Preaching Creatively During The Interim Time With Metaphors – Stilling The Storm – Transcript

Jim Latimer: Welcome to Coaching for Interims. We are about empowerment for interim ministers: best practices and quick help, from interims for interims – wisdom from the field. Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Reverend Peter Ilgenfritz. Peter, I’m delighted that you will share some of your wisdom with us today. It’s really a joy! I believe you wanted to share some things around preaching during the interim time.

Peter Ilgenfritz (He/Him): Jim, one of the things that’s been really helpful for me, and particularly as a first time interim, is to get a scripture story and a metaphor that can help me, and hopefully the congregation, make sense of this time. And I have found that having that has really helped keep my orientation to what I’m about here. It has helped me remind the congregation or invite the congregation to consider where they are. So the story that I’ve used as my scripture story and metaphor of the interim journey is from the fourth chapter of the gospel of Mark, and beginning in verse 35 and going through verse 41. It’s the story of the stilling of the storm. And why I love that story as an interim story, and what it’s opened up for me and for the congregation, is that the story begins with Jesus doing what Jesus does, in Capernaum: He’s preaching; he’s teaching; his healing. And nothing’s wrong! Everything is just fine. It could have kept going on like that for chapters more, but Jesus says, “Let us go across to the other side.” And why? Well, there is no reason why. It’s just that there’s something out there for us to discover.

And I’ve invited the congregation into that. An interim time can come because something’s been wrong or because, like in this case, nothing’s been wrong! The beloved pastor retired, and that’s been an invitation to this new journey. So I and invited the folks to think about that. And they set off in little boats, and other boats were with them, like Jesus’ little boat. So on my first Sunday, I introduced this story. The second Sunday, I had all the kids fold little paper boats and we passed them out to everybody as an invitation to look at that as their interim journey. It gave them a symbol, and gave them something they could take home to remind us where we’re at.

And then the story, of course, gets out and Jesus is falling asleep halfway across. A big storm comes up, and the disciples are beside themselves: Wake Jesus up! Teacher, do you not care if we should perish?! All of that anxiety, being overwhelmed, wondering, doubting if Jesus is in the boat with us. That we are all alone. We’re gonna die out here. And then Jesus wakes up, and of course, stills the storm. We know that experience as well. We know the anxiety. We also know those pieces of Christ among us that can meet us in meeting our anxiety in the midst. And both happen.

And the next powerful part of the story that’s not in the story, but we know had to happen, and that is that the disciples started sailing again. They had to find the tiller again. They had to find the mainsheet, they had to keep going amidst all of their experience about anxiety, assurance. And they had to find that empowerment, that, “You know what? Jesus is in the boat with us. We’re going to forget that, or we’re going to remember that, but we’re gonna keep going.”

Then they make it to the other side. And the other side is where an inner journey is headed. And it is a community, and a place that has great need for
Jesus and the disciples being there. And it is a community that is going to change Jesus and the disciples forever. And it’s that meeting that we’re headed for. And I sometimes along the way reminded people that there’s people out there, there’s a community out there, there’s a need out there, that is waiting for us to get there, for you to get there. And it’s a community that will change us, and will transform us both. So that little story, that little frame, has been a place to continually remind people where we are on the journey, and how the journey is.

Jim Latimer: Beautiful! I love the metaphors. They are so powerful. A good metaphor can carry a lot of freight, and the bible’s got a bunch of them. And I love what you said there, Peter. Because often, we think we’re going to serve a Community – we’re going to help them – and hopefully, we will change their lives for the better, etc. But what you reminded them, and what that story certainly has, is that those of us in ministry are going to have to be prepared to be changed ourselves. In fact, if we’re not changed also, then where’s the Gospel in that? Right? Both parties have to be willing to be changed.

Peter Ilgenfritz (He/Him): That’s the real joy and terror, Jim. If your ministry is, you know, terror: “Oh, there are boats!” You have to get in the boat!
And the storms which you never can predict, they will come up, and you’ll find yourself there with everybody in the midst of all that.

Jim Latimer: That’s beautiful. Thank you very much for sharing this. I’m sure listeners will enjoy listening. You certainly inspired me with the metaphor, and this particular one, with the making the paper boats, and the real tactile way you brought that into people’s lives is brilliant. Thank you very much, Peter.

Peter Ilgenfritz (He/Him): Jim, thank you.

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