“Growing from Challenges”
Acts 7.54 - 8.1
When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this [message about Jesus], they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices; they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.
While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. And Saul approved of their killing him.
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
I had a problem deciding what to do with the sermon for today. Should I follow the lectionary for today - the passage I just read? Should I find some other text that is less obscure?
I enjoy the spiritual discipline of the lectionary because it forces me to look at scripture lessons that are not necessarily a part of my repertoire. In my personal spiritual development, as well as my preaching, I need to confront myself with scripture that will challenge me - even make me uncomfortable - in order to grow spiritually. “Spirituality” is such a vague concept, let me say it in a better way ... I need to allow the Bible to take me on the path Jesus would have me take - even though it makes me uncomfortable; even though I resist it - in order to follow Jesus more closely. Spiritual growth is not always a “feel good” experience. Sometimes it involves growing pains.
So I decided to follow the passage that is in the lectionary for today; but where would I follow it? I had several working outlines. All the way through Saturday, but I could not decide where God was leading me. Also, since there was a prediction that the world would end Saturday, May 21, 2011 (yesterday) at 6:00pm, I thought I would wait. Maybe I would not need to decide on a direction for a sermon if the world actually ended at that time. (Even the end of the world has an upside!)
I have found, however, that the Holy Spirit was guiding me in one particular direction. You know that the Holy Spirit works more than just on Sunday mornings. The Holy Spirit also works Monday through Saturday as well. And also, at least in my situation, the Holy Spirit guides me with coherent thoughts.
Not everyone understands that we have a 24/7 Holy Spirit. About thirty years ago I remember a Song Leader in my first church after seminary expressing displeasure with me bringing sermon notes into the pulpit. Initially, he could not get beyond his expectations of what preaching should be. This fellow (eventually we became friends) early on was always putting his shoulder into me. One day he said, “You use notes. You’re not spiritual. Your sermons are not heart-felt.” I thought over the sermon manuscripts of Martin Luther, John Calvin, Jonathon Edwards, and many others that I was required to read in seminary and the reforms, renewals, and revivals that their preaching from notes had sparked. I thought of the four volumes of John Wesley’s sermon manuscripts that he required his Methodist preachers to read.
I caught myself. I did not get angry or defensive. You know it is often a good thing to steer into the skid. So I asked him, “You assume that because I use notes that my sermons are not heart-felt - they are not spiritual?”
“That’s right,” he said.
“I am so glad you shared that with me. I was wondering how to bring up the same thing to you. I have been concerned that our hymn-singing is not heart-felt.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Well, you use notes, don’t you?” I could see he was thinking about that one. “I tell you what,” I continued. “I’ll let you pick a Sunday, and we’ll both go without notes.”
Fortunately, he was a mature Christian. Neither of us ever mentioned that conversation again. We became good friends, and worked well together for several years ... and neither of us ever went without notes.
I digress, though. The bottom line is that the Holy Spirit guided me in advance in how to deal with this particular passage. I guess the Holy Spirit is well-organized.
Today’s message is about challenges. As I was challenged by the Spirit with this passage, so too is the Church, so too are denominations, and so too are individual churches presented with challenges. Even individuals are faced with challenges.
I prefer to view challenges in positive ways. Challenges are opportunities to learn or teach others, to define who we are, to make a statement of our faith, and to allow God to shape us for His purpose. Appropriate responses to challenges cause positive changes to occur. Appropriate responses help us take a step forward in following Jesus.
We have personal challenges throughout our lives - challenges to our health, relationships, finances, and faith. Without challenges we become stagnant, settled, and unproductive. When we respond appropriately to challenges we experience spiritual growth, progress, and productivity.
Responding in the wrong way to a challenge - or even responding at all to a “meaningless” challenge - can sap our energy and resources. It can pull us away from our mission, our purpose, our following Jesus. For example, whenever a church, a business, a school, or any organization turns its focus toward challenges to its own survival - or maintaining the past - it soon forgets its reason for being - its purpose; and it becomes irrelevant, purposeless, meaningless.
How should a church respond appropriately to challenges? Let me tell a story.
Maybe ten years ago I took three of my runners (including William) to compete in an indoor track meet at the University of Cincinnati. It was a cold January. We parked close to the venue on the third floor of a parking garage. When we returned five hours later I realized that I had left the car lights on. The battery was dead.
What was the appropriate response to that challenge? As I list some possibilities I want you to think how churches respond to challenges.
- I could have wondered how I would replace the (now frozen) McDonalds Hot Apple Pie that I had left in the car, but that would be a distraction from the real problem.
- I could have gotten in the car, sat where I usually sat and just waited for the car to start by itself.
- I could have gotten in the car, and turned the key harder to start the car.
- I could have left the car and walked back to Louisville.
- I could have blamed William and the other two runners.
- I could have called AAA and waited about an hour for someone else to come and start the car for me.
- I could have - and did - use the resources that I had to start the car.
What were my resources? I had a small car with a manual transmission on the third floor of a parking garage and three high school runners.
What did we do? I got in the car and had the guys start pushing. They pushed me to the ramp, I rolled down the ramp, picking up speed, and popped the clutch. The car started. I drove back to get the guys, and off we went in less than five minutes. That was the highlight of the day. I looked like a genius. They learned something about manual transmissions. And we grew closer as a team. Appropriate responses to challenges can have multiple positive results.
Some churches, though, never have the opportunity of a challenge.
A preacher once said, “If you as a Christian and as a church are not worshipping, praying, reading the Bible, and introducing others to Jesus; then the Devil will not challenge you. He will leave you alone, because he has already won.”
We should not fear challenges. We should fear being left alone. Challenges come to churches that are effectively joining God in His work. God uses challenges to grow us and move us. God works for good in all things for those who seek His purpose. Churches that avoid challenges at all cost will eventually face only one challenge - when to schedule the last worship service.
The very first Christian church was in Jerusalem. Right after the resurrection of Jesus this church experienced three significant challenges. The first challenge (Acts 5) had to do with the offering or fund raising - a financial and spiritual challenge. The second challenge had to do with shut-in visitation (Acts 6) - a leadership and discipleship challenge. The church responded appropriately to these two internal challenges and it grew.
Notice, though that two of the first three challenges to the church were caused by the church itself. They came from within.
The third challenge came from outside the church (Acts 7). The third challenge came as a result of the church being too good at introducing others to Jesus - an evangelism challenge.
These three challenges in the early church touched on finances, stewardship, members seeking status, job descriptions, visitation, leadership development, and assimilating new members. Sounds like every church I’ve ever known.
The Church today faces many challenges. Responses to these challenges must be appropriate for the health of the Church. I want to focus on two challenges today - one that faces many Protestant denominations and one that faces many congregations. These two challenges are connected only in that I have had them on my heart recently ... for different reasons. They are both challenges to the Church.
First, the challenge many denominations face today appeared recently in the news. There was recently a decision made by the Presbyterian Church - USA or the PC-USA as they call themselves - the largest (though shrinking) Presbyterian denomination in America. Denominational headquarters are in Louisville. Their decision touches on ordination, marriage, and even the relationship between church and state.
The Presbyterian Church - USA recently became the fourth Protestant denomination in one way or another to accept the ordination of persons who are actively involved in a homosexual relationship. Now, I choose my words carefully and hesitantly so as not to misrepresent or be judgmental. We need to be mindful that there is a difference between inclination and behavior. We also need to be mindful that in the two thousand year history of the Christian Church, there has not been one person ordained who was not a sinner in need of God’s grace and forgiveness. For me the issue is not one of a denomination having a sinless clergy - that will never happen. The issue is one of denominations endorsing or approving particular behaviors that are sinful.
The Episcopal Church - USA and the United Church of Christ will ordain persons who are openly involved in committed homosexual relationships. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will maintain the ordination of persons who are “outed” (so to speak) after they have been ordained. The Presbyterian Church - USA is eliminating homosexual behavior as a barrier to ordination.
Our sister denomination, the United Methodist Church, will probably be the next to change the rules in this area. In fact the United Methodist Church has a full communion agreement with the ELCA (Lutherans) which means that ELCA ordained clergy are eligible to serve as pastors of United Methodist congregations.
All five of these denominations differ dramatically in theology. They do have one thing in common. As they accommodate changing social norms, they are decreasing in numbers.
Where do the Free Methodists stand? It may surprise you to hear that the Free Methodist Church has no statement specifically on the ordination of homosexual clergy. That surprised me until I investigated further.
The Free Methodist Church does not require that it’s ordained clergy be sinless - so I shall be back as your pastor next week. There is a commitment, however, by the person being ordained, or having ordination recognized, to strive for sanctification or perfection in Christ-like love; and to agree to and follow the teachings of the Free Methodist Church. Our denomination states that it believes that sexual intimacy should only occur within marriage and that marriage is only between one man and one woman. I don’t want to get bogged down in details, so if you want specifics, I brought our Book of Discipline for anyone who wishes to read it.
Let me be clear. The Free Methodist Church does not exclude anyone from receiving an invitation to be a part of our fellowship, nor does it believe that anyone is excluded from the love of God. We are to be witnesses of God’s redemptive love in Christ to all persons in positive ways.
The challenge in this area has an impact on the meaning of ordination. Will the Free Methodist Church recognize ordination within the four or five denominations that I have mentioned?
It also has an impact on the definition of marriage. Will the Free Methodist Church recognize marriage by other denominations or in society where and when or if same-sex marriage is condoned?
Finally, when or if a state or the United States recognizes same-sex marriage and since the pastor in part functions as an agent of the state in performing marriages, will Free Methodist pastors eventually not be able to refuse to perform same-sex weddings? I raise questions for which I have no immediate answer. Each Protestant denomination will be challenged on this front and on others.
That is a challenge that many denominations face today. The second (and last) challenge to which I want to speak is the challenge to individual congregations.
There is much I like about American culture, and much that I do not like. More and more American culture has placed a high value on immediate self-gratification. Ask any sports coach that tries to build a team over a long season. Self-gratification has excluded the concepts of commitment, team, discipline, and sacrifice. Immediate has become shorter and shorter. I speak generally, of course.
Often persons bring the notion of immediate self-gratification into their expectations about church. My experience, you know, comes from over three decades in another denomination, so I cannot speak with authority to the Free Methodist context. My observation from these three plus decades is that congregations are challenged by the confusion of style of worship with spirituality in worship; confusion of “what makes me comfortable in worship” with “what honors God in worship.” To put it musically, we major in minors.
I have already told you my story about preaching without notes. That was a confusion of style of worship with spirituality in worship. Again in that same church (that was an interesting congregation for a guy just out of seminary) ... in that same church, I did as I do here with you all (you all have handled it with more love and grace). In keeping with our Wesleyan heritage I wore a robe and for communion, baptisms, funerals, and weddings I wore a clerical collar. One day I got what was on the surface a joke - but underneath a challenge - as I was shaking hands after worship. “Are you a wannabe uppity Catholic priest?” said a parishioner.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, wearing these robes and that funny shirt. Are you trying to put on airs?”
“Oh!” I said. “You don’t judge people by what they wear, do you?”
That was a church where the pastor that preceded me was a good friend, but who had a very different style of worship, and had a hard time moving. I don’t mean moving out of the parsonage, but moving to his next pastorate and that added to the confusion of style over spirituality.
Let us not confuse style and spirit. Dad would tell the story of when the church he served in E’town sold its facility in order to relocate. The old facility was bought by a church that did not use instruments in worship (Non-instrumental Disciples I think is the short-hand). You and I would have a hard time conceiving worship without a keyboard!
Dad met the pastor of the purchasing congregation to take him through the building. “When we get in here,” said the incoming pastor. “We are going to rip out the organ and piano. They weren’t in the Bible, you know.”
Dad quickly responded, “I guess you’ll have to rip out the commodes, too. They weren’t in the Bible either.”
Martin Marty is a well-known church historian and sociologist. He says that there are two types of spirituality - wintery and summery. Summery spirituality is comfortable with hand clapping during the singing and amens during the sermon. Wintery spirituality is comfortable with long silence and soft candlelight.
Marty also observes that it is hard for one style to see the value in the other style. Summery says wintery is dead. Wintery says summery is shallow. The challenge to a local congregation is to find value in and opportunity for both. There can be unity between both, and where there unity, there is maturity.
What is just style and what is truly spiritual? Years ago I was given the job of Marshall for the Service of Ordination at annual conference. I did it for several years. It was a pretty big service - a couple of bishops and several superintendents, liturgy, hymns, sermons. There were about one thousand in attendance.
All the ordinands - twenty to thirty each year - were to wear black robes and were to be dressed appropriately. I had detailed instructions on attire. One year a fellow said that he was not going to wear shoes. I asked if he had a reason. He said that he was going to be on holy ground when he was ordained and in Exodus God told Moses to take off his shoes because he was on holy ground.
“You realize,” I said, “that your ordination will take place in the large conference room at the Executive Inn in Owensboro.”
He understood, but was firm. I did not want to get myself hung up on style, so we compromised. He would wear black dress socks and black house slippers. When he went up the platform for ordination he could slip off the slippers. He was fine with that. He was ordained not in shoes, but in calf-length black dress stretch socks - just like Moses.
Local congregations must focus not on uniformity of style but unity of spirit. That is the challenge I believe for every congregation. Paul speaks to our focus on unity of spirit. I have selected parts of three of his letters - one to a church that Paul loved, one to a church that caused every pastor problems including Paul, and one to a church that he had never visited.
First, to the problem church - 1 Corinthians 1.10-13:
I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you shall be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided?
(Paul was tired of phone calls - letters - about this person and that person. Quit dividing Christ!)
Next, the church to which he had never been - Romans 15:
We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
(Do not seek your own comfort or style. Seek instead unity in the Spirit in order to build the other person as a follower of Christ, and to glorify God.)
Finally, the church that Paul loved - Ephesians 4:
I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. So Christ himself gave the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
The challenge for the Church, for denominations, and for local congregations is ultimately for unity of Spirit. The goal of this unity is the glorification of God, maturing of the Church, and a role and value for each of us that grows us as followers of Christ.
There is another spirit at work in this world, challenging the Church, denominations, and churches, seeking to toss us back and forth and to distract us from the Spirit of God. This other spirit deceives and schemes with craftiness and cunning. It does its work in secret, behind the scenes, in the corners, with a whisper and a nod.
Is Christ divided?
No! Whatever divides the Body of Christ is not from Christ.
