A View from the Balcony Resumes...

After an absence of two years I find myself again in the church balcony.  I placed a notice in June of 2011 that I would be on "vacation" from the church balcony as I had accepted an interim pastorate.  That interim has stretched for most of two years and I am once again retired and relegated to the second row, center section of the Raleigh First Baptist Church balcony.  I like sitting there because the beautiful rose window that faces the State Capitol creates this phenomenal halo around the back of my head, I am told by those folks on the chancel, and besides it makes me feel angelic or  messianic, a feeling that preaching behind the pulpit never gave to me.   Also, the antiphonal organ pipes of the balcony surround me and wake me if I have snoozed my way into the postlude.  It's nicer being on the balcony side of the snooze experience.   The pulpit side of the snooze experience is another thing altogether. I was always forgiving of my listeners who snoozed during my sermons as I have actually been known to yawn in the middle of my own sermons!  I need to write Miss Manners and ask her if that is bad etiquette to yawn while delivering one's own sermon, and if a preacher should say "excuse me" or just ignore the whole thing and talk on, and on, and on...

To all my faithful blog followers (both of you), please know I have made several editorial changes in the 2013 edition of balcony blogs:

1.   I will be brief (something I did not practice from the pulpit side of the sanctuary).
2.   I will not bore you with theology.   Instead, I will just talk about God and people, but mostly myself (I fall into the latter category in case you need to know).
3.  I will not embarrass my wife or family too much as I write these blog entries.  They will just continue to ignore me if I do.
4.  I will try not to fly paper airplanes from the balcony of the Church, nor will I drop hymnals off the balcony rail (unless the sermon is unbearably boring) just to write about it in my blog.  I know how folks like to read about irreverence.
5. Nor will I report that I raised my voice (unless it is part of a congregational hymn), nor if I shout (not even an "Amen" or "Preach on") unless there is a fire (in which case I shall probably entitle my blog "Hell Fire in the Church" or "Hell, fire in the Church"). 
6. I shall conclude each blog entry as soon as I have said what I needed to say, which corresponds to point #1 on this list, and one which I should have followed in my active preaching ministry, in which case most sermons would have ended with the announcement of the sermon title.   Once when my daughter was small she criticized one of my long sermons.  "So what would you have told them?" I asked.  Her reply: "You can all go home now!"