Month: July 2023

One of the major tenets in Wesleyan theology is the belief in Prevenient Grace. I know. It sounds intimidating and hard to understand. But it really shouldn’t be. Basically, it is the belief that God’s grace, God’s love, and God’s presence shows up in every place, time, or situation before we do. God is the One who goes before us and waits for us.

As I was mulling this week’s upcoming sermon, the idea of Prevenient Grace came to mind. And I began to look at it in a way I never had before.

Most of us have been there. You’re planning a party or a celebration and you send out invitations to the people you want to share this special day with. And you include a polite request that they respond to let you know if they can attend or not. Having a head count always makes it easier to plan for food, space, and other accommodations.

I realized that God gives us an RSVP promising to attend to every event and moment in our life before we even have the foresight and understanding of who God is. The moment we are born, and daresay even prior to that, God makes plans to be with us anywhere and everywhere we find ourselves to be. Not only plans to be there, but plans to arrive early to meet us there. God promises to be with us in all the major parties and celebrations of our lives. But, perhaps even more importantly, God promises to be there in the difficult times in our lives. When you are sitting at home alone, feeling lonely and burdened down with the cares of the world God is there just waiting to be invited into your pain and hurt.

Notice I now use the term invited. God does it a little backwards compared to what we are used to in our society. He offers the RSVP before we extend the invitation. Yet, he still waits for the invitation. Oh, he certainly shows up. But he waits to be invited into our lives before he fully participates.

Prevenient Grace. The RSVP card that arrives before you have even had a chance to put a postage stamp on the Invitation card. God showed up early. God is waiting. I hope you will consider inviting him into your life.

Last December I made plans to attend a Christmas concert at Lenoir-Rhyne University with a friend of mine. Her daughter is a member of the band there and would be performing in the concert. My friend’s daughter shared with her boyfriend that her mother was bringing a friend with her and that I was a preacher. (Technically, I wasn’t one yet but had begun the process.) The boyfriend responded with, “I guess that means I need to behave.” She then replied, “Oh no, don’t worry. She’s not that kind of preacher.” After sharing that story with me, later on both my friend and her daughter reached out and offered to apologize to me if I had been offended by those words. I assured them both that rather than being offended, I took them as a great compliment.

You see, I knew exactly what the daughter was trying to say. She knew I wasn’t the type of person to show up somewhere with a pious, holier than thou, judgmental attitude towards the people I find myself with. I don’t expect or want people to go out of their way to change who they are just because I’m around. I don’t mind seeing and knowing the real “you” that resides inside. Obviously, when we meet new people in any situation neither side needs to share everything about themselves with each other. Relationships certainly need to build trust before some hard things are revealed. But even on a first meeting with someone I don’t mind if they let the cracks show of who they are and what their personality is like even if they have this feeling that it’s something a preacher wouldn’t want to know.

When we look at Jesus’ ministry, we don’t see that he sent out advance teams of disciples or followers to the towns and houses to tell the people to tidy their homes, lives, language, and attitudes because someone holy was on the way. Instead, Jesus showed up right in the midst and messiness of peoples lives and sat with them and listened to them. It was then he would share the news of love, hope, and salvation he had to offer.

That is my goal for the kind of preacher I do want to be. I want to be able to show up, sit with people right in the midst of the messiness (and also joys and celebrations) and listen to them. And then share the news of love, hope, and salvation God has to offer. And hopefully, will be able to tailor it better to their particular situation.

I’ve jokingly told others that I thought about putting the tag-line “Not That Kind of Preacher” on business cards to hand out to people. At least it would be a good conversation starter and hopefully an ice breaker to people to allow them to know that I am open and willing to hear as much honesty from them that they are comfortable to share.

As I sit here and write this, I have just woken to the first day of my license as a Local Pastor being in effect. I pray that for as long as this is part of my life that I will continue to be “Not That Kind of Preacher” and instead be more and more like Jesus every day.

Blessings to you All!