A Matter of Perspective

I had an idea shortly after I arrived here to do what I call a, “split-screen sermon,” which is a name I absolutely hate but haven’t come up with anything better for it. We’ve done this probably four times since I’ve arrived and we’re going to do it again this Sunday. The premise of a split-screen sermon (ugh, that name) is that there will be two sermons preached in the same worship service. This is accomplished through the wonders of technology, where two sermons can be preached with only one preacher physically present in the worship service.

Here’s how it goes – The preachers decide on what scripture passage that they will both be preaching on. Each preacher writes a sermon that’s about half the length of a normal sermon on that scripture passage. Preacher A records a video of himself preaching his sermon. Preacher B records a video of herself preaching her sermon. On Sunday, Preacher A preaches his sermon in the sanctuary and then shares the video of Preacher B’s sermon. Preacher B preaches her sermon in her own sanctuary and shares the video of Preacher A’s sermon.

This Sunday we’re going to have Brandi Wooten from Chili preaching alongside me in worship (and vice versa).

Now, to be honest, I don’t love recording myself preaching. Whenever I do so, I end up having to do it a hundred times because the simplest flub or mistake means I want to start over from the beginning. When I preach live, I don’t have that luxury, so I don’t have to worry as much about my mistakes.

But I do love being able to share in worship with colleagues and friends.

I never really get a chance to see my colleagues in action. I know them, I spend time with them, I get to learn about their ministry. But I don’t ever really get to see how they are in worship. I love being able to hear how my colleagues bring themselves to their writing and preaching. Selfishly, it’s a fun chance for me to see some good preachers in action. Also selfishly, I only have to write half of a sermon – a benefit that is offset by having to record myself.

That’s my selfish reason for liking to do this. But I also think it’s something that is important for the congregation to participate in even more so. Every Sunday, I get up in the pulpit and preach a sermon. If you only ever go to Twelve Corners, then the only sermons you’ll hear (with too few exceptions) are going to be written by me in my voice and from my perspective. And that’s my role and that’s my job and that’s fine. But when we can hear two distinctly different sermons on the same passage of scripture side-by-side, it shows the diverse and distinct ways that people read scripture, which I feel helps us to recognize that none of us really have the final word on any particular passage.

I’m excited to hear what Brandi has to say this Sunday. I hope her congregation appreciates what I share with them.

I’m excited to see how her perspective, style, voice, and experiences influence how she preaches. I’m excited to see what she chooses to focus on. I’m excited to see where we diverge. I’m excited to see what we have in common. I am excited to share in this ministry and explore the breadth of what it means to proclaim the good news.

Peace,

Rev. Jeff Fox-Kline