Worth a listen

I'm a frequent visitor to the Vineyard Community Church of Iowa City Website. Two big reasons are the church's pastors, Adey and Tom Wassink. They are two of the most dynamic, poignant, smart, funny (funny is very important to me; though it’s not in the Bible, I imagine Jesus laughed quite a bit), eloquent, engaged and real preachers I’ve ever heard. I know this because, every chance I get, I go to the Vineyard site and download and listen to mp3s of their sermons. (Go here, click on Downloads in the left-hand navigation bar, and then on Teachings.)

Adey and Tom spin wonderful stories, drawing from the Bible, of course, and tradition, yes, but also from their own lives, detailing their personal and spiritual travails and the opportunities they encounter for exemplifying Christ, as well as the struggles and joys of members in their congregation, and of their church as a body. Adey's most recent lesson begins with a story about an almost surreal encounter with a severely asthmatic woman and her traveling companions late Christmas Eve night in Chicago's O'Hare airport during a harried attempt to get home in time to be on church Sunday. The story, and intricately woven lesson contained within it about making one's life matter, is incredibly moving.

Trust me: listen to these sermons and you will be transported. You will feel lighter and more substantial at the same time. You will laugh. You will cry. You will yearn to be part of a community like theirs, part of the vision they so vividly and passionately describe. Above all, you will be inspired and challenged to serve Jesus Christ more creatively, more dynamically, more immediately. I am not exaggerating when I say I await the posting of a fresh sermon each week the way a five-year-old child looks forward to Christmas morning.

I read a lot of books. Books on theology, mission, evangelism, social justice. Occasionally I’ll come across a particularly well-turned phrase or anecdote that makes my heart soar with a sense of new possibility. But I don’t retain much of what I read, and in very short order the text, the lessons, the anecdotes begin to sift out of my brainpan like sand through a sieve, leaving little behind. But the stories Adey and Tom tell, their sermons, stay with me for weeks, for months. I’ve shared a few with my wife and we’ve talked about them for days afterward, in particular one of Adey’s teachings about demanding maturity from one's husband or wife. I won't go into why my wife found that topic so fascinating.

Like the best stories, theirs impart lessons but also inspire a certain joyful urgency, an anxiousness to roll up one’s sleeves and get to God’s work. If you have time and courage (because these are more than nice, neat Sunday School lessons), I encourage you to listen. And if there are some sermons/talks out there that have had a big impact you, let me know so I can post links to them here.

Peace

Stephen