I Wanna’ Be Seduced …

Ex tempore: the art of delivering a prepared speech with minimal text or notes.

Oh-oh: what you think when you are speaking ex tempore and your brain malfunctions.

Last weekend was delightful as we celebrated the thirty years of our music ministry with Dennis Coleman.  We had a great banquet on Saturday night with shared memories and reflections of all that Dennis has brought to Bellevue First Congregational Church.  The celebration continued on Sunday with reflections by Phil Eisenhauer and the debut in worship of original compositions by Richard Lind and David Haney in honor of Dennis.

Then came the sermon.  Using the analogy of “soundtrack” I stated that at different times in life we have all had different soundtracks which reflected the events of our lives.  Continuing, I said that during a particularly difficult time of ministry my soundtrack could have been “I Wanna’ Be Seduced” … Oh-oh.  I meant to say “I Wanna’ Be Sedated” by the Ramones.  Once past the lips, you can’t reel it back in; the worst part was even as I was speaking the brain was screaming, “Warning, Warning!”  But it was too late.

Being prone to over-analysis and having been given very high marks for my understanding and interpretation of Freudian Psycho-analytic theory while pursuing doctoral work in psychology, this “Freudian Slip” would not let me sleep until I uncovered its genesis.  And now I know.

It’s your fault.

You see, I have served many fine churches and wonderful people in my thirty+ years of ministry, but nonetheless continued my nomadic journey looking for home.  Then I landed here; in my first months of ministry I was describing Bellevue First Congregational Church to a very close friend from seminary and after I had finished he paused and said simply, “Sounds like the church you always wanted to serve.”

Yep.  He’s right.  I then said “Too bad it took me thirty years to find it” to which he replied, “Maybe it took thirty years for you to be ready.”

Right again.

So it’s your fault; you seduced me from staying put and just waiting out the last years of my career.  You seduced me from remaining complacent and not using the gifts which God has given me; you seduced me into remembering why I went into the ministry in the first place.

In Proverbs it is written: “Do not let loyalty and faithfulness forsake you … Honor the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce.”  In other words, never take the easy way out.  Thanks for reminding me of that … and thanks for seducing me.

Rationalization is a highly developed art form, don’t you think?  See you in church.

Kevin