Pre-conference thoughts:
I am in the office as I prepare to
go to Annual conference this year in Topeka. I was reflecting on all that has
happened in the last three weeks at General Conference as well as people’s
reactions from both the conservative “evangelical” side as well as the
progressive “liberal” side. What I have not heard much from are the moderate “centralists.”
We talk about the silent majority whose voice is not often sought or heard
from. There are a few who speak out as moderates and work towards the unity of
the United Methodist Church in whatever that may look like in the future.
But I digress. What struck me most
was the slogan of the General Conference. The slogan was “Therefore Go!” I was struck by the simplicity of the
statement and also by the implications of what that statement means. Several questions
arise such as go where? When? What? As I reflected on that I came across some
notes of a sermon I had done on the Great Commission Matthew 28:16-20. The title
of the sermon was Ready, Set, and Go. Maybe it will provide some insight to
answer the questions of where are we going? And most of all to whom are we
going to give the Good News of Christ and the grace that God offers to all
people.
Ready Set Go
Matthew ends the gospel with the
commission that Jesus gives to his disciples and now gives to all of us. The original
eleven had been with Jesus for three years. They have prepared themselves to
proclaim the love of God and love of neighbor. They had eaten with Jesus and
also in the houses of those whom society judged (as well as the righteous) as
unworthy. The ministry was like a roller coaster with its highs and lows. Here the
gospel is following the resurrection and the witness of the women. Now the
remaining disciples find themselves at the mountain to witness their savior and
receive his last commands.
I read an article regarding this
text in Working Preacher on-line.[1]
The article was talking about the efforts to live out this commission and that
at times we may feel inadequate, uncertain, and ill prepared. Listen carefully
to what we read in verses 16-17. There were only 11 left of the original
disciples who came to worship but there were some who doubted. Even if doubting
(read John 20:24-29 regarding Thomas) they came anyway. It strikes me that
faith is not synonymous with certainty. We have at times felt uncertain in
live, have made questionable decisions, and have faced criticism regarding who
we are or what we believe. Doubt is often the result of such times. Yet faith
is the assurance that despite one’s doubt, Jesus is the authority and bestows
that authority onto ourselves through the Holy Spirit. Grace and mercy are
gifts given without merit as well as the forgiveness of our sins.
Ready: So I believe the first step
to carry out this last command is one of readiness. So how do we become ready?
I am a baseball fan as well as player in my youth. My favorite team is the
Pittsburgh Pirates. I have not had the opportunity to attend spring training. I
have gone to AAA baseball game in Omaha and watched the future players for the
Royals playing. I know from my experience that to succeed, no matter in what
area, you have to learn the basics of what you do. I coached peewee teams and
that was my focus. We cannot come to the plate and hit home runs every at bat. The
more we learn and practice the better we become. This is true in life, in work,
and in our spiritual development.
So how do we do that what it comes
to church? What if instead of being distracted by, what John Wesley would say
are the non-essentials, the church would focus church wide to prepare and ready
the believers to know, to relate to others, and to share. According to the
article many people feel unready to evangelize.[2]
When I speak to people about sharing the gospel, many claim that they are not
able to do so because of feeling unprepared, not scripturally informed, and
lack knowledge of how to share. There are so many great opportunities to help
people to know scripture and to open themselves to hear God’s call in their
lives. My journey as a pastor in the United Methodist Church began with the
Disciple Bible Study and the leadership of the group and pastors following. Though
I was called at an early age, I, too, felt inadequate to pursue that call. Immersing
myself in scriptural study, I accepted my call and the spiritual gifts that God
has given me. The study of scripture especially from Genesis through Revelation
helps ready ourselves and begins to see the bible not in piecemeal sound bites
or verses taken out of context. Each person will hear their call and in many
different opportunities such as Alpha, the Wesleyan Way, and other bible
studies and small groups.
Ready, Set: Readiness is only a
part of the preparation. Churches must decide whether they will become an
active verb, doers of the word. How does each church respond to ways of
reaching out to their communities? First is a season of prayers, bible studies,
small groups, and through the presence with one another. Then and only then,
does the church focus on developing their ministry action plan (MAP.) This is
developing their sense of mission, vision, and setting goals.
The mission of the United Methodist
Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ to transform the world. Each church
has to decide how they are going to be Disciples of Christ and live out his
command in the lives of the people. Vision is how you as an active verb church
live out the mission. When you read the letters of Paul, each of those
communities were unique and different. They required a different way of
developing their MAP. What steps do we need to do to accomplish our MAP? What steps
need to be taken and how are we going to look at what worked and what did not
work?
There are a couple of things to
keep in mind. One is that there are no failures but just learning. The other is
that when problems arise and we keep doing the same thing over and over
expecting different results. We may need to give time for things to work.
Two: successful churches often do
things church-wide. It is important to remember two aspects that were discussed
in the book “Good to Great[3].”
Those concepts were the idea of getting the right people on the bus and the
hedgehog effect. Getting the right people on board is vital for ministry. Jesus
had a number of followers but knew that there were 12 and now 11 who were the
ones to take the gospel to others. We are all gifted but in different ways. There
are some who are healers, preachers, teachers, good with finances, and some who
are gifted in evangelism. How are you gifted and in what areas? How do we work
together to reach others in the name of Christ? The hedgehog effect is to focus
on what one is good at and to work on making that great. Jesus did that in his
ministries and would not be sidetracked or scattered by side issues. If we are
to go out to make disciples, we too need to focus on the MAP in everything we
do from worship, education, finances, trustees, UMW, outreach, and small
groups.
Ready Set Go: Church is now an
active verb. With the MAP, the people of the church have readied themselves,
the mission and vision is before us, now is the time to go out and live out the
commission. As the gospel of Luke shows first in Jerusalem, then Judea, then
Samaritan, and then to the rest of the world.
We begin at home in our own
community. We carry out our MAP. We go to those we might not have thought about
going to or even ones that one would not normally would approach. The Christian
scriptures point to reaching those who were lepers, tax collectors, sinners,
the sick, prisoners, the hungry, the thirsty, and the naked. We enter into
relationship more than just charity but taking time to understand and not be
fearful. We share the gospel in words and deeds. We plant seeds in the soil
that God has already prepared. We teach and disciple. We become accountable in
the way we live our lives. We baptize people in the name of the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit. We prepare the next generation of disciples who will continue the
command to make disciples of Jesus Christ to transform the world.
Is it easy? Not always. Is it
necessary? Absolutely! Are we ready? With the help of the Spirit, yes.
Ready Set Go the course is laid out
before us. Jesus gives us the authority through the Holy Spirit. We are ready. We
are set. We go with the sure and certain knowledge that Jesus promise to be with
us until for all time.
That was the text of the sermon. I would
hope that we spend less time worrying about non-essentials and spend more time
on Jesus.
