For the Messengers: November 2024

November 2024

Dear preachers,

In a week like this, I know your mind will be on Sunday's sermon even as you (hopefully!) take a few days off to give thanks with family or friends. I trust that you will enter Advent with the strength of the Holy Spirit as you walk with your people through this season.

It was a joy to see so many of you at the Disciples Preaching Retreat last month. I'm delighted to tell you that the recordings of all the sermons and keynotes are now available! If you weren't with us, or if you were and want to revisit something that spoke to you, you can find them all here, along with some photos of the retreat.

In this issue of For the Messengers, Andy Campbell shares an unexpected way his preaching has changed. Sarah Griffith Lund reminds us of how important it is to acknowledge that the Christmas season doesn't always feel joyful and bright. Scroll on down to read more (and send me your preaching stories, too!)

I'm grateful, this week and every week, for the ministry you do and the good news you proclaim.

Rev. Lee Hull Moses

Executive Director, The Proclamation Project

Office of General Minister and President

Rev. Andy Campbell is the Minister of Yale Avenue Christian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Following his ordination, Andy has served churches in Indiana, Georgia, and Kentucky before landing in Tulsa.

Finding the Light of Preaching in a Strange Place

Rev. Andy Campbell

For over two decades, my preaching was shaped by the formative influences of seminary professors such as Fred Craddock, Ron Allen, Frank Thomas, and many others who guided my early development. These mentors grounded me in a disciplined approach to preaching, one that was both thoughtful and measured. I still hold great admiration for their teachings and the impact they had on my early ministry. In those years, my sermons followed a structured, manuscript-based format, as I’d been taught. I avoided charismatic excess and tried to ensure the integrity of the pulpit. For twenty years, I preached faithfully within these boundaries.

Yet, in the last two years, my preaching has undergone a significant transformation. Andy Stanley, though theologically different from me, has been a surprising influence on my current preaching style. His ability to engage a congregation with a more conversational and unscripted approach resonated with me in ways I didn’t expect. It gave me the freedom to connect with the congregation in a more personal and Spirit-led manner. For almost a year now, I have not written a sermon. Instead, I step into the pulpit without a script, allowing myself to engage directly with the congregation, leaving behind the restraint that once defined my preaching. This shift has not only liberated me but also energized the church. Attendance has increased, and the congregation has become more engaged as we collectively feel the Spirit moving among us.

This transformation is part of a larger hope I carry for the future of preaching. The Proclamation Project is an opportunity to encourage others to find their own voice. The church today needs effective and authentic preaching, rooted in the unique gifts of each minister. I believe we must empower those called to live out their vocation and bring the Good News to a fragmented world. As I have experienced this freedom and joy in my own ministry, I hope others, too, will feel empowered to move beyond their fears and traditions to discover the voice God has given them. We need preachers who can speak truth to a world in desperate need of healing and grace.

I am finally stepping fully into the preacher God called me to be, and I hope my journey will inspire others to find that same freedom in their own ministry.

We need preachers who can speak truth to a world in desperate need of healing and grace.

Blue Christmas Rev. Dr. Sarah Griffith Lund

Lately the skies in central Indiana look like puddles of muddy water. This makes for excellent bird watching, especially when the crisp red feathers of a male cardinal flash by, landing on a bare tree branch outside my window. What is good for creation, the seasons of spring, summer, fall, and winter, representing cycles of birth, death, and rebirth, can be challenging for our mental health. Like the changing weather, our moods fluctuate.

As winter approaches, highlighted by the spiritual seasons of Advent and Christmas, so do the seasonal effects on our moods and mental health. Our faith tells us there is good news to anticipate, celebrate, and share with the world. Christ the savior is born! The Prince of Peace is with us. Our hearts want to, as the hymn verse says, “repeat the sounding joy!”

Yet, all is not silent and bright. There is shouting on the internet and there is dullness in the spirit of people afraid of the future. We are tired, anxious, and scared. The changes coming with the new administration will impact all of us. We just don’t yet know how. Amid our joy, there is also grief. We anticipate the losses to come.

Currently there is a mental health crisis unfolding, with high rates of depression and anxiety impacting children, teens, and young adults. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), one in five people are currently experiencing mental health symptoms and depression is the most common form of disability in the world. People in the pews are impacted by the epidemic of loneliness.

Blue Christmas is the name for an invitation to gather in the spirit of Christ during a season that is filled with heavy burdens. It is an offering of sacred space and community to be authentic about what we worry about during this holy season. Blue Christmas names the truth that many of us experience this season as stressful, overwhelming, and sad.

Blue Christmas helps us name our realities in a way that honors our dignity and worth as children of God. Being intentional to create spaces to acknowledge all our moods, feelings, and emotions out loud in the church helps reduce the stigma, shame, loneliness, and isolation that often is associated with not being in a festive mood to celebrate.

Does your faith community have a Blue Christmas worship service, community event, or prayer space? Often provided during the season of Advent, Blue Christmas can occur any day leading up to Christmas. Blue Christmas can be a worship service in the sanctuary with candlelight, or a zoom worship service with time for people to check-in, followed by a time of prayer.

Blue Christmas can also be a theme for a small group, such as a women’s fellowship or youth group gathering. Or Blue Christmas can be a prayer station that is assembled in the sanctuary or narthex where people can write down their worries and put them in a blue prayer box. The gift of Blue Christmas is that the concept can be adapted to best fit your community’s spiritual and emotional needs.

At the heart of Blue Christmas is the witness to the presence of God’s love in every season, including the seasons of life filled with despair, depression, anxiety, and hopelessness. The observance of Blue Christmas is a time to break the silence about our mental health experiences, and to share stories about what it is like to navigate our Christian faith during times of emotional difficulty and mental health symptoms. As we share our stories with one another, we help end the stigma associated with mental health symptoms. We can also share local support resources, such as support groups (NAMI or 12 Step) and local counseling services. We can share about the national, free and confidential text/call/chat hotline 988 for emotional support.

Blue Christmas inspires hope because in naming these realities, we realize we are not alone. We are in the company of the faithful. We are in the company of Jesus, who promises to be with us always. Our faith communities are uniquely positioned to create communities of compassion, care, and belonging that can help make Christmas a little less blue and lonely. As a community of faith, God invites us to come together as one and to love one another.

Be encouraged, friends, as you take simple steps to create spaces in your faith community for God’s love to wrap around all those who may look happy, merry, and bright on the outside, but are hurting on the inside. As the red cardinal sweeps through the gray Indiana sky, I am reminded once again of the Holy Spirit’s presence in my life, even on the grayest of days. I remember that I am not alone. I remember that I am loved.

Rev. Dr. Sarah Griffith Lund is a pastor, author, and advocate who desires to partner with others to share hope, healing, and joy. Sarah serves as the first woman senior pastor at First Congregational United Church of Christ of Indianapolis, Indiana, and she serves on the national staff of the UCC as Minister for Disabilities and Mental Health Justice. Sarah is the author of several books, including the forthcoming Blessed Minds: Breaking the Silence About Neurodiversity.

Preaching Retreat Recordings

The sermons and keynotes from October's Disciples Preaching Retreat are now available! Check out the keynote and a sermon from Frank A. Thomas, as well as sermons from Bekah Krevens, Sam Ramirez, Miseon Choi, Jorge Cotto, and Leah Jackson.

Watch Now

Looking for some preaching inspiration? Take a look at our resources for preachers.

There are sermon series materials that can be used anytime. Each week includes a focus scripture, sermon starters, Disciples connections, prayer practices, and questions for reflections.

Plus, you'll find video recordings from our past online events so you can revisit these important conversations.

Preaching Resources

Did you miss last month's issue of For the Messengers? Read it here..

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