Preaching & Missions Within the Context of Your Culture

Posting has become somewhat of a challenge of late. I’m readying to go out the door and head for Louisville, Kentucky to visit my oldest daughter. She’s a third year medical student. You can bet dad is proud of her. It’s a rare occasion when she comes home for a visit; this third year demands much of her time.

On the way back to Huntington, WV we’ll stop in Morehead, Kentucky and I’ll preach at a small congregation. Huntington is on the Ohio River and borders the three states of Kentucky, Ohio, WV. The cultural diversity one can find in and around the Tri-State region are striking. Seriously! Where (except possibly Huntington, WV) can one drive 30 miles south and find themselves an immigrant in the middle of Appalachia. Drive 150 miles further south and you might be able to visit a church that emphasizes faith via snake handling. Head in the opposite direction (north) and 200 miles later you’ll arrive in Columbus, Ohio. Head east from Huntington, as my wife and I will, and sixty miles down the interstate you’ll be in Morehead, Ky another Appalachian center. But what makes Morehead different from other Appalachian communities is the moderately sized university located there. Continue east another 150 miles and you’re in Louisville, a large urban center. I’ve found preaching an ineffective means of reaching experiential people but in Morehead I’m sure preaching is indigenous to that culture. So, I’ll give a 20 minute (non-controversial) lesson and head back home.

Rick Presley posted the following comments to the faithmaps group.

In conversations on other lists, pomo isn't even on the radar. And when it is, it is usually the object of vitriol from the likes of Chuck Colson or Al Mohler. I'm with ya' Mike, but I don't know what the alternatives and options are. Pomissionaries? Possibly. Fred Peatross seems to be setting a model for those of you who are regular subscribers to his newsletter. He lives along the Ohio River near the junction of KY, OH and WV. Definitely not an urban center down there.We may want to hear more from him on how to do it in the sticks.

I’m still looking for that church willing to partner, and tolerate some failure, in exploring an original and creative endeavor in shaping a present-future missional effort to this region. There are a couple of possibilities. More later.