by Kristina N. Heise, AoP’2012
The Academy of Preachers is the place where I discovered just how vast and profound God’s word is.
The summer before I began seminary, I was given an amazing opportunity to attend an AoP preaching camp in Atlanta, Georgia. Before that experience, I had only ever preached a handful of times in my home congregation in Cleveland, Ohio. I remember coming to the camp with a lot of unknowns surrounding me. What would it mean to preach in front of teachers and mentors who weren’t my pastor? What if I found out I wasn’t the preacher I thought I was, would this change my plans to go to seminary? Is God really calling me to preach? How would my Lutheran heritage fit in this ecumenical context?
What I experienced that week can be described in one word – affirmation. I was affirmed that through the Holy Spirit God calls me to preach, equipping me to share the message of grace and mercy found in Christ to people I do not know, from backgrounds I can only imagine, to people I may never see again. That is a powerful affirmation, one so bright that it has served as a beacon of hope and truth as I have spent these past four years studying, growing, and preparing for ordained pastoral leadership.
There were about twenty of us at that Atlanta retreat center. Much like the National Festival, all day long we listened to one another preach. When we finished preaching, we broke into smaller groups and reviewed our sermons with each other. We celebrated each other’s accomplishments and encouraged each other to take risks. After our small groups, we broke bread together over a meal before returning to our rooms to begin writing our sermon for the following day when we would do it all again.
At camp, my small group with three other young preachers. Each of us came from different backgrounds, different parts of the country, different ages, and had different goals in how we wanted to grow as preachers. Our time watching our sermon tapes and supporting one another are some of the most holy and inspiring times of my pastoral development. Since the camp, we have still remained friends. Even though we live and serve all over the country, we seek out opportunities to meet each other whenever we are blessed to be in the same city. These are friendships that will last me a lifetime.
AoP had assigned a mentor to our small group. The first mentor I ever had who was not a part of my denominational heritage, he empowered me to try things within my preaching I had never considered. Under his encouragement I developed tools I was never presented in my preaching classes in seminary. I still use these tools in my preaching today, ones I feel connect me to the congregations I serve in fresh ways.
Our time in Atlanta concluded with a visit to the church and tomb of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. After a week of growing and learning about what it meant for us as individuals to be proclaimers of the gospel, it was hauntingly powerful to look upon the pulpit where Dr. King boldly shared the message of God’s inclusive and redeeming love, listening as recordings of his sermons filled the sanctuary.
There was not one of us who left that church untouched. For me in that space, being among other young preachers who feel humbled by this odd and wondrous calling to preach, it finally dawned that God will use me as a vessel that changes the world. I will most likely never impact our society with my sermons the way that Dr. King called out to our nation, but my preaching can and will make a difference.
What made Dr. King such an extraordinary leader was that his message was rooted in the foundation of Christ. It was rooted in the truth that God’s love is for all. The certainty that God’s salvation is for all. The promise that Christ stands with those who allow the Spirit to wash over us and drive us out into the world as agents of change and hope.
I think I could have become a competent preacher without the Academy of Preachers. Eventually I would have practiced enough to determine what my unique voice as a preacher is. I imagine it would have taken years to gain the knowledge I gained those five days in Atlanta, but I would have gotten there eventually. Having a platform to preach isn’t the core of what makes the Academy of Preachers so special.
The Academy of Preachers provides a space to uncover what it means for a preacher to pastor, what it means to love God’s children so much we cannot help but proclaim that Christ is with them and for them.
I am a better pastor because of the Academy of Preachers.
I am a better pastor because each year at the National Festival I marinate in holy waters as I listen to young, innovative preachers proclaim the good news of Christ.
I am a better pastor because my AoP friendships provide me with some of the best colleagues in the world.
I am a better pastor because the AoP helps me celebrate that God has equipped me with a voice that is wholly my own, and that because of my uniqueness, I will bring the gospel to someone who has not yet heard it.
I am a better pastor because that week in Atlanta helped me realize that through God’s agency in my life, I can change the world with my preaching.
The Academy of Preachers is the place where I learned how vast and profound God’s word is. I am a better preacher and a better pastor for it.