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Jacumba Community United Methodist Church

Dan Meyer-Abbott: “We’ve gotten very good at talking at each other and looking past each other.”
Dan Meyer-Abbott: “We’ve gotten very good at talking at each other and looking past each other.”
Place

Jacumba Community United Methodist Church

1242 Heber Street, Jacumba, CA




Membership: 35

Pastor: Dan Meyer-Abbott

Age: 59

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Born: Glendale

Formation: San Diego State University, San Diego; Claremont School of Theology, Claremont

Ordained: 34 years

San Diego Reader: How long do you spend writing your sermon?

Pastor Dan Meyer-Abbott: At this stage, I’ve gotten pretty good at it. It probably takes me two hours, from start to finish, to get it all done, but that’s after a lot of years of working at writing sermons on a weekly basis.

SDR: What have you learned about writing more effective sermons?

PM-A: I will say this, I’m probably not like most when it comes to sermons. My sermons are probably ten minutes, max. One of the best pieces of advice I got was from my preaching professor at seminary who said you don’t have to put everything into one sermon. Another piece of advice I got from a church growth expert who used a baseball analogy. He said that you should “look for singles — you don’t always have to hit triples and home runs. Save those for the big holidays.”

SDR: Can you think of a time when you gave a sermon that completely flopped?

PM-A: I would say that would almost be true for every sermon I give [laughs]. That said, early on, I remember preaching at a church and, boy, I thought I was doing really well! — until afterwards my wife looked at me and said, “Boring.” I looked back at what I had done that day and realized I’d done what my preaching professor warned against — I’d stayed in the clouds and never came down. I didn’t have what he called a “for example.” Without one of these, he said, “you aren’t really preaching — you aren’t reaching them where they are and speaking to what is actually happening in people’s lives.” I learned quickly to include “for examples” in my sermons.

SDR: What is your main concern as a member of the clergy?

PM-A: Right now my main concern is the deep divide not only in the world but also in the U.S. between ideologies. We’ve really lost the ability to talk with each other. We’ve gotten very good at talking at each other, yelling at each other, and looking past each other, but we’ve really lost the art to compromise and listen to what the other person is saying. As I look at the New Testament, a lot of the words I find in it suggest the role of the Christian as a mediator; that is, as one who stands between two forces and mediates. I take on that role seriously when I do what I’m doing.

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

PM-A: I believe that there is an afterlife. I keep it simple. I think we are simply ushered into the presence of God. All the ways we describe it — Heaven, cities of gold — are all metaphors for being in God’s presence. I believe that if God is good at anything, God is good at saving. God ultimately and finally will save everybody, which isn’t to say there isn’t going to be a Judgment. There will be. But God’s saving everybody becomes in some ways the Judgment for those who think some people aren’t ever going to get saved.

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Dan Meyer-Abbott: “We’ve gotten very good at talking at each other and looking past each other.”
Dan Meyer-Abbott: “We’ve gotten very good at talking at each other and looking past each other.”
Place

Jacumba Community United Methodist Church

1242 Heber Street, Jacumba, CA




Membership: 35

Pastor: Dan Meyer-Abbott

Age: 59

Sponsored
Sponsored

Born: Glendale

Formation: San Diego State University, San Diego; Claremont School of Theology, Claremont

Ordained: 34 years

San Diego Reader: How long do you spend writing your sermon?

Pastor Dan Meyer-Abbott: At this stage, I’ve gotten pretty good at it. It probably takes me two hours, from start to finish, to get it all done, but that’s after a lot of years of working at writing sermons on a weekly basis.

SDR: What have you learned about writing more effective sermons?

PM-A: I will say this, I’m probably not like most when it comes to sermons. My sermons are probably ten minutes, max. One of the best pieces of advice I got was from my preaching professor at seminary who said you don’t have to put everything into one sermon. Another piece of advice I got from a church growth expert who used a baseball analogy. He said that you should “look for singles — you don’t always have to hit triples and home runs. Save those for the big holidays.”

SDR: Can you think of a time when you gave a sermon that completely flopped?

PM-A: I would say that would almost be true for every sermon I give [laughs]. That said, early on, I remember preaching at a church and, boy, I thought I was doing really well! — until afterwards my wife looked at me and said, “Boring.” I looked back at what I had done that day and realized I’d done what my preaching professor warned against — I’d stayed in the clouds and never came down. I didn’t have what he called a “for example.” Without one of these, he said, “you aren’t really preaching — you aren’t reaching them where they are and speaking to what is actually happening in people’s lives.” I learned quickly to include “for examples” in my sermons.

SDR: What is your main concern as a member of the clergy?

PM-A: Right now my main concern is the deep divide not only in the world but also in the U.S. between ideologies. We’ve really lost the ability to talk with each other. We’ve gotten very good at talking at each other, yelling at each other, and looking past each other, but we’ve really lost the art to compromise and listen to what the other person is saying. As I look at the New Testament, a lot of the words I find in it suggest the role of the Christian as a mediator; that is, as one who stands between two forces and mediates. I take on that role seriously when I do what I’m doing.

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

PM-A: I believe that there is an afterlife. I keep it simple. I think we are simply ushered into the presence of God. All the ways we describe it — Heaven, cities of gold — are all metaphors for being in God’s presence. I believe that if God is good at anything, God is good at saving. God ultimately and finally will save everybody, which isn’t to say there isn’t going to be a Judgment. There will be. But God’s saving everybody becomes in some ways the Judgment for those who think some people aren’t ever going to get saved.

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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