This week I begin a brief interim assignment. When I retired I began thinking of ways that I could use some of my gifts in support of other pastors and their work. One of the ideas I came up with was that I could fill in for a pastor while s/he was on sabbatical. Now I am about to test that theory out. I think that other retired pastors might also want to consider this as a possibility. Since it is only for 3 months, and usually it is in a church that is not experiencing major conflict, it is a pleasurable way to support another clergy while having some fun yourself.
During my active ministry, I rarely repeated an old sermon. Now, however, I’m finding it fun to review some old sermons and rework them for another congregation. I am intrigued to discover how particular my sermons were so that they do need revision to remove references to the former congregation’s activities, and substitute other references.
It also is a good time to reflect on the theological themes that were present in my sermons. It makes me think that there might be some real value for both a pastor and a congregation to deliberately request that a pastor review sermons occasionally and pick out a couple that s/he particularly thought were powerful and share them again with the congregation. Sometimes after I’ve preached a fresh sermon, I recognize how a few changes would make it better. This would be an opportunity to act on such thoughts. Don’t think of it as a rerun but an opportunity to share an improved product.
