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Harvesting Hope: Biblical Preaching with People of the Land

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Harvesting Hope: Biblical Preaching with People of the Land Luther Seminary Digital Commons @ Luther Seminary Doctor of Ministry Theses Student Theses 2020 Harvesting Hope: Biblical Preaching with People of the Land Catherine Belles Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.luthersem.edu/dmin_theses Part of the Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons, Liturgy and Worship Commons, and the Practical Theology Commons Recommended Citation Belles, Catherine, "Harvesting Hope: Biblical Preaching with People of the Land" (2020). Doctor of Ministry Theses. 56. https://digitalcommons.luthersem.edu/dmin_theses/56 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Theses at Digital Commons @ Luther Seminary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Ministry Theses by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Luther Seminary. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. HARVESTING HOPE: BIBLICAL PREACHING WITH PEOPLE OF THE LAND by CATHERINE BELLES A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Luther Seminary In Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF MINISTRY ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA 2020 i ii © 2020 by Catherine Belles All rights reserved ii iii ABSTRACT Hope Harvest: Biblical Preaching with People of the Land by Catherine Belles This project seeks to customize generic preaching skills to better serve rural Midwest churches in a time of great transition. “What seeds are we planting that our harvest will be hope in Jesus Christ? Does the Word of God affect our response, and are we transformed by that change, so that hope becomes part of our faith DNA?” Seeking to encourage prophetic visioning, preacher, leaders, and members to live into God’s ongoing new creation. Harvest is a major theme in rural communities and biblical narrative, a metaphor of grace and judgement. Preachers are encouraged to glean the faith stories of the members and leaders of their congregations. Those faith stories then become evidence of our participation in God’s works. Linking harvest and hope, these Spirit filled narratives inspires a more purposeful theology of hope and realized eschatology. There are few contemporary resources focused on preaching for decentralized rural congregations. Congregational and regional contextual understandings, together with transitional preaching resources develop unique tools for this distinct community. Seldom do people of the land receive honor and respect for their persistent faithfulness. Lifting those up in worship especially in sermons, becomes a celebration of God filled moments. If we do not celebrate the small dailiness of authentic Christ centered discipleship, we lose heart and hope. iv Personal, congregational, and community narratives are interwoven with scripture and theology. Using less familiar scripture texts encourages a wider view of God’s present activities. The decentralized status of these congregations is grieved. Yet a new hope arises in participating in God’s kingdom here and now, rather than waiting for the kingdom to come. Rituals and congregational values assisted in evaluation of responses to the sermons and the sermon series. Survey results from 2014 and 2019 were integrated suggesting a new vision of the core mission theology for one congregation. Intentionally seeking response to sermons encouraged greater discernment within both congregations and motivated this preacher to greater reliance on God’s truth. There is value in intentional listening to contemporary faith stories. Life experiences of the faithful are then laid beside biblical narratives pointing to God’s ongoing activity. Use of specific discernment tools for evaluation of a community’s diverse preachers will nourish preachers’ skills and theological language. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thanks, and praise to the good Lord who has brought me to this place and time. Thanks to my loving husband Richard and supportive family: Rykie, Caitie, Chris, Sandy, Sarah, and Jim. This last year has been the worst of times and the best of times. Eden and First Presbyterian Churches have proven their strong belief in holding up those who are falling. My brothers and sisters in Christ, Thank you. Mom and Dad, I thank you for the work ethic that drives me along like the Little Engine that Could. Dick and Karl, I imagine you are glad to see us all gone, but you are never far from my prayers. If a woman is known by the company she keeps, she can do no better than Brenda, DeWayne, Linda, Tim, Derek, Jonathan, Amy, Marc, Mark, Rodney, Cheryl, Jennifer, Mary Lou, Kathy, and Tracy TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................................v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................ ix LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ...............................................................................................x 1. IF IT DOESN’T MAKE A DIFFERENCE, WHAT IS THE POINT? ...................1 “To believe in this living is just a hard way to go.” ...................................1 Harvesting Hope ...........................................................................................2 Ripe Fields .....................................................................................................5 Liminal or Luminous ...................................................................................6 Eschatology ...................................................................................................7 Pastor as Observer .......................................................................................9 2. THEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS ....................................................................14 Rural and Agrarian Theology ...................................................................14 Crisis of Exile ..............................................................................................22 Tradition and Traditionalism ...................................................................26 Homecoming ...............................................................................................30 Realized Eschatology, Ongoing Creation .................................................35 Theology of Worship ..................................................................................40 Worship and Preaching in Transition ......................................................46 Hope, Optimism, and Choices ...................................................................51 Hope Focused Worship and Preaching ....................................................55 3. THERE IS SO MUCH HOW CAN YOU WRITE MORE? .................................59 Mind the Gap ..............................................................................................59 Personal and Local Histories .....................................................................61 Big Picture Issues of Rural Midwest ........................................................65 Big Insights into Personal ..........................................................................66 Exile and Stayers ........................................................................................69 Imaginative Use of Testimony ...................................................................73 Eschatology and Theology .........................................................................74 Rural, Land, Creation Theology ...............................................................75 4. HARVESTING HOPE TEXT CHOICES .............................................................77 Process .........................................................................................................77 Design ..........................................................................................................79 vi vii Special Worship Service ............................................................................80 Serendipitous ..............................................................................................81 5. ANALYSIS OF RESULTS ...................................................................................82 Qualitative Data ..........................................................................................82 Demographics and Geography ..................................................................87 Historical and Archival Materials ............................................................94 Rituals ..........................................................................................................96 Congregational World View and Values ..................................................99 Sermon response on November 3, 2019, All Saints Day. ......................106 Survey One: Christian Life Faith Development ....................................108 Summary of Analysis ...............................................................................109 6. EVALUATION....................................................................................................111 Strengths ...................................................................................................111 Weaknesses ...............................................................................................115 7. REFLECTION .....................................................................................................122 Value Discerned ........................................................................................122
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