When was the last time you heard the words poem and pulpit in the same sentence? Likely as not, your answer would be never. Yet, if you’ve spent any time steeped in Scripture, you know that the Bible is rich in poetry, that poetry is one of its staples. You would never know that, though, judging from how rarely poetry makes its way into weekly worship services—unless you attend a small Brethren in Christ church in Riverside, California. The fellowship in question is Madison Street Church, and I am its Poet Laureate. For several years at Madison, I have had the opportunity to marry my poetry and my faith in worship. The poems in this collection were culled from those years, but Madison is not where my journey in creating poetry for worship began.
In 1978, I moved to Stockholm, Sweden, where I lived for six years. There, I became part of the international fellowship of Immanuel, a Swedish Covenant Church. Immanuel was easily the most diverse body I have ever belonged to, bringing together believers from as many as twenty different countries on any given Sunday. Even more unusual, however, was the way in which the leadership of our church embraced all forms of art in the worship services. Where most religious institutions employ music and decorative visual art, Immanuel threw open the doors to dance, drama, contemporary visual art, and poetry as well. If you had an artistic gift, room was made for it, and so it was Immanuel that first allowed me to bring poetry into Sunday worship.
My very first exploration of Scripture through poetry was the story of the Christ child told from the perspective of Mary. In a suite of poems that carried through the Advent season, I climbed into the skin of the young girl found in Luke’s Gospel and felt the heart-stopping terror, awe, and finally, overwhelming peace of the Gabriel encounter. I contemplated the likely rejection of Joseph, her betrothed, imagined the stinging whispers of gossips who would, no doubt, question the timing of this pregnancy, and more. In so doing, I felt, in a visceral way, how monumental a thing it was for Mary to say yes to God in that moment, and to keep saying yes to him throughout the hard months and years that would follow. And as I brought my revelations to the congregation through poetry, their eyes were opened too. Listeners found themselves able to enter this sacred Scripture, this oh-so-familiar story, in a fresh, new way. And they liked it. As for me? I was hungry to do more.
As a person of faith with a reverence for the Holy Word of God, I also understand that God welcomes, and even invites, the honest questions of his children, and so I come to the Word with an open heart, bringing my questions with me. As I climb into the skins of the men and women I encounter in Scripture, I try to look at the world through their eyes, asking the hard questions of God that they must have asked, seeking the same solace, wisdom, inspiration, and guidance they must have sought. Of course, I am bringing my twenty-first-century experiences and sensibilities along for the ride, and so I also look for connections between ancient Scripture and the daily realities of my own lived experiences. That means, I’m sometimes referencing daily headlines and happenstances, alongside the words and experiences of Abram and Sarai, Saul and David, Mary and Martha, Paul and Luke. And as I do so, I ask God to guide me, to shine light on those nuggets of truth he would have me share with his people. The Sabbath is his, after all. The pulpit is the place for his Shekinah glory, not mine. Bathing this work in prayer keeps me clear on that point.
Now, after years of doing this work, I’ve selected 100 of these poems to share with you. I’ve arranged them in a thirteen-month cycle, moving from January to January. Ninety-eight of the 100 were prompted by specific Scriptures, which are referenced at each poem’s end. I love the way January is both an ending and a beginning, and so I chose to use poems from that month to bookend this collection.
Here you will find poems appropriate for high days on the Church Calendar such as Lent, Easter, Pentecost, Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany, as well as American holidays like Independence Day, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving. You’ll even find an Earth Day poem within these pages, because no one has a greater responsibility to care for the earth than the people of God. No matter the topic, though, the focal point is always the Word of the Lord.
These poems were originally designed for the pulpit. However, they are also suitable for devotions, dramatic readings, and as part of choral performances. When strung together on a specific theme, they also work well for reader’s theater presentations. But feel free to simply enjoy them as the poems they are.