and the immediate contexts of their lives. In other words, talk about the fact that they are not just making something up, something that sounds kind of nice, but that they are giving witness in that moment to a specific expression of faith. They are offering testimony to what the kingdom of heaven needs to be in light of their individual reality. Or perhaps, they are acknowledging a communal, national, or global situation that necessitates the articulation of the presence and promise of the kingdom of heaven.
You could preach on just one parable and really work it for all of the facets it reveals about God and about our human condition, both personally and corporately. Based on your description, you could then model what you invited your parishioners to do. Re-language the particularities of the parable for the purpose of today. Act out an exercise of imagination and in doing so, you are demonstrating that interpreting the Bible is not simply accepting its truths, but is about embodying the way in which truth can be revealed — in conversation, in inquiry, in creativity. And isn't that the nature of a parable? The parables don't argue for truth itself but show that what is true about God and about ourselves might be disclosed in the act of our wrestling with, resisting, and being pulled into truth.
In the end, be assured that the reason Jesus spends so much time explaining the kingdom of heaven is because we need to be reminded that it's there even when it seems so excruciatingly absent. The promise of the parables about the kingdom of heaven is that even when the kingdom is not seen, it is near. That's a promise even a preacher, and sometimes especially a preacher, needs to hear.
Wheat and Tares and Other Truths About the Kingdom of Heaven
You can also find this blog at http://www.workingpreacher.org/craft.aspx?m=4377&post=3285
Good and evil side by side, co-existing without set checks and balances, without resolute criteria for adjudicating which is which, without a sense of qualifications and quantifications that might provide certain conclusions to ease our moral consciences? Perhaps one of the most challenging and problematic issues in the history of theological thought. Where does evil come from? Is it as simple as assigning it to an alternate being? Is it as easily determinable as we tend to think? Is it so readily recognized as we want to believe?
These are the theological questions that Matthew's parable seems to raise. A first step in preaching this week is to acknowledge these difficulties, to dwell in the discomfort, and to resist any definitive test to secure answers that surely demand far more deliberation than a twelve minute sermon can give justice.
We are really good at assessing what is good and what is not with the effortless phrase, "the Bible says." But, the problem with evil? With sin? Is that it looks pretty darn good. So close to what seems right and virtuous. So close to our vision of what we imagine good should be.
Matthew's parable this week is in one sense a warning. Lest we think we have it all figured out how to judge evil from good, moral from immoral, right from wrong, virtuous from unvirtuous, think again. According to whom? When? In what contexts? By what standards? This is the time for some prophetic proclamation. Pointing out the places in our history, in our present, when evil was and is justified biblically, theologically, morally, socially. This alone is worth preaching.
Such is our human inclination, is it not? Our penchant for judgment and condemnation. For declaring the future of those we deem somehow inadequate in faith and Christian life. For assuming maleficence in another as if our own actions are above reproach.
This parable is one that should stop us up short. Really? Who do you think you are? God? Yet many do. We do. A lot.
I recently shared a saying on my Facebook page that appeared in my news feed, "When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be disappointed they are not it."
When we start going down the road of making our lot in life electing what is good and evil we may very well discover that others will make similar conclusions about us.
Matthew's parable invites some honest preaching about the existence of evil. When was the last time you listened, really listened, to how your parishioners talk about evil, about theodicy? Call attention to the ways in which these realities co-exist. How difficult it is to determine the difference until the point when it's too late. That it is ok. Because in the end, the parable promises that God's job is not ours. Exuberant efforts to eradicate evil may very well end up only in questioning our own eschatological actuality.
This parable is a description of a reality we'd rather not admit. Maybe even a description of a God in whom we'd rather not believe. Can't God do something about the enemy, and now? What is God good for anyway if God can't see to it that evil is eliminated? The parable of the wheat and the weeds is not told for the sake of action but for the sake of honesty. Our presence in the world as Christians is not about a full-blown plan to get rid of evil at every turn.
That our calling as disciples is to seek out and purge sin and evil? Frankly, I don't want that job. I don't trust myself. But I do trust God. Our presence in the world as Christians is to be the good. To live the Gospel. To be the light. To be the salt. Because we are, says Jesus to his disciples. This should be good news. This parable calls us simply to be. To be the good in the world with the full awareness of what the resistances will be. To be light when darkness will surely try to snuff us out. To be salt when blandness and conformity and acceptability are always the easier paths.
Maybe you are wondering, but aren't we called to call out evil? To resist the forces that would deprive those who hunger and thirst for righteousness? To make sure that those who mourn are comforted? To uplift the poor in spirit? Yes. Absolutely. But perhaps not in this sermon. There will be other texts and other sermons that will have us lead a charge for this kind of action.
Perhaps in this instance we believe in the text and take our cue from Matthew's vision of God. Immanuel. "I am with you to the end of the age." We are called to just to be. And in order to be we trust that God is with us.
Indeed, God is.
On Preaching Matthew's Parable of the Sower
Birds, Thorns, and Other Surprising Responses to God's Word
(this blog can also be found at https://www.workingpreacher.org/craft.aspx)
The "Word of God" is an elusive and complicated topic, isn't it? What comes to mind for people in the pews when they hear "Word of God"? What do they picture? What do they envision? A big, dusty Bible on a shelf in the family room that they never read? A worn and tattered-paged confirmation Bible on their bedside table that they read every night? The lessons that are printed in the bulletin every week that they then toss in the garbage or the recycling bin if there is one? Just what is the Word of God anyway? Do not be afraid. I am certainly not recommending that you preach a sermon on the doctrine of the Word of God. I suspect that would be incredibly boring. And God forgive us when we make the Word of God boring.
But I do speculate whether an answer to that question would be anything other what seems obvious – the Word of God is a book or words from the Bible printed somewhere, whether in a bulletin, an insert or on a projection screen. The Word of God is words.
I wonder if anyone might conjecture that the Word of God could be an experience. After all, the Word of God did become flesh. Those who met Jesus in his ministry did not just think, "Wow, he's got some good stuff to say." No, somehow the words and the encounter were inseparable. The words could not be understood without the particular experience in which they were heard.
The biblical passages for the week of July 13, 2014, particularly from Isaiah and Matthew, suggest that the Word of God is an experience. And listening is the key to that experience.
Remember, the Bible was written to be heard. It's full of rhetorical devices from which preachers could learn a lot about how to communicate effectively. Walter Ong describes the biblical writings as "textualized orality" or "residually oral." Sometimes we forget that the Bible was first and foremost an oral experience until translations started showing up in earnest in the 15th century. No one got a copy of Galatians in the church newsletter. When Paul's messenger, perhaps the scribe that dictated Paul's thoughts, arrived at the church in Galatia, there was a full church meeting, maybe even with a potluck to get more people to come. Knowing Paul, I'm quite certain this was not his only correspondence with the Galatians. But this particular letter included in the New Testament somehow stood out and said something important about believing in Jesus that reached beyond the Galatian church. It was not a systematic treatise on the justification by faith. It was a real letter to a real church with something really critical at stake. No one gets to ponder Paul's words in the privacy of their home. No one is afforded the opportunity to say, "interesting, Paul. I'll have to think about that and get back to you." They have to deal with it then and now and together and then answer the questions, "what did you hear?" and "now what?"
What I am suggesting is that maybe you craft a sermon where Matthew's parable might actually work. Create a real experience of the parable. That means asking people to close their bulletins. No peeking in the pew Bibles. Have them sit down. And just listen.
Start your sermon with Matthew 13:9, "Let anyone with ears listen." The verb "to listen" is in present tense. To hear God's Word is not a one-time occurrence but an ongoing characteristic of discipleship. Listening is essential to discipleship. And then ask – what did you hear? Where are you in this parable? Or better yet, when and how have you felt all of these responses to God's Word? And why? And what do you experience in this listening today? Invite them to imagine that hearing God's word has had different effects on them at different times. And in this sermon you are providing them with an imagination that what they hear on Sunday morning is not static but dynamic. Not fixed but ever meaningful. That their response to what they hear is just as important as what they hear. That what the Word of God does is just as important as what it says.
Unpack each element of the parable that Jesus later explains not with the goal to determine a set reaction to the Word, something like "you better be this" but to create space to reflect on when and how and why we might respond differently to what we hear God saying.
Play with the parable before you move immediately to Jesus' explanation. In fact, don't read out loud Jesus' explanation at all. Just let it inform your sermon. Let the parable do what it wants to do. Then the Word of God will really be experienced. Ask in your sermon – when have you sensed that you heard God's Word, only to have it make no sense at all? When have you realized that while you think you have heard God speaking, you question what you know, what you have learned, and if any doubt or discrepancy or discord arises because of what you have heard, either with others or within your own embedded theology, you question that which God's word can do (Isaiah 55:11)?
When have you felt that as much as you try to listen to and abide in God's Word there is just too much around you that makes more sense? There is too much circumspection about whether this really matters? And you intuit that any hold you had on some sort of foundational truth has been obstructed by that which offers fleeting yet more logical satisfaction?
In the end, preach the promise that in those grace-filled times when everything seems to come together, when what you have heard from and about God, what your life tells you, what your community affirms, then the fruit you bear is indeed as unique as your hearing (Matt 13:23). It's not about how much fruit is produced. It's about the way in which God's Word has taken a hold in you. This is not a competition about who hears God's Word better. It's about what the hearing creates in you.
The Creative Process
Last week, I spent three days in New Hampshire working with clergy on various topics in preaching. A mini-conference of sorts but more like a workshop. I am always amazed when preachers come to events like these. They are busy people. Preachers have people to marry and bury. People to visit and vocations to nurture. Worship to plan and meetings to run. And of course, sermons to write.
But somehow they know that if they do not set aside time, find time, protect time to hone the craft of preaching it will degrade into drudgery. This is not to suggest that other aspects of ministry are not susceptible to the grind of a gridlocked imagination. Yet, when the task of preaching turns into toil, there seems to be more at peril than mere "better luck next time" proclamation. Not that there's necessarily more at stake in the pulpit than at a deathbed. Nor is preaching a categorically more intense moment of crisis than the confirmand who states out loud in class, "I think this is all a bunch of bullshit."
It's that preaching is so painfully public. More people will witness your waning wonder. More people will be given a chance to question your lack of enthusiasm or lethargy. More people are provided the possibility of boring deep into your soul in which you allow so very few and ask, "does she still believe it?"
Not that you can fake caring in a hospital room any more than you can in a sermon. But fewer people will notice. That's the bottom line. And on the line seems to be not just how good a preacher you are, but how good a person you are. That's the problem with preaching. It's not only public. It's personal. Out there for all to see is your biblical knowledge, your theological thoughts, your capability to deliver a message that might have some sort of meaning. But more so, displayed and exposed is who you are: your character, your faith, your experiences, your life, your heart, your truth. If you think you can "get out of the way" and let the Word of God speak its own truth, then you are practically and theologically in trouble. The quest for objectivity in the pulpit, or anywhere else in your ministry for that matter, is not possible. Moreover, the incarnation suggests that it does not belong there. The Word became flesh. God is counting on preachers to reincarnate that Word. If God invested God's self in becoming human than that must mean that God takes being human seriously.
To be you takes time. To nurture you takes time. Imagination takes time. Creativity takes time.
One of the slides I used this week, posted on Facebook at some point, gives a possible outline for the creative process, no matter what the creative act:
This is awesome.
This is tricky.
This is shit.
I am shit.
This might be OK.
This is awesome.
I fear that a lot of sermons stop somewhere between steps two and four because the time necessary to get to five or six is truncated. At the same time, it's hard to determine what might end up being a more dangerous sermon: the one preached at step number one or at step number four. What do I mean by dangerous? At step number one, the sermon will sound shallow and naïve. The preacher has been convinced that the first pass is brilliant, rationalized by an immediate light bulb moment that hasn't had time to take shape or be examined for its brilliance. Biblical texts are far too complex to be assessed or accessed by first impressions. Most things are. A lot of sermons are first impression preaching. In public speaking, a first impression is made within 7-15 seconds, whether good or bad. While they are essential for the persuasive effect of a rhetorical event, they also can determine an encounter yet to reach its full potential.
At step number four, the sermon will be mired in "it's all about me." The preacher cannot help but reveal his sense of shortcomings or sheer decrepitude, perhaps so as to justify a bad sermon. Yes, preaching must be about you and from you but there's a whole congregation who must hear that it's about them, too. That's the delicate relationship we negotiate each and every week, that relationship between preacher and text and congregation. Notice that I did not say that it is a balance we try to achieve every week. Balance is not only elusive, it is not necessarily possible. To strive for an exact one-third representation of ethos, logos, and pathos each Sunday is a contextual untruth. The exchange of the acting parties in a rhetorical event such as preaching depends on purpose, people, and place. And then, there's this presence of God we call the Holy Spirit that will most certainly have an idea or two when it comes to the final product.
At the same time, the "I am shit" step reminds us of just how exposing creativity is. Yet, this is not to suggest that every time you write a sermon, you have to feel like you are shit somewhere in the week. I also fear that a lot of sermons arise from a general nod to the depravity of human existence, an obligatory bow to having been wounded by the text or from a need for solidarity in depravity. As if the only effect a text might want is to maneuver a transition from the despair of sin to the mercy of grace. Texts have a multitude of functions. Making you feel like shit may not always be a text's desire. So the preacher needs to take seriously the "I am shit" moment. Perhaps attending to an interpretation of that moment as much as interpreting the biblical text. And that will take time. The "I am shit" moment represents the overwhelming complexity of the creative process. It may not be how the text makes you feel. It may very well be how you feel who you are. If that's the case, time is critical.
Only you can protect you and protect your time. Only you will know that the intersection of you and the text will be a moment you cannot predict and therefore will need time to process. Time is not only necessary. It is incarnational. It is theological.
Reflections on a Preaching Festival
A few weeks ago, the 22nd annual Festival of Homiletics was held in Minneapolis, MN. Those in attendance might call it a preaching extravaganza, close to 2,000 preachers from all over the world, worshiping, visiting, networking, but then attentively listening to some pretty famous preachers preach and give lectures. Why do preachers come to these events? To be inspired? certainly. You get to hear some really, really great preachers. To be renewed? definitely. You are surrounded, even supported, by those who do what you do and perhaps more importantly, get what you do. To be filled? no doubt. When do preachers get to be preached to? At the end of the week, we are all exhausted but feel like we've gotten back the things we've lost over the year (which then makes us question why we wait a year to recoup our losses): camaraderie, because being a preacher is a lonely life; purpose, because getting into the pulpit week after week with few observable results inevitably calls forth the question, why?; and soul, because it takes a lot out of you to expose yourself, your thoughts on a text, your theology, letting it all hang out there for all to hear and see, every single week.
At the same time, events like these can be a mixed bag, right? You know who you like, who you don't, and it's not the same as the person sitting next to you. The admiration of one of your friends for a certain preacher/presentation is not necessarily what has made the week worthwhile for you. The experience is selective. Subjective. Depending on the person, place, and purpose for being there. Just what is a good sermon? What makes a good lecture or workshop? Events like the Festival of Homiletics remind you of just how biased preaching is. On many levels.
This alone is valuable for preachers to know, both going into a week like this and then what to expect coming out of it. Just because the festival organizers have decided this chosen collection of preachers is worth your time and money does not automatically require your allegiance to or assertion of the same analysis. And maybe that's one of the reasons preachers go to preaching festivals. To have the sense that what you preach is not always with what others will agree or will like. That is definitely something that makes the week an appreciated experience.
But here is what I began to wonder about these kinds of events. That we come to these conferences and think we can or should be who we hear. We can't. And we shouldn't. And it's even true for the preachers and presenters, lest you think we are immune from any insecurities or self-doubts. I have caught myself saying, more than once, "Why can't I," meaning me, Karoline Lewis, "be more like Anna Carter Florence? Barbara Brown Taylor? Maybe using three names would help? I'll try that next time."
And so, the second guessing begins. How good of a preacher am I? Really? The insecurities start to rise up – again – just when you thought you had managed to put them at bay, secure a manageable reprieve, for a little while anyway. The imposter syndrome works its way back into your consciousness. Did God get this right? That God thought I could be a preacher? Who am I, really? I could come up with as many excuses as Moses.
I am not sure from whom I heard this most meaningful statement. When a famous preacher was asked, "who is the best preacher in the country?" The response was "You. You are the only one who can preach into your context. You are the only one who knows your congregation, what they need, what they have experienced. You are the only one who knows what they need to hear, this moment, this Sunday." Therefore, who is the best preacher out there? You. Do you believe it? If you don't, why not? If you can, why?
Yes, there are all kinds of great sermons and great lectures to be heard in an event such as the Festival of Homiletics. As it should be. As it always will be. And this is a significant reason for being there. And it is so necessary. But, it doesn't mean that the sermons you preach are any less great. At stake, theologically, and I am not sure we ever ask the question, "what is the theological purpose of a preaching festival?" is the incarnation. God invested God's self in humanity. Not generally or generically, but specifically in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. That means God has equally invested God's self in you. "Karoline from California" (insert your name and place of origin here). Yet, not only for the sake of the diversity of humanity, but also for the sake of embodying the extraordinary breadth and depth of the character of God. God somehow realized that God could not be known in being divine alone. God is revealed in who you are, and in when, what, how, and why you preach. You, yes you, are the preacher God needs you to be.
A Preaching Renewal
Need a way to renew your preaching? Try spending twenty-four hours with college students committed to denominational campus ministry at a state university. That will change what you think preaching does, how preaching matters, its purpose.
Admittedly, I was in awe of these dozen or so students. Growing up a PK (Preacher's Kid) I wanted nothing to do with church, religion, God, let alone campus ministry my first two years of college. Even in my last two years, my involvement with the Lutheran presence on the campus was nominal at best. Yet, here they were, attending a retreat, after classes were over, to learn about how to invite, welcome, and engage peers in the activities of the Lutheran ministry on their campus and, and!!! to learn, from me, how to do Bible study. One student brought his brother, a freshman in high school, who was currently reading Luther's The Bondage of the Will, for fun. Are you kidding me? You don't want to know what I was reading my freshman year of high school for fun. I felt way out of my league.
And as my presentations and our conversations progressed, I realized that fact even more. How totally out of my element I felt. I am used to talking about the Bible to seminary students. To pastors. To adults in Adult Forums. But college students? Not so much. Yes, I taught college some years ago, for five years actually, but it's been a while. I realized how quickly we devolve into our comfort zones. How conveniently we construe texts from our own perspectives and our immediate perceptions. How we make assumptions about meaning without recognizing the reality of what meaning might mean across the spectrum of our listeners.
Spending time with these dedicated and determined students, well, to be forthright, was a slap in the face. I needed this more than anything. When you realize that your questions are not universal or uniform. When your concerns are not shared by the consternations of others. When your curiosity about the Bible doesn't hold a candle to the imagination of another generation, or even another individual to whom you are willing to listen.
What does this mean for preaching? First, that our preaching must attend to the entirety of God's people. Are we listening to all voices? All those who are present and who wish to give voice or find meaning in their voice? Of course, not every sermon every Sunday will touch every generation. But, do we preach only to one group? Much like the media, the 18-35 year olds? Are our illustrations, stories, analogies, examples only with what we connect? And I get that. Preaching is hard enough, let alone being applicable to the masses. But actually, I don't mean the masses here. I mean attentive listening. To all persons in your pews. This is not about some generalized example of teenage angst that you insert in your sermon. You actually have to listen. To be. To abide. Then, and only then, should you give voice to a generation about how God is active and matters in their lives, lest you presume or prescribe feelings.
Second, how much of our preaching practices actually engage in open and real conversation about a text, or are we content with our commentaries to provide the information we need? Where and how do we engage practices of dialogue that attend the extraordinary variety of God's people?
Third, I found myself imagining the remarkable intersection of the Bible and hope. These students actually could imagine and articulate that their future will and must have God in it. For example, they articulate "bi-vocational" dreams, that they could have a career "in the world" and be a pastor at the same time. I am not sure that our sermons make such determined claims about future, about hope.
Finally, preaching needs to be up-building. By that, I do not mean some sort of bland equipping or empowering. Preaching is not a feel good endeavor or how you might reach your full potential. These students are too smart for such pablum. These students know what they want. What they want to be. Have goals for their future. These students want to feel that what they hear, and therefore, what you have to say, is not just advice but assurance. Not just acceptable solutions but aspirations. They want to hear that how they want to live their life is not alternate or against what they know life can be in God. That the life they wish to live can actually be grounded in theological and biblical constructs. They need to hear that what they hope for is connected to what they have hope in. Some things to remember when we think about the purpose of our preaching.
The Unplanned Perspective
This past week I went to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. It holds a lovely and diverse collection, worth frequent visits on its own, but this specific occasion was to view a temporary exhibit of works by Matisse and the museum's 31st annual "Art in Bloom" featuring over 150 floral arrangements that interpret various pieces from the museum's permanent collection. It was a serendipitous convergence of past and present art, interpretation then and now, and how meaning is contextually determined and defined.
Evidently, Renoir once said to Matisse: "When I have arranged a bouquet for the purpose of painting it, I always turn it to the side I did not plan."
I began to imagine what this might mean for preaching. I think first of our approach to a biblical text for the purpose of preaching it. We engage our processes of exegesis to position the text in such a way that it might appear as an attractive array of information for preaching. Background, word studies, criticisms, like depth, color, and texture, create an integrated whole, a presentable piece, and certainly beautiful in attention, intentionality, and detail. We step back and admire how it all fits together. We feel satisfied with our efforts to collate and coordinate seemingly desperate data into a dazzling display of deliberation. We marvel at the mystery that we have managed to contain for a minute-determined performance.
I wonder, however, when the arrangement we have constructed, rather than a possibility for preaching, becomes the finality. When the information is perceived as sufficient for a sermon. When we are so taken with that which is behind the text, with what we have found out about the text, with what is worth knowing about the text, that we expect others will also have the same viewpoint. When we have gotten lost in the picture we have painted in our minds instead of being grasped by an image that might surprise us.
Renoir reminds us that the portrait we've constructed may not be that which we should paint.
What happens when you turn what you have learned to the side you did not plan? What will come into view when you look at the entirety of the bouquet through the perspective of one flower? What will you see when you shift the lens, ever so slightly, like the infinitesimal turn of a kaleidoscope?
Imagine what this means for the preacher. You are a painter. A sculptor. An artist. Don't pretend that you aren't. Preaching is an art. It is interpretation in time. A perspective for a certain purpose and place and people. Do we think about this? Remember this? Embody this identity? And why is this important? For the sake of what? Well, because at stake is our creativity. Our imagination. Our placed perspective. To embrace the space that seeks to speak into time. To articulate meaning that hopes to give meaning to the present and possibility for the future. That is art. That is preaching.
Matisse wrote, "Each picture, as I finish it, seems like the best thing I have ever done…and yet after a while I am not so sure. It is like taking a train to Marseille. One knows where one wants to go. Each painting completed is like a station – just so much nearer the goal. The time comes when the painter is apt to feel he has at last arrived. Then, if he is honest, he realizes one of two things – either that he has not arrived after all or that Marseille…is not where he wanted to go anyway, and he must push farther on."
Renoir and Matisse remind us of that which is beyond ourselves. Beyond ourselves as preachers. Beyond ourselves as interpreters of biblical texts. Beyond ourselves when it comes to our theological constructs and creeds and confessions. The view of the artist might very well prevent, albeit with prudence, our own myopic manifestations of our mind's eye.
To preach is to enter into the arena of the artist, the reality of the performer. One who seeks expression in time but also who understands its vulnerability. One who knows the joy of creation but also who is fully aware of the world's critique. One who lives for meaning in the moment but also who senses its fleeting serendipity.
In the end, all of this is profoundly incarnational, right? And therefore, profoundly biblical. It is being who you are in the moment in which you have been called. It is communicating your truth that is then asked to be articulated into a particular moment. It is risking a permanent expression when you realize how impermanent truth really is. The life of an artist. The life of a preacher.


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So sleepy....
It makes me tired just reading this! Missing the train stop - that's the point where I'd break down crying. You young whippersnappers have fun for all of us who can't dream of missing a nights sleep.
Has anyone ever slept for 20.5 hours?
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School is now going well for the Bowers Elementary School student who was oinked at in his kindergarten class last month, his mother reported.
"Everything's been fine," April Norris said last week. "I'm hoping that continues."
Her son's teacher – Debbie Hayes – was reprimanded after another teacher reported seeing Norris' son in the middle of a circle of other students. The students in the circle were oinking and making pig sounds.
Property that many consider a blight on Harriman's curb appeal may soon be the source of green, leafy nutrition for family tables in the city's communities.
"It is called community-supported agriculture," said Harriman City Council member Chase Tedder.
Tedder embraces the plan, which was recently introduced by council member Ken Mynatt as a way to put vacant lots in the city to good use.
Mynatt said the project could take off when a few of the burned-out homes that have been left standing are removed.
The Roane Alliance President and CEO Leslie Henderson, left, leads Jim Henry, Jim Gann, Jerry Duncan, Steve Kirkham and Jerry Stephens in a "burn the note" ceremony Friday at the Alliance office in Kingston.
An anonymous donor provided the funds for the Alliance to pay off its mortgage in return for a 10-year commitment on the organization's part to ensure that the building will stay well-maintained and well-equipped.
Members of Roane Choral Society will rehearse this week in Bethel Presbyterian Church, Kingston.
Rehearsal starts at 7 p.m. today, April 18.
All members are needed in preparation for the "Music of the Masters" performance.
The concert will be presented to the community at 3 p.m. May 1 in Bethel Presbyterian Church.
This performance will include choral literature of Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Vivaldi, Handel, Rutter and others featuring the Moeller organ.
The Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld a judge's decision to sentence Bryan K. Howard to eight years in prison.
Howard pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in the death of Bradley K. Lively. He had a blood alcohol level of .10 when he killed Lively in a July 2007 car crash.
Roane County Criminal Court Judge E. Eugene Eblen denied all forms of alternative sentencing when he sentenced
Howard in March of last year.
In his appeal, Howard argued that Eblen erred in denying all forms of alternative sentencing.
The Harriman Blue Devils put a spell on the Wartburg Bulldogs, taking a 7-3 win in a battle of the blue teams Thursday evening at Wartburg.
The Kingston softball team hosted Sweetwater Thursday and the result was another victory for the Lady Jackets as Ronnie Ladd's squad bombed the Lady Wildcats in five innings, 10-0.
Matt Headden's Oliver Springs Lady Bobcats picked up a pair of District 4-A wins Tuesday night as the Lady Cats ripped Wartburg in a doubleheader by scores of 11-0 and 16-0.
Game One
Copyright © 2014
The Roane County News is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Roane County and Kingston, Tennessee, and the surrounding area.


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On Saturday I was able to test the Shockwave C & P "SUO" H&K Lower on my Century Arms C93 Sporter (HK 93 Clone). It was very easy to install and guess what...?...It worked! No tweaking, adjusting, messing around with anything! The grip is really nice and a major improvement over the Navy style lower. It made the rifle a lot nice to look at, and more importantly, a lot more fun to shoot. For $50, you can't go wrong. I definitely recommend this upgrade.
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|New King James Version (NKJV)
|New International Version (NIV)
|3 O My mountain in the field, I will give as plunder your wealth, all your treasures, And your high places of sin within all your borders.
|3 My mountain in the land and your wealth and all your treasures I will give away as plunder, together with your high places, because of sin throughout your country.
|Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. (New King James Version)
|Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide. (New International Version Bible Online)


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Sun, Mar 27, 11 at 17:39
|My daughter lives in North London, UK and just sent me this photo of plants she bought for her window box. I've never seen it and she doesn't know what it is.
Does anyone know?
Image link: What flower is this? (42 k)
Follow-Up Postings:
- Posted by jewell_pnw (My Page) on Sun, Mar 27, 11 at 21:49
|From the leaves and flower structure I would say that is the coolest color of primrose (Primulaceae) I have ever seen. Maybe someone else can give you more information as to the specific variety. WOW!
|They are in the Thompson & Morgan seed catalog listed under Primula polyantha "Gold Laced".
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1.7"L x 1.5"W
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Line your aisle or adorn your tables with these life-like silk rose petals. They'll never wilt, so they're perfect for both weddings and parties alike.
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im the nice guy im told. ill do my best to help anyone that asks. ill always be there for someone that might need it, its how i was raised. being the nice guy though i dont make a lot of moves or start conversations. if i dont respond or havent heard from me, its probably because i believe i did something wrong, its always how ive been...
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Well i wish i really knew. Trying to get my own place and ready to be on my own.
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listening im told. making other people feel good.
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Think outside the box. Sometimes the little things can say a lot.
well i dont know if i can think of six right away but..... family is one friends is a definite as well ....probably my car and phone.....coffee indeed
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Global warming, lunch, or your next vacation… it's all fair game.
what the future holds but like what the next day may bring
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Extra Commission For Travel Agencies And Tour Operators
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Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne. It's a big year for the little word gif. The Oxford Dictionary has chosen it as the word of 2012. Short for graphic interface format, which are looping Internet animations, gif began as a noun in the 80s but caught on as a verb. For example, I giffed. That is made my own looping animations of the president's speech. Runners up include nomophobia - fear of being without your mobile phone. And YOLO - you only live once. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
St. Louis Public Radio
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Product Number: 002-514-0068
- Eric N. Squires
Ask a question about this Michael Lindner pipe
The pipe you see is the pipe you receive. Click here to see our photography process.
|Length: 5.20 in./132.08 mm.
|Weight: 0.90 oz./25.51 g.
|Bowl Height: 1.90 in./48.26 mm.
|Chamber Depth: 1.68 in./42.67 mm.
|Chamber Diameter: 0.79 in./20.07 mm.
|Outside Diameter: 1.40 in./35.56 mm.
|Stem Material: Vulcanite
|Filter: None
|Shape: Dublin
|Finish: Smooth
|Material: Briar
|Country: United States


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Next on "Morgan Spurlock Inside Man": A humorous and poignant look at Americans' obsession with pets. Here, Morgan cares for a tiny kitten
Watch Sunday at 10pm ET/PT
Is there somewhere I can re-watch one of your episodes?
Does anyone know the disposition of Carlito?
I really enjoyed Martin Spurlock's program last night regarding animal shelters. I plan to adopt a dog this year and will definitely go through a shelter. Also, really touching how Martin got into the role of helping a questionable dog become adoptable and nursing a kitten through the night.


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Attorney General
Lori Swanson
Minnesota Attorney General's Office
1400 Bremer Tower
445 Minnesota Street
St. Paul, MN 55101
(651) 296-3353
(800) 657-3787
M - F 8 am - 5 pm
Propane Gas
About ten percent of Minnesota households--or over 200,000 homes--use propane gas as their primary heating fuel. This is significantly more than the national average of about five percent. Consumers are sometimes surprised to learn that the delivery and pricing of propane gas is not regulated under state law like other utilities in the State, such as electricity or natural gas. Consider the following when buying propane gas:
Different Types of Pricing Agreements and Delivery Arrangements with Suppliers.
Some suppliers offer consumers the option to "lock in" a price for propane for a specific number of gallons of the fuel. These pricing contracts are generally offered in the summer, before the heating season begins. If the market price of propane goes up or down, you generally still pay the contracted amount. You should ask about any other fees or charges that may be imposed by your supplier, in addition to the agreed-upon price per gallon. If you do not contract with your supplier for a specific price per gallon, or if you use all the propane you reserved at the contracted price, you will generally be charged the "going rate" at the time of your order or delivery.
Propane suppliers also offer varying options for delivery arrangements. Some suppliers offer to monitor your typical usage and the weather (to estimate how much propane is likely being used for heating your home) and deliver propane automatically as needed to refill your tank. Some customers may choose to monitor their tank and call the propane supplier when the tank runs low. Be sure to ask your propane supplier how long it will take to arrange for delivery after you call in an order. During periods of extreme cold (and high use of propane), some customers have found that propane suppliers are not able to arrange delivery before the tank is empty with less than two weeks or more of advance notice.
The Price Per Gallon.
Suppliers typically charge customers a per gallon price for propane. Although suppliers may promise low prices in their advertisements, consumers should not take the company's word for it. Instead, consumers should request a quote for the per gallon price charged by the company before each delivery. Where possible, consumers should shop around for the best price. Some companies—which appear to take advantage of the fact that many people don't shop around and obtain competitive quotes for propane—may charge up to several dollars more per gallon than their competitors on the exact same day. Some companies may even give their delivery drivers discretion to raise or lower the price depending on which consumer they are serving on the route. These companies may even drop the price per gallon by several dollars for people who complain or ask for a quote. Consumers should know this: (1) At some companies, the price per gallon for propane is negotiable; and (2) it is always a good idea to shop around and obtain competitive quotes.
Renting Versus Owning a Tank.
Under a Minnesota law enacted in 1957, if you rent or lease your tank from a propane company, you may only fill the tank with propane supplied by that company (Minn. Stat. §299F.40, subd. 3). If you can afford it, you may want to purchase your own tank so that you can shop around from multiple suppliers for propane to fill the tank. This may help you obtain the best per gallon price among a variety of companies. Suppliers may be more likely to give you a better price if they know that you are considering switching to another provider due to cost. On the other hand, they may be inclined to charge you a higher price if they know you cannot shop around because you rent or lease your tank from them. You may be able to purchase a used tank to save money or to purchase your existing tank from your current company. Some companies charge high tank pick-up fees to discourage consumers from moving their business to a competitor.
The Hidden Fees.
As you shop around, ask the company for a list of its fees. Some companies may mask their costs by charging various fees, such as low use fees, no use fees, delivery fees, fees for filling only part of a tank, tank drop off and pick-up fees, and the like. Get a list of these fees as you comparison shop.
Rates in Minnesota.
Between the months of October and March, the Minnesota Department of Commerce prepares weekly reports on the price of propane that include the statewide "average" price per gallon. You may contact the Department as follows:
Minnesota Department of Commerce
85 East 7th Place, Suite 500
St. Paul, MN 55101
(651) 539-1500
The United States Department of Energy also conducts surveys of average propane prices and may be a resource for propane gas customers:
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20585
(202) 586-5000
Energy Assistance.
Some low income consumers may qualify for energy assistance. For information about eligibility and how to apply for energy assistance, consumers may call 1-800-657-3710, or contact the Minnesota Department of Commerce as listed above.
Opportunistic Pricing.
Over 30 states have laws that specifically prohibit "price gouging" in times of emergencies. Minnesota does not. The Office of the Minnesota Attorney General previously proposed a law that would have prohibited suppliers of essential goods or services like propane from engaging in opportunistic pricing, or "price gouging," during times of emergency or natural disaster, such as a national or local emergency or declared emergency by the Governor or President. Unfortunately, that legislation was defeated and did not become law. As a result, Minnesota is among the minority of states that does not have a law specifically prohibiting what many people commonly think of as "price gouging" during emergencies or disasters.
2014 Emergency.
In January 2014 the Minnesota Department of Commerce established a statewide emergency line for people running low on propane or facing other emergencies. The number for this hotline is (651) 297-1304 (metro area) or 1-800-657-3503.


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Viewtiful Joe 2 Cheats for Playstation 2Home / Playstation 2 /
This page contains Cheats for Viewtiful Joe 2 organized by sections for Playstation 2. Viewtiful Joe 2 is a Action Beat-'Em-Up game, made by Clover Studio, released on Dec 7, 2004 and published by Capcom. If you can't find a hint or secret in our list, then please check this page periodically for the latest updates.
- Developer:
Viewtiful Joe 2 Playstation 2 CheatsClover Studio
- Publisher: Capcom
- Genre: Action Beat-'Em-Up
- Release Date: Dec 7, 2004
- ESRB: Teen
Beat the game to unlock the Reel select option for that and lower difficulty settings....From: Dr Mmm Pie
Beat the game in Adult mode....From: weakme
Beat the game in V-Rated mode....From: mel736
Unlock the following chambers by completing the indicated task:...From: ZaecsTrunkin
To use the Six Cannon in battle or anywhere else, you must have an almost entire bar of VFX (plus the four to five mini-bars). Then, hold Z until it gets to the last two VFX. A cannon will appear and shoot a large beam with the switched character in it. This works well against Bosses....From: mtguw209
Switch to Silvia, then do Slo mo and Replay followed by Close up. Then, punch the enemy for three times the damage. Whenever playing as Silvia transformed, double jump into the air and rapidly press Punch. She will slowly fall to the ground while firing her gun. This is useful when facing multiple e...From: getbackers
Ms. Bloody Rachel is your big replay against the bosses Big John, Flinty Stone, Camoleon, and Frost Tiger (in that order). There is no big change in their attacks, but their patterns are slightly different and HP is much higher. They are also yellow now....From: max hammer1
Not only are Fire Leo (one of the Bosses from the original Viewtiful Joe) and Frost Tiger brothers and look alike, but they fight exactly the same except that Fire Leo goes in lava to get his aura back, while Frost Tiger grows his aura....From: bobo007
In Reel 4, there are three torch stands that need to be lit towards the end of Scene 1. To do this, you must flare up as Joe using Mach Speed then switch to Sylvia. By switching, you will transfer the fire to Sylvia. Activate Replay and attack with something that will activate the Replay action. The...From: pimpske
Use Slo Mo when enemies are about to attack you....From: plip10
Stuck on this game? Set a specific, clearly defined question and let others answer your question or view answers to previously asked questions. If you think you are an Viewtiful Joe 2 expert then please try to help others with their questions.
SingStar - Official Launch Trailer
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- Aug 25, 2014, Views: 417
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- Aug 25, 2014, Views: 336
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- Aug 25, 2014, Views: 360
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text:
- Goal:
- $3,000.00
- Achieved:
- $3,230.00
Gold Medal
Raised $1000 for the Liver Life Walk
My Progress
Fundraising Honor Roll
Angelina Canas
In memory of Catherine and Chester Huber
The Bedford Family
Walter & Veronica Kosch
Sebastian Gutierrez(401)
DeAnthony Orozco (401)
Ryan Holdway
Bryan Kingsbury
Carrie Hunssinger
Joe M Sergi
Steve & Angi Holdway
Brent Gerlach
Emilio Ramos (401)
Mr. Nikos Acuna
Ellen & Kyle Haight
Frida Mejia (401)
Molly & Parker
Tim and Katie (Palumbo) Shinnick
Sam Behnke
Laura Seago
Kelsey Julius
Matt and Sierra
Tim & Kristen Tenaglia
Heather Ritter
Nick ferraro
Genesis Araujo (401)
Tais Torres (401)
Eladio Montoya (401)
Shannon Hitzeman
Lizbeth Ortiz (401)
Nina Lin Eun
Emily Campos (401)
Gabriel Garcia (401)
Alvin Garcia
As a teacher, each of your students holds a special place in your heart. When school started this year we had a new student to our school...A kind, tiny, and smart little girl. She is truly one of the sweetest children I have ever had the pleasure of teaching.
Then a day came where she wasn't at school...and then another... and another. After several days I spoke with my principal, very concerned about her prolonged absence. This was when I was informed that my kiddo had been diagnosed with stage 3 liver cancer.
Over the past several months my students and I have sent flowers, care packages and cards. However, I wanted to do something more. This is why I signed up to participate in the Liver Life Walk on June 14th. I am doing this in honor of my very brave ten year old who is fighting a battle no child (or anyone) should ever be forced to fight.
Every step I take and every dollar I raise will make a difference in the lives of the 30 million Americans living with liver disease. By making a donation on my behalf, you will be helping the American Liver Foundation provide community-based education and prevention programs, protect the rights of people with liver disease, and fund critical research.
By making a donation you'll take me one step closer to my goal and take all of us another stride closer to a world free of liver disease!
Donating is easy! Just click the "Donate" button to get started!
Thank you SO very much for donating to this wonderful cause.
Thank you for supporting the Liver Life Walk Chicago on June 14, 2014!
The Liver Life Walk is a celebration of my commitment to a world free of liver disease. Please help me make that goal a reality! I support the American Liver Foundation® because it:
|Please send offline, non-cash donations to our office at:
American Liver Foundation® | 39 Broadway | Suite 2700 | New York | NY | 10006
*Please be sure to include the Walk Participant's name with your check.
All registration fees and donations for this event are nonrefundable.
Views and opinions expressed by third parties placing material on this page are not necessarily representative of the views of the American Liver Foundation®. If you feel this page contains objectionable content, or you have a technical concern, please contact the system administrator of this Division. Be sure to include as much information as possible.
If you think this page contains objectionable content, please inform the system administrator.


text:
About the Contributor
About EllieLissieA:
Hi, I'm Ellie.
Articles and Art by EllieLissieA:
Opinion section, Teen Ink
A Dog Called Hippo
Nonfiction section, Teen Ink
Death of Gus
Fiction section, Teen Ink
EllieLissieA's Hobbies & Favorites:
|Favorite books:
|Dark Matter
|Favorite authors:
|Michelle Paver, John Green
|Favorite music albums:
|Tourist History, Beacon, Here Comes Science, Arc, The Bones of What We Believe
|Favorite music artists:
|Two Door Cinema Club, Everything Everything, Chvrches, Dutch Uncles, They Might Be Giants
|Favorite movies:
|Don't be Afraid of the Dark, Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Hunger Games, Totoro, The Cat Returns
|Favorite TV shows:
|Hollyoaks, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, Friends, Come Dine With Me
|Favorite gadgets:
|My IPod Touch!, My Phone!, My Laptop!
|Favorite hobbies:
|Reading, Writing, Drawing


text:
Woman Tried To Sell Daughter's Virginity For $10,000
SALT LAKE COUNTY, UT (PIX11) -- A Salt Lake County mom who attempted to sell her virgin, 13-year-old daughter for sex in exchange for $10,000 is now under arrest, police say.
Felicia Rea Mclure faces charges of felony aggravated sex abuse of a child and second degree felony sexual exploitation of a minor.
Mclure's plan to sell her daughter's virginity began to unravel May 18 when her boyfriend, Richard Glazer, noticed text messages on her phone between McClure and a man known as "Don", according to court documents filed by the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office. The messages explicitly outlined the exchange for sex, prompting Glazer to contact authorities.
McClure even took her young daughter to lingerie stores, where she would take pictures of the girl modeling in bras and thongs to later send to prospective male buyers, according to the document.
The girl initially agreed to have sex, authorities said, but later tried to back out.
McClure is being held in the Salt Lake County Jail. She could face charges of 15 years to life.Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times


text:
If for some reason you are not completely satisfied with your purchase this holiday season, choose our FREE pre-paid shipping label and we'll cover your return! This offer is only good on eligible orders placed between November 1, 2014 and December 24, 2014. We've extended our normal return period to January 15, 2015 or 30 days after your order is received - whichever comes later. Learn more about our return policy.
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Engineered to be an excellent belt for just about any setting, the Boston Leather Velcro Tipped Cotton Webbelt. is the belt that you will want on your hips in pretty much any case. These Belts from Boston Leather are manufactured using long lasting materials that are sure to keep going for an exceptionally long time. Boston Leather has been in the belt industry for an extremely long time, and the Boston Leather Velcro Tipped Cotton Webbelt. is the direct effect of their endeavors to deliver you high quality items at cheap rates. At OpticsPlanet it is our special privilege to ensure that you leave with the very best belt for your desires, and the Boston Leather Velcro Tipped Cotton Webbelt. is one that we are proud to feature. For a wonderful strategy to keep your trousers at the peak of fashion, consider the Boston Leather Velcro Tipped Cotton Webbelt..
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Upgrade to the Flash 9 viewer for enhanced content, including the ability to browse & search through your favorite titles.
Click here to learn more!
Introduction by Peter Conrad
Published in 1811, Sense and Sensibility has delighted generations of readers with its masterfully crafted portrait of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. Forced to leave their home after their father's death, Elinor and Marianne must rely on making good marriages as their means of support. But unscrupulous cads, meddlesome matriarchs, and various guileless and artful women impinge on their chances for love and happiness. The novelist Elizabeth Bowen wrote, "The technique of [Jane Austen's novels] is beyond praise. . . . Her mastery of the art she chose, or that chose her, is complete."


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What does ROSI mean in Unclassified?
This page is about the meanings of the acronym/abbreviation/shorthand ROSI in the Miscellaneous field in general and in the Unclassified terminology in particular.
Repository Of Student Information
Find a translation for ROSI in other languages:
Select another language:
Discuss this ROSI abbreviation with the community:
Use the citation below to add this abbreviation to your bibliography:
"ROSI." Abbreviations.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2014. Web. 20 Dec. 2014. <http://www.abbreviations.com/term/201047>.
ROSI also stands for:
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text:
Mobile Banking App
Bank anywhere you are with HOMEBANK's Mobile Banking App. Follow the links below with your respective smartphone or tablet device to download HOMEBANK'S Mobile Banking App, complete the New User Registration and starting using the app today!
Our Mobile Banking App allows you to:
- Check Your Account Balances
- Check Your Account History
- View Check Images
- Securely Transfer Funds Between HOMEBANK Accounts
- Manage Your Visa® Check Card with Card On/Off
- Find a HOMEBANK Branch or ATM Location
- Contact Us
- Deposit Checks with Mobile Check Capture (Available Winter 2014)
- Pay Bills With Mobile Bill Pay (Available Summer 2015)
Apple, App Store, iOS and iPhone are registered trademarks of Apple, Inc. All rights reserved.
Google Play and Android are registered trademarks of Google, Inc. All rights reserved.


text:
'decently performing new Core 2 Duo CULV processor'
'spacious design every laptop maker'
'decent performance'
'solid productivity performance'
'Boot and shutdown times felt quick, and the rather snappy Seagate 5400.6 hard drive kept access times to a minimum without sacrificing battery life.'
'reasonably crisp 13.3-inch backlit LED screen'
'this Asus laptop is great for travelers and students.'
'The system is able to achieve such long running times thanks to the new chipset and the Core 2 Solo SU3500 processor.'
'low-cost, highly portable notebook'
'strong pressing cover this laptop'
'Can Use MSI Wind Batteries. '
'Keyboard is now 93% of full size'
'Sleek two-tone design, Long battery life'
'Machine has a sturdy overall feel'
'Well Priced, Good Battery Life For Battery Size'
'Viewing angles are decent enough and it's bright and sharp'
'Solid Netbook for less than $300, great battery life'
'Display is bright and has good contrast too'
'Low starting price.'
'the Mini 210 was able to play songs with a mix of high- and mid-range instruments and vocals without distortion.'
'Excellent Keyboard.'
'for long periods of time on the HP Mini 210 is relatively easy.'
'The three-pound system not only feels solid, but its inch-thin body is quite slender.'
'very good battery life'
'decent Intel Atom N450 processor'
'I can say its performance was very good, and its screen looked excellent.'
'immensely popular HP Mini 110 series'
'great performance'
'We were glad to see that HP's battery is well-integrated with the chassis, and doesn't jut out the back.'
'superior graphics performance'
'the Mini 311 felt responsive as we navigated Windows 7's menus and launched programs.'
'We were able to enjoy a full online experience running graphics at 16:9 1280 x 768 without any drop in performance.'
'Thanks to ION, video and gaming performance are miraculous by netbook standards under XP and the upcoming Windows 7 version of the Mini 311 is just as good.'
'The Mini 311 design is attractive, with a flush 6-cell battery.'
'Netbook, terrible touch pad and mouse buttons'
'Impressive battery life'
'It's crisp, with good colour reproduction and, quite frankly, it feels like this machine was built around the gorgeous screen.'
'you a more comfortable keyboard'
'Inexpensive 10-inch netbook'
'the Aspire One AOD150 is so good.'
'It looks like Acer has made it easy to upgrade the RAM, hard drive, and even the WiFi card thanks to some easy access panels on the bottom of the unit.'
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'Crisp backlit led screen.'
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'fastest 13-inch laptop'
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text:
Wexford Travel Guide
Wexford Attractions
Wexford Weekend Breaks
Top 10 things to do in Wexford for a weekend.
- Wexford County Museum
- Irish Agricultural Museum and Famine Exhibition
- Riverside Park Hotel
- Hook Lighthouse
- Irish National Heritage Park
Featured Hotels in Wexford
- Talbot Hotel Trinity Street Wexford Wexford 115 Rooms
- Whitford House Hotel Health & Leisure New Line Road Wexford Wexford 36 Rooms
- Riverbank House Hotel The Bridge Wexford Wexford 24 Rooms
- Maldron Hotel Ballindinas Barntown Wexford Town Wexford 108 Rooms
- Ferrycarrig Hotel Ferrycarrig Bridge Ferrycarrig Wexford 102 Rooms
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