Five Practices of Fruitful
Congregations – Week 4
Risk-Taking Mission and
Service
October 21, 2012
BMC- Luke 4:14-30
Introduction:
This morning as we come to our
fourth practice of fruitful congregations, Risk-Taking Mission and Service, we
still find ourselves in the midst of the election season with the last of the
two party debates to be held tomorrow night.
The first time that the presidential debates were televised was back in
1960 when the candidates were John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. By then, TV had made it into enough homes
that it became a significant source of information about the presidential race.
“On November 8, 1960, John F. Kennedy was elected
president in one of the closest elections in U.S. history. In the popular vote,
his margin over Nixon was 118,550 out of a total of nearly 69 million votes
cast. His success in many urban and industrial states gave him a clear majority
of 303 to 219 in the electoral vote. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the youngest
man ever elected president, the only Catholic, and the first president born in
the twentieth century.”[1]
But some would say that part of his victory was due
to a risky campaign move that came with only a couple of weeks to go in the
campaign. In 1960, the civil rights
movement was a significant part of the American landscape. “The debates failed
to win over one crucial pocket of constituents: African American voters. Civil
rights was a tricky issue. If Kennedy supported the movement, he risked losing
support from white southern segregationists. Yet he needed the support of
liberals and African Americans; if he failed to support a civil rights agenda,
he risked losing their vote.”[2]
“On October
19, Martin Luther King, Jr., was arrested in Atlanta for leading a civil rights
protest. Supporting King might have cost Kennedy votes in the South. But
against the advice of several key campaign strategists, he called Coretta Scott
King on October 26 to offer help in securing her husband's safe release.”[3]
“It was a risky move. When Bobby Kennedy heard
about the call, he was irate. He was afraid the act had alienated key voters
less than two weeks before a close election, but he quickly redirected his
wrath as he mulled over the situation. As an attorney, he knew the judge's
actions were unjust. He called the judge from a pay phone in New York, told him
that his actions were in defiance of the law, and requested that he release
King. The next day, King was released.”[4]
“Kennedy was subsequently endorsed by Martin Luther
King, Sr., father of the civil rights leader. The African American vote went
heavily for Kennedy across the nation, providing the winning margin in several
states.”[5]
Kennedy took a risk that was a significant part of
making his campaign a success and electing him to the White House. Though we are not ourselves campaigning per
se, we are in the business of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. We are a people that take our faith seriously
and strive to put it into practice through mission and service. Yet our author calls us to take this to
another level through Risk-Taking Mission and Service and I believe that Jesus
models a similar course of action for us in our passage.
Luke 4:14-30
In Luke 4
we hear an account of one of Jesus’ early messages. Word had spread about him and He returned
home to Nazareth. On the Sabbath, He
went to the synagogue where He went up to read scripture. He was given the scroll of the prophet Isaiah
and read from chapter 61.
“The Spirit of the
Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
He
then returned the scroll and sat down.
After which, he went on to say that the scripture that he read has now
been fulfilled in their hearing. Now
notice, everybody is still with him at this point. Jesus read a familiar passage from Isaiah
about proclaiming good news to the poor, freedom for prisoners and oppressed,
and sight to the blind. He declared that
this is coming true through Him and no one protested.
But
then Jesus makes a risky move. He knows
what the people are thinking. They want
to see Jesus perform the miracles that they have heard so much about elsewhere,
right here in their own town. Not only
does he decline to do so, but he goes to the next level and points out their
lack of vision.
The
people of his hometown would have expected that the message of Isaiah for
release of the captives and oppressed was intended only for them, the people of
God. After all, they were occupied by
the Roman Empire. But Jesus goes back to
scripture to point out that Elijah went not to the Jewish widows but to the
widow of Zarephath in Sidon, a gentile. And that Elisha could have healed many
in Israel with leprosy but that he healed Naaman, the Syrian, also a gentile.
The
people were so furious at Jesus’ words that suggested God cared for those
outside of Israel, that they drove him from town and attempted to throw him
from a cliff. But somehow Jesus was able
to walk right through the crowd and go on his way.
It
was a pretty risky move that Jesus made.
It was a move that almost led him to an early death. But it was also an important move that
reshaped Jesus’ ministry. Jesus did not
come just to preach in the synagogues.
Jesus did not come just to share with those within the Jewish
faith. Jesus came with a message for all
of humanity and we are called to follow in those steps.
Making it Risky
We are a people that have a long
history of practicing mission and service.
We are a congregation that participates in many ministries to our
community and beyond. We know about
mission and service.
Yet our United Methodist author
suggests that this is about more than practicing mission and service. This is about Risk-Taking Mission and Service. This is about more than sending our money,
dropping by to help out, or doing mission to
people. Risk-Taking Mission and Service
involves going out of our comfort zones, building relationships and doing
mission with people.
Outside Our Comfort Zones
Sending money and supplies to
people half way around the world who are struggling is a good thing, but it is
also a very safe thing overall. In the
grand scheme of things, it typically does not cause us much discomfort or
trouble to write a check or to gather supplies.
It does not require us to sacrifice much or take any risk.
So while this is an important part
of mission and service, our author challenges us to look beyond this to see
other opportunities that may involve a bit of risk on our part. He encourages us to consider mission and
service that requires us to put ourselves out there a bit. And he suggests that in the process, we
become more dependent on God and grow deeper in our own faith.
A few years ago, Jim Amstutz,
pastor of Akron Mennonite Church, came and shared with us during mission
month. He told us about what their
congregation was doing. They had begun a
ministry called the porch project in which they went outside of their comfort
zones and worked to improve the lives of people struggling in their own
neighborhoods. This took them outside of
their comfort zones and also led to developing relationships with a new group
of people.
Involves Personal Contact
Our author
also suggests that Risk-Taking Mission and Service calls us to move beyond
providing a service to developing a relationship. He says that those involved in Risk-Taking
mission “value contact, engagement, and long-term relationships, and they
measure the impact of their work in lives changed rather than in money sent or
buildings constructed.”[6]
We do a lot
to help a lot of people, but are we also building relationships with the people
that we help? Are we showing them that
we value them as people and that we want to get to know them? Or do we appear to be do-gooders who come in to
help for a time, but then pull out once the crisis has been dealt with? Do we welcome those people that we serve into
our lives or do we hold them at arm’s length?
Jesus
ministry did a lot to address the needs of hurting people who were on the margins
of society. But a significant part of
that was developing relationships with those people. Jesus was often looked down upon because he
associated with the sinners and the tax collectors. He went to their homes to eat and allowed
them to anoint his feet. Jesus built
relationships with those in need.
Doing
Mission with Rather Than to
Risk-Taking
Mission and service involves going outside of our comfort zones and building
relationships. And as our author
suggests it involves doing mission with
the people rather than to the people…
with the people rather than to the people. How many times do we go in confident that we
know what is best for the people in need and minister to them from our
positions of power or wealth? How
often do we go into a setting and organize to do all the work while the people
in need are left to sit around and watch?
Our author
suggests that congregations that practice Risk-Taking mission and service “go
the extra mile and put forth the effort to see that the people they serve feel
respected, confirmed, confident, and blessed, not dependant or helpless or
indebted. They do mission with people of
other cultures and not ministry to them; they don’t view service as a one-way
street, as if their members hold all the answers and have all the resources and
are helping people who have nothing.
They sharpen their sensitivity to the inequalities of power and wealth,
and work toward partnerships and mutual ministry in which they learn as much as
they teach, receive as much as they offer, and grow in Christ through their
sharing of Christ’s compassion.”[7]
At the Ohio
Conference Annual Assembly this past year, we heard the story of a food pantry
in eastern Ohio that is set up a little bit differently. Instead of receiving calls and handing out
bags of food as we do, their food pantry is set up like a grocery store. People in need of food get a shopping cart
and one of the workers goes around with them and helps them in selecting their
food.
In the
process, the people receiving the food feel empowered and the pantry workers
are able to develop a relationship with those in need. Those who receive become a part of the
ministry rather than simply recipients of the ministry. What would it look like for the West Liberty Cares food
pantry to be set up in a similar way?
What could that mean for our ministry to those of our community who are
in need of food?
As our author suggests and Jesus demonstrates, Risk-Taking Mission and Service involves going out of our comfort zones, building relationships and ministering with rather than to people. And in and of themselves, these are significant and important shifts in how we approach mission and service. But it occurs to me that there is a potential outgrowth for this type of ministry as well.
Pastor Rick has shared with me that one of his professors, Alan Krieder, shared with him about how the early church was “rumor worthy.” They did things so differently from the rest of the world that people outside the church began to talk about them. Word spread and curiosity arose. And Jesus himself was rumor worthy in his ministry and life on earth. Our passage this morning tells us that news about him had spread throughout the whole countryside.
I find myself wondering, is the church in 2012
still rumor worthy? Do we still live in
such a way that it causes people to talk about us and wonder about us? Do we as a congregation live in such a way
that people sit up and take notice?
Now I am not suggesting
that all publicity is good publicity. I
think that it is important to remain true to who we are and to be intentional
about our message; but if we are true to who we are and intentional about our
message, shouldn’t we stand out in such a way that it draws attention? Isn’t it a good thing if people are curious
enough about us that they ask us questions about who we are, what we believe,
and why we behave as we do?For instance, I know that there are some churches that believe that it is important to remove the word “Mennonite” from their name because they fear that it carries too much baggage. They believe that it prevents people from even walking through the front doors. Yet last weekend, it was an opportunity for dialogue.
We attended a harvest party that some friends of ours were hosting up in the Sandusky area. They are not Mennonites and they invited their family and church friends to come as well. One of their church friends began talking to Beth wondering how she fit in since he knew that she did not go to his church. She shared that we were college friends from West Liberty and that we would need to be getting back that night because I had to be in the pulpit the next morning.
At that point he asked what church she belonged to and she said, “Bethel Mennonite Church.” With a confused look in his eye because Beth clearly did not match his image of what a Mennonite is, he asked, “What led you to choose the Mennonite church?” This gave Beth an opportunity to share about her appreciation about how Mennonites take Jesus and the Bible seriously and even believe in nonviolence. He responded that those were all good things to believe in.
Now certainly, he was not converted in that one conversation. And given the fact that he lives about two hours away, I don’t think that he will be visiting our church any time soon; but the point is that something as simple as Mennonite in our name created a natural sense of curiosity that led to deeper conversation.
You may have noticed in your bulletin that there is an insert that invites us to be intentional about how we approach the closing days of this election season. Mennonite Church USA is calling us to express our ultimate allegiance to Jesus by spending time in fasting and prayer over the next couple of weeks.
Along with that, we will be joining a movement of many other churches across the US that will host a communion service on Election Day evening. Why are we inviting you to join together at the end of election day to celebrate communion? Well having talked with many of you at various times, I can say with a fair level of certainty that there are those among us that will vote republican, democrat and third party on election day. There are also those among us that will choose not to vote. We are a diverse people and yet we serve the same God.
In the midst of that diversity, we will gather on Tuesday evening after we have done what we have been called to that day and we will reunite and remember where our ultimate allegiance lies. Though we are participants in this nation, our ultimate citizenship lies with the kingdom of God. Despite our various perspectives, our ultimate hope lies with the God of the universe not with any government or any political leader.
Like the nations of Israel and Judah that we studied through the words of the minor writing prophets last winter and spring, we do not need to fear the outcome of this election. Regardless of who wins and who loses, God is still in control and we are still one people of God. We cannot allow the divisions of our culture and the fear mongering of our media divide us from each other or distract us from the God that we serve, from the mission that God calls us to.
And so we will be gathering to share communion together, but we are taking this one step further. We will be hosting this Election Day Communion service and we have extended the invitation to the other churches in town, to the broader body of Christ, to come and join us. That we as a larger church might reunite and remember where our ultimate allegiance lies and where our ultimate hope rests. We do this for those purposes; but as we talked on Wednesday night, it occurs to me that in doing so, we are taking a risk and that we are doing something that may be rumor worthy.
Why would gathering to partake in communion at the end of election day be rumor worthy? Well, I shared an article about Election Day communion with a friend of mine on Facebook. She reposted the article on her page. When she did so, she had a friend who posted this comment in response, “Unfortunately, I don't think either side would want to mix with the other.”
This says to me that
there are many in this nation that would believe that our political
affiliations are stronger than our allegiance to Jesus Christ. That there are many in this nation that
believe that if we have different political views that we cannot be friends
with one another. And it says to me that
the very act of people with different political views coming together in the
name of Jesus Christ, to break bread together, is a rumor worthy act.
We are a congregation
that holds within us differing political views, yet we come to worship together
each Sunday. And we do so because our
shared belief in salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ is stronger than any
other affiliation that we have political or otherwise. This is a weekly reality for us and in our
current cultural context, this simple act may be one of our greatest witnesses
to the difference that faith in Christ makes in our lives.
We have a
history and a culture of doing mission and service. Yet I believe that we are called by the
example of Jesus to move beyond our history of mission and service. I believe that we are called to take risks in
our mission and service through going outside of our comfort zones, building
relationships with those that are in need, and ministering with instead of to
those on the margins. May God guide us in this endeavor and may our
practice of our faith be rumor worthy to those around us.
Amen
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