Chaplain finds his real church

In 1991, I made a career shift from Southern Baptist pastor to interfaith hospital chaplain. A close colleague was so concerned about my "apostasy" he promised he would help me find a new church if I ever "returned to the ministry." "I'm not leaving ministry," I said. "Hospital chaplaincy is still 'the ministry!' " As most of you know, I went on to serve 25 years of ministry in both military and hospital chaplaincy. But during those years, I promised myself if I ever returned to the pastorate, I'd change at least four things from my previous churches. In October 2022, I took the chance to test my ideas when I accepted the pastor role at Community Church of Nevada City (300 Main St.). The first change I made in my approach was to lay off guilting parishioners into attending every church service. I want our church to be a place where people seek to restore what's broken before they return to life. I told them church can't just be our destination. It must become an effort to live "church" outside the walls, visiting the sick, housing the homeless and sheltering the refugee. Second, I promised to lay off the money guilt trip. The Pastor Norris of the '90s asked members to give their entire charity dollar to the church. In my new pastor role, I remind folks of our duty to also clothe the poor, feed the hungry and bring justice to the oppressed. My wife says I became a preacher because I couldn't sit still in the pew. Therefore, my third change has been to redesign nearly everything about the Sunday service around people who need movement to learn. I preach interactive sermons where people can respond or even disagree. We've injected movement and response into the Lord's Supper, using individual stations where people experience the sounds, smells and tastes of Jesus' teaching. I've done away with the loud music that isolates worshippers and keeps them from acknowledging those around them. We still use some hymns, but I challenge folks to understand their meaning. I've even inserted a few secular songs that encourage people to extend God's work outside the church. Finally, my biggest change is trying to preach R-E-A-L sermons: R – relevant. I still preach the traditional stories of Samson, Moses and the virgin birth, but I try to make those stories relevant to today's life. I'll compare Samson's failure of strength to times my strength has failed me. I tell how Moses dealt with the rejection of his own people. And I talk about a young couple who must have been scared to death with their first child. E – empathetic. I try to demonstrate that I not only understand the people but feel their hurt. As I return to preaching again, I tell modern stories that show an appreciation for the pain life can put us through and the thrills it can immerse us in. A – authentic. Pastoring again challenges me to share more of my failures and heartbreaks. I try to admit the contradiction I feel between personal fear and the Scriptural admonition for us not to be afraid. I even share the defeat I feel over unanswered prayers and my frustration in loving the unlovable. L – language. A friend of my mine told me he would recognize a real church if he heard the pastor say "damn" once in a while. OK, no, I haven't started cussing from the pulpit, but I do work harder to communicate in everyday language. I avoid trying to prove I graduated from seminary with words like Christology, eschatology and ecclesiology. If my old friend ever reads this, he'll likely regret his offer to help me find a new church. But for now, my real church is growing a bit as we all gather for a safe place to explore our faith. All of my books can be ordered on Amazon. Autographed copies can be obtained on my website www.thechaplain.netor by sending a check for $20 for each book to 10566 Combie Road, Suite 6643, Auburn, CA 95602. Sign up to receive this weekly column by email at www.thechaplain.net/newsletter/ or send Norris Burkes your email address to comment@thechaplain.net.