Mashup Religion: Pop Music and Theological Invention

Appendix 1 - The Multitrack Sermon

173 Appendix 1 THE MULTITRACK SERMON A HOMILETICAL CASE STUDY In chapter 2, theological invention was broken into four layers of tracks: Scripture tracks, culture tracks, theology tracks, and message tracks.Although this model of tracking could relate to any theological composition, it is particularly applicable to the invention of sermons. In this appendix, I will demonstrate the usefulness of the multitrack analogy for sermon invention and composition. In this example, I will track two sequences of a sermon. For a video demonstration of this method and the tracking of an entire sermon, go online to the YouTube account for “Jonymac2” and search for my videos on “The Multi-track Sermon.” The Multitrack Sermon Let’s begin with a paraphrase of a biblical text, the story of the feeding of the five thousand in Matthew 14:13-21. Jesus, having heard that John the Baptist has been beheaded by Herod, withdraws in a boat to a lonely place. A large crowd of people discovers where he has gone, and they follow him. When he goes ashore, he sees the crowd and out of compassion heals many of the sick. Soon it is growing late in the day, and the disciples are concerned about food. They implore Jesus to send the crowd into the villages to purchase food. 174 — Mashup Religion Jesus responds by telling the disciples to feed everyone. They remind him that they have only five loaves and two fish. He asks that these meager provisions be brought to him, orders the crowd to be seated, takes the loaves and fish, looks up to heaven, blesses and breaks the loaves, and gives them to the disciples who feed the entire crowd. Not only is the crowd satisfied, but the disciples collect twelve baskets of leftover pieces of food. In the end, five thousand men, women, and children are fed. Message Track (Artistic Style, Enigma) Having studied the biblical text and done some sampling and remixing to consider the best way to say what needs to be said, I decide to edit into this week’s sermon a short snippet of audio: Compassion attracts those who are in need. These are simply idea words, or thematic words. They are my explicit message to today’s listeners. These words are already moving toward other harmonic layers of congregational hearing, straining for Scripture tracks, theology tracks, and culture tracks. But it is important to track my message so my listeners will know what it is I am actually saying to them. The message track is like a melody or vocal track, if you will. It lets my listener know what I am talking about. Now let’s move on to add other tracks. Scripture Track (Dynamic Equivalence Style) As I already mentioned, I arrived at this idea that “compassion attracts those who are in need” through theological reflection on a biblical text, Matthew 14:13-21. I am aware that there are important aspects of the scriptural text that I can draw forth into the sermon. I decide to layer in beneath the melody/message track (“Compassion attracts those who are in need”) a brief paraphrased sample from the biblical text: When Jesus stepped forth from his boat, going to a lonely place, a great crowd gathered. They seemed to know what Matthew tells us, that Jesus would have compassion on them and heal their sick. Appendix I — 175 These words are recorded as part of the sermon’s Scripture tracks. They are words that help the listener remember the foundational events of faith that underpin all Christian truth. Theology Track (Equilibrist Style, Theology of Love) For this sermon, I invited several laypersons to remix this portion of the sermon. I sent an e-mail to ten church members and asked them to track their theological ideas about this text by sending me thoughts on Jesus’ compassion in this story. One track in particular seemed to jump out in the mix, so I decided to edit it into the song as a theology track at this point: Compassion is a sign of God’s love for all of us. It attracts people because it says,“God has not forgotten you. In spite of what happens to you, God is there for you with saving, healing power.” Culture Track (Dialectical Style, Ordinary Experience) As I reflect further on what I am communicating and on the theology of God’s attractive love...