During my preparation for this Sunday's sermon, I found a very interesting quote comparing churches that are "alive" and those that are "dead." The source is unknown, but I thought it was very interesting after my meeting with the Bishop and our Conferences' new church pastors this past Wednesday. During the conversation, the question was asked what DNA the Bishop would like to see new churches have. The answer was for a church to be "outward focused" and Bible based from Acts 2 devoting themselves "to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." I think what the Bishop meant was that a new church needs to have the DNA that ensures an eternal life rather than the DNA that commits it to an eventual death. Which DNA do we want for Good News? Read the following and decide for yourself.
Live churches' expenses are always more than their income; dead churches don't need much money!
Live churches have parking problems; Dead churches have empty spaces!
Live churches may have some noisy children; Dead churches are quiet as a cemetery.
Live churches keep changing their ways of doing things; Dead churches see no need for change!
Live churches grow so fast you can't keep up with people's names; In dead churches everybody always knows everybody's name.
Live churches strongly support world missions; Dead churches keep the money at home!
Live churches are full of regular, cheerful givers; Dead churches are full of grudging tippers!
Live churches move ahead on prayer and faith; Dead churches work only on sight!
Live churches plant daughter churches; Dead churches fear spending the money, time, and talent!
Live churches outgrow their Sunday School facilities; Dead churches have room to spare!
Live churches welcome all classes of people; Dead churches stick to their own kind!
Live churches' members read their Bibles and bring them to church; Dead churches' members seldom do!
Live churches' members enthusiastically support the ministries; Dead churches have no ministries--only functions!
Live churches' members look for someone they can help; Dead churches' members look for something to complain about!
Live churches' members reach out to share their faith in Christ; Dead churches' members don't have enough to share!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Following Jesus dragging our nets behind us...
Value # 7 – To allow the Holy Spirit to guide and lead us even if it is into the sometimes uncomfortable world (the kingdom of God) where there is no doubt of the reality of Jesus.
The seventh and final overriding principle, or core value, of Good News United Methodist Church is the hardest to live by and follow. So far the values have included things that we can do without any real personal sacrifices and consequences. But, number seven, requires more from us. It requires us to do the three most foreign things possible for human beings.
The first is to be quiet and listen. The twenty-first century human being is not used to being quiet. In fact, we do everything possible to avoid it. So much so that if the world around us becomes too quiet, we have continued to find ways to fill the emptiness with personal music devices. The latest in the line includes the IPod so that each of us is never too far a way from our own personal soundtrack. But, we believe we must be still and listen. Listen for the voice of God through the Holy Spirit to lead and guide our way.
The second thing this value requires is that once we know where God would have us go, we must follow without question. In fact in most cases, it means following without even knowing where we’ll end up. Abraham moved his family out of his hometown to a location only God knew of simply because he heard God say, “Go and I will be with you.” Moses heard God’s voice in the burning bush and, after some resistance, began a mission that would take the rest of his life. And, then there were the disciples. They left their families and nets behind to follow the one they believed to be the Messiah – Jesus Christ.
The third most difficult thing for human beings to do is voluntarily walk from the comfortable to the uncomfortable. It is not human nature to make things harder by choice. In fact if the truth be known, we as human beings really only have one priority – ourselves. And, the one thing we like most of all is comfort. We want to feel good. So, why would perfectly normal human beings make the choice to place ourselves in situations that make us anxious, scared, worried, and basically uncomfortable?
It is because of the one thing that all these values, overriding principles, have in common. We have to have faith. We have to really believe that Jesus existed. We have to really believe that Jesus is the Messiah. And, we have to really believe that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. This faith cannot just color our Sundays but color our every days. If we believe in Jesus, then we must love our neighbors everyday. If we believe in Jesus, we must trust God in all things. And, if we believe in Jesus, we must follow him and leave the nets of our old world behind. The Bible teaches us that if we really believe in Jesus we will be led by the Holy Spirit to some places that will make us uncomfortable (the courts of the Pharisees, the feet of the lepers, dinner with sinners, the foot of the cross). Sometimes we will be asked to go where we don’t want to go and help people we don’t want to help. If we really believe in Jesus, we will be asked to follow and leave our nets behind – including the nets of our own selfish fears and desires. It means being a Christian and not just claiming the name Christian. (Acts 1:8, Acts 4:31)
The seventh and final overriding principle, or core value, of Good News United Methodist Church is the hardest to live by and follow. So far the values have included things that we can do without any real personal sacrifices and consequences. But, number seven, requires more from us. It requires us to do the three most foreign things possible for human beings.
The first is to be quiet and listen. The twenty-first century human being is not used to being quiet. In fact, we do everything possible to avoid it. So much so that if the world around us becomes too quiet, we have continued to find ways to fill the emptiness with personal music devices. The latest in the line includes the IPod so that each of us is never too far a way from our own personal soundtrack. But, we believe we must be still and listen. Listen for the voice of God through the Holy Spirit to lead and guide our way.
The second thing this value requires is that once we know where God would have us go, we must follow without question. In fact in most cases, it means following without even knowing where we’ll end up. Abraham moved his family out of his hometown to a location only God knew of simply because he heard God say, “Go and I will be with you.” Moses heard God’s voice in the burning bush and, after some resistance, began a mission that would take the rest of his life. And, then there were the disciples. They left their families and nets behind to follow the one they believed to be the Messiah – Jesus Christ.
The third most difficult thing for human beings to do is voluntarily walk from the comfortable to the uncomfortable. It is not human nature to make things harder by choice. In fact if the truth be known, we as human beings really only have one priority – ourselves. And, the one thing we like most of all is comfort. We want to feel good. So, why would perfectly normal human beings make the choice to place ourselves in situations that make us anxious, scared, worried, and basically uncomfortable?
It is because of the one thing that all these values, overriding principles, have in common. We have to have faith. We have to really believe that Jesus existed. We have to really believe that Jesus is the Messiah. And, we have to really believe that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. This faith cannot just color our Sundays but color our every days. If we believe in Jesus, then we must love our neighbors everyday. If we believe in Jesus, we must trust God in all things. And, if we believe in Jesus, we must follow him and leave the nets of our old world behind. The Bible teaches us that if we really believe in Jesus we will be led by the Holy Spirit to some places that will make us uncomfortable (the courts of the Pharisees, the feet of the lepers, dinner with sinners, the foot of the cross). Sometimes we will be asked to go where we don’t want to go and help people we don’t want to help. If we really believe in Jesus, we will be asked to follow and leave our nets behind – including the nets of our own selfish fears and desires. It means being a Christian and not just claiming the name Christian. (Acts 1:8, Acts 4:31)
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Good News Core Values Continued
Last week, I began talking about the seven overriding principles (or core values) used by Good News as the basis of our mission and in how we operate. As you may have noticed, these values are based on the scripture from the four Gospels and the Book of Acts. In other words, they are based on Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit’s formation of Christ's Church. They are used to keep the operation of Good News UMC focused on the main objective of growing and building the kingdom of God through Jesus Christ. The first three core values were discussed last week. Today, I offer the next three.
Value #4 – To express our love for God and for others through our service to others. Throughout the Gospel, Jesus uses the words love and serve interchangeably because the kind of love he talked about is best demonstrated by serving. In other words, to love someone is best manifested by a desire to serve that someone. Jesus calls us to love God with everything we have and to love others as ourselves – to love God and to love whom God loves. Jesus demonstrated this kind of love by being the humble servant, washing the feet of the disciples, and ultimately, laying down his life for us. He would not have done this without having a fierce love for and desire to serve God. He also expects the same from us. Jesus also told us in Matthew how we can serve the King. He reminds us that every time we do something for “the least of these” who are members of God’s family, we do it to Him. If we want to serve God, we must serve others. (Mark 12:30-32, Mark 9:35, Matthew 25:40)
Value #5 – To allow God to bless us with an increase in numbers and other resources through our obedience to our mission. This is another way of saying we need to do our job and let God do God’s job. Too often a church worries about what they should be doing to attract members and increase attendance. But, in the Book of Acts the disciples simply are offering and living out the Good News our in the world and “and day by day the Lord added to their number those who are being saved.” It is the church’s job to offer the ministries they are called to do and to let God worry about who and how lives will be touched. The church’s job is more about being faithful than it is about keeping score. (Acts 2:46-47)
Value #6 – To accept grace and offer grace unconditionally. Grace is unconditional love and forgiveness. God offers it to us with no strings attached. In some ways, it is the best example of how God’s love is radically different than the world’s love. It basically means that God loves each of us “warts and all.” Part of Jesus’ message is this very thing. But, he goes further by telling us that this is how we are to love each other, as well. We, too, are to love and forgive others with no strings attached warts and all. We are called by Jesus to demonstrate and offer this grace to others. This means we need to be loving, forgiving, and accepting of people different than us. We need to give without stipulations, love without prerequisites, and forgive without conditions. This means we need to be open to every individual’s worth to God. We are called to demonstrate this unconditional love not only to Good News visitors, but to long-time members, to new kinds of ministries, and even to the kinds of music played in worship. What better way to encounter the risen Christ for ourselves than to live by his grace. (Matthew 18:15-22, John 13:34-35)
Next week, the seventh and final principle. In fact, it may turn out to be the one on which all the others are built. Until then, have a great week.
Pastor Bob
Value #4 – To express our love for God and for others through our service to others. Throughout the Gospel, Jesus uses the words love and serve interchangeably because the kind of love he talked about is best demonstrated by serving. In other words, to love someone is best manifested by a desire to serve that someone. Jesus calls us to love God with everything we have and to love others as ourselves – to love God and to love whom God loves. Jesus demonstrated this kind of love by being the humble servant, washing the feet of the disciples, and ultimately, laying down his life for us. He would not have done this without having a fierce love for and desire to serve God. He also expects the same from us. Jesus also told us in Matthew how we can serve the King. He reminds us that every time we do something for “the least of these” who are members of God’s family, we do it to Him. If we want to serve God, we must serve others. (Mark 12:30-32, Mark 9:35, Matthew 25:40)
Value #5 – To allow God to bless us with an increase in numbers and other resources through our obedience to our mission. This is another way of saying we need to do our job and let God do God’s job. Too often a church worries about what they should be doing to attract members and increase attendance. But, in the Book of Acts the disciples simply are offering and living out the Good News our in the world and “and day by day the Lord added to their number those who are being saved.” It is the church’s job to offer the ministries they are called to do and to let God worry about who and how lives will be touched. The church’s job is more about being faithful than it is about keeping score. (Acts 2:46-47)
Value #6 – To accept grace and offer grace unconditionally. Grace is unconditional love and forgiveness. God offers it to us with no strings attached. In some ways, it is the best example of how God’s love is radically different than the world’s love. It basically means that God loves each of us “warts and all.” Part of Jesus’ message is this very thing. But, he goes further by telling us that this is how we are to love each other, as well. We, too, are to love and forgive others with no strings attached warts and all. We are called by Jesus to demonstrate and offer this grace to others. This means we need to be loving, forgiving, and accepting of people different than us. We need to give without stipulations, love without prerequisites, and forgive without conditions. This means we need to be open to every individual’s worth to God. We are called to demonstrate this unconditional love not only to Good News visitors, but to long-time members, to new kinds of ministries, and even to the kinds of music played in worship. What better way to encounter the risen Christ for ourselves than to live by his grace. (Matthew 18:15-22, John 13:34-35)
Next week, the seventh and final principle. In fact, it may turn out to be the one on which all the others are built. Until then, have a great week.
Pastor Bob
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