Preachin' One

It's three quarters-past 10 on a Sunday


The regular crowd shuffles in

The usuals all have their special seats

Sit there once; just don't do it again!

And the ushers have handed out bulletins

And told you to silence your phone


We're here sharing a prayer we call brokenness


‘Cause it's better than prayin' alone

La la la, di da da
la la, di da da da dum

Tell us a tale, you're the preachin' one


Tell us a tale today


Well, we're all in the mood for a parable


And you've got us leanin' that way. 

It's a pretty good crowd for a holiday


And the treasurer gives me a nod


But he knows it's NOT me

they've been comin' to see


'Cause they wanna get closer to God

And the folks in the pews are a happy lot


Like family, they're quick to share cheer

And they all sit up straight

and throw cash in the plate,

And say, "Rev, what are you doin' here?"

La la la, di da da
la la, di da da da dum

Saint Paul was a traveling evangelist

who never had time for a wife

He wrote congregations

from all sorts of nations

Teaching grace as a new way of life

We are gathered to kindle a memory


Though it seems we've forgotten the plot 


So it hurts and it heals

When it gets in our feels


But this story is all that we've got.

Tell us a tale you're the preachin' one


Tell us a tale today


Well, we're all in the mood for a parable


And you've got us leanin' that way

Now Joan, in the choir, is a friend of mine


She sings from her heart so free


She listens a while

And she's quick with a smile


Though there are parts she just won't let us see

She passes me a note as the service ends

"Your sermons offer sacred space, 

But the life that I lead is so far from that 

Please pray I can live and breathe grace."

Oh, la la la, di da da
la la, di da da da dum

Tell us a tale you're the preachin' one


Tell us a tale today


Well, we're all in the mood for a parable


And you've got us leanin' that way

© 2016 Todd Jenkins