| · http://WWW.sermoncentral.Com/pastors-preaching-articles/mark-driscoll-mark-driscoll-4-reasons-why-I-preach-in-strange-places-1082.aspBlog Topic: What is the strangest place you have ever spoken? Is it possible to miss your blessing/miracle because you were not where God wanted to bless you?
· The strangest place I ever spoke was at a Sunday evening worship service at a drive-in theater.
What made it strange?
· The people I was speaking to were sitting in their cars, and I was up in the sound booth about 50 feet away from the nearest car. We had no eye contact, no body language, etc. There was no way for me to get feedback from my audience about the effectiveness of my sermon/communication. I was just shooting in the dark! Till this day (30 years later) I have no idea how effective that sermon was, or wasn’t.
How do you feel about speaking in strange places?
· I don’t mind speaking in strange places as long as the proper medium is in place in order for me to really communicate with the audience (I.e. Language, equipment, visible eye contact, a controlled environment where I can get people’s attention, etc.
What are your preferred places to speak?
· The church is my primary comfort zone; the classroom with students is probably my second preference. I prefer a smaller more intimate setting such as a classroom, to a large auditorium. Also, I’m better in a setting where I can interact with and get feedback from the audience. So, I actually prefer teaching, to preaching.
JC
· Yes, I believe that not being in the right place, at the right time, can cause one to miss his blessing, miracle and calling.
· But I also believe that God is a God of second chances! One question would be “why” one was not in the right place, at the right time? Was he ignorant, wounded, burned-out, distracted, caught up in sin, etc. Furthermore, how many times has one missed his place? I believe that our all wise, all knowing, compassionate God consider all things, before “voiding” our blessings!
· Know Ive almost missed showing up for a service due to tiredness and pressed on anyway and ended up having an incredible time in the Lord with great impact. Yes…I know you can miss it by not being where you should be. JC
Absolutement! Je comprend. I believe that we must seek the Holy Spirits direction so that we do not miss key experiences, meetings (chance or planned). Consider Mark 14:51 and following texts. Who was this young man, naked? I have contemplated his purpose in the text to some degree. I wonder if he was the rich young ruler-who had previously faltered to follow Christ when he discovered the cost was to sell all he had to do so. His head was downcast. What if after time, he decided to do so and shows up at the worst time to follow Christ…hours before he would be crucified. Talk about missing your opportunity because of being consumed with the wrong thing, not focusing on Kingdom projects or like Paul- who was passionate about serving God but served as the judge, jury and executioner of Christians only to find he should have been at the feet of the disciples.\\What do you think?
· STRANGEST PLACE I PREACHED: a night service in a small Pentecostal church on east coast in 1980. All pastors were very large women. All sat in the pulpit area in large padded, cloth living room chairs with no shoes on. The ceiling in the pulpit area was about 6 inches from the top of my head. About 50 people in the congregation. There was lots of shouting and dancing to the singing. During testimony service, several people ran around the room, slinging their arms wildly, and screaming what the Lord had done in their lives. A hole about the size of a baseball was in the middle of the floor. I began to be concerned that it might be a place where they kept a snake or two. (Some churches practice snake handling based on Mark)
· My wife and the one child we had at the time looked a little terrified. Fortunately, I preached and got away with no harm. After the service, a man met me in the lot and asked where my church was, because he would like to attend ( join). I was not pastoring at the time. Here’s the weird part: the man was the husband of the pastor. (go figure).
SPEAKING IN STRANGE PLACES: Depends on occasion, the audience, and if there are limitations on what I can and cannot say.
PREFERRABLE PLACES: I love speaking to leaders.
DJM
What is the strangest place you have ever spoke?
· A Sunday school graduation
What made it strange?
· I was just an un-experienced mom at home with little ministry experience.
How do you feel about speaking in strange places?
· Don’t mind anymore.
What are your preferred places to speak?
· Wherever I am sent by the Lord. A pulpit, a conference center, hotel, a classroom, an office, at some ones home, in a field, at work….really doesn’t matter at all.
RC
The strangest places that I have spoken
are probably two-fold:
1. A remote fishing community in Tongaland, a region on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia near the Zambezi River. I preached with a translator and culturally designed visual images that they were familiar with to communicate The Gospel. I found this exhilarating! I also preached at a ‘church’ in the same region that was around a campfire – for light and warmth on a cool winter night in August.
2. Another strange place I preach is as a chaplain to NFL teams who play my beloved Eagles. It is strange because I am always preaching to world-class athletes who I never wish to win the game that they are about to play. I feel a bit like a ‘spy’ when I do this but my task is to preach a word from the Lord and to clearly communicate the Gospel in a relevant fashion. Because they are usually un-churched and professional ‘concentrators’ they rarely say a word until and simply stare at me until I am finished. This is an extreme departure from the ‘dialogue’ of preaching in the Black Church context. Frequently I am blamed and told that ‘I preached too good’ when the opposing team defeats my Eagles (by those Philly persons that know I am engaged in this ministry).
I am challenged and honored to preach in ‘strange places’ because I realize that I am always preaching to an Audience of One – My Heavenly Father – who entrusted me to minister with wisdom, power and sensitivity in the contexts to which He sends Me. Ultimately, my task is simple – to Please Him, Do Him proud, and make His Name both relevant and famous to those to whom I speak.
- PJ
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