MCC St. Louis - Check Us Out!
Get your own, Free HomepagePlease turn in your bulletin to the page where the Scripture reading and the Responsive Litany are printed. Now listen and speak and HEAR this message with me again:
"From the beginning, God entered into covenant (that is, into a relationship based on a promise and a pl~ul) with the human family: (then just a few of those folks are named...but they could just as easily be names of people sitting right here today) Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Moses, Deborah, Ruth and Jeremiah.
(Now you all read) Through baptism, Jesus Christ calls us into the covenant and makes us ministers of Christ's righteousness."
"Christ calls US into the covenant...." See...the list includes Teena and Michael and Judy and Robby and Susan and Keith...and all of us sitting here this morning. We've been called into this promise and this plan. Reading on, "All Christian ministry is Christ's work of outreaching love. It demonstrates a common life of gratitude and devotion, witness and service, celebration and discipleship." In other words, together, everything that we do in the name of Christian service - from the official programs to the small acts of random kindness - goes together to bring Christ's love into the world.
(Now you read) "All Christians are called to Christ's servanthood in the world, to the glory of God and for human fulfillment." Oh, you mean not just a few "professional Christians" with plastic collars are called to ministry? That's good to know!
Reading on, "The Church, as the community of the new covenant, participates in Christ's ministry of grace." And who is "the church?" WE ARE!
Your part: "It (IT means the church...which means us sitting right here - O.K. go ahead...) It stretches out to human needs wherever service may convey God's love and ours." "In our ministry of servanthood is this ultimate concern:
That all may be renewed in the image of their Creator, and that all Christians are called to minister in deeds and words that heal and free. Amen. Our Scripture reading this morning said it: "...you are like living stones...being built as an edifice of spirit, to become a holy priesthood....a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart...." So, "as generous distributors of God's manifold grace, put your gifts at the service of one another, each in the measure you have received." The litany said we "are called to minister in deeds and words that heal and free."
So...if we are a "holy priesthood" called to use our gifts to serve others and to "minister in deeds and words that heal and free,"...HOW ARE WE DOING?
If you work in education, or business. or in construction or manufacturing or any of a number of fields, you know that when you have goals you also need to have measurable results. If our goal, as a church, includes "to minister in deeds and words that heal and free," how are we doing?
Now with the world's goals, measurable results are pretty easy. Whether you're trying to analyze the results of magazine sales, mutual funds or Metabolife...there are ways to know "how you're doing." You check the display racks...check your portfolio...check the scales. It's easy to see "how you're doing."
With the church, it's not always so easy. Yes, we can look around and say, "Well, look how much we've grown over the last couple of years!" But body counts alone don't tell us how we're really doing in terms ofimpacting lives with "deeds and words that heal and free." It can be hard to know how we're doing. Those of us in the church are often "too close to the action" or too focused on our little corner of things to be objective.
But once in a while a rare opportunity for some objective analysis comes along...and we as a church had such an opportunity recently and even received a kind of a "status report."
You may remember that two weeks ago I announced that a class studying "Gender and Religion in America" from Truman State Umversity had traveled to St. Louis to observe our worship service. Well, just a few days letter I received a letter from the professor of the class, and I want to share portions of this "status report" with you this morning. And bear in mind...these folks had no vested interest in our church one way or another except to see what it is we do here. They are about as objective a witness as we could hope for. The letter said,
"Rev. Carpenter,
Once again, thank you and the church for hosting my class and I in worship this past Sunday. We met today and the comments the students made about our visit were very positive. One student thought that the welcoming atmosphere of the congregation and service was "really cool." She appreciated how much one felt like one belonged there. Other students liked the presence of prayer partners, the socially aware ministries (as in collecting money for breast cancer patients and research), and there was special mention of your sermon. They liked the fact that you didn't stand behind a piece of pulpit furniture, but stood before, and close to, the congregation. One student thought your "decorations" were "cool," the banners and backdrops that were made by hand.
One student noticed that congregation members were far more openly affectionate with one another than was the case in her own church, and a student who is out (to the class as being gay) pointed out that most of the members of the congregation live in a society where open expression of affection among gay and lesbian partners is not acceptable, so (one is glad to) take advantage ofthe welcoming safe environment that your church offers. That same student liked seeing children in the congregation. She said that she had friends who, when they told their parents that they were gay, got a response along the lines of "oh I'll never have grandchildren," as if homosexual people are incapable of having and raising children.
One student also thought that the choir (quote) "kicked butt."
" (The professor continues...) So did I. They were incredible, as was the choir director. (I believe that was Ms. Pam leading that day!) In fact, I was deeply moved by the entire worship experience. My wife and I have felt, for a long time, very deeply about gays and lesbians being affirmed in God's church, and believe that God embraces gays and lesbians, as they are, just as God embraces us all. So I am glad that I finally had a chance to attend an M.C.C. worship service. I hope that someday my wife and I can bring our daughters to your church for a visit.
Again, many thanks for your openness and caring. I think that the visit permanently impacted most of the students in one way or another, and for that I am personally very grateful to you all. All the best to M.C.C. of Greater St. Louis in its ministry.
Sincerely, Mike Ashcraft."
Did you notice all the different ministries that made an impression on those people? Greeters...prayer partners...Breast Cancer Awareness Team and justice ministries.. .preaching...visual arts...Children's Church...music.. .worship participants...and just "the average people in the pews" ministering "in deeds and words that heal and free."
Church...together we are on a "success journey." Now I choose that phrase very particularly. A "success journey." I have been conducting monthly Leadership Equipping Sessions for ministry leaders and some potential leaders and one of the things we do each month is watch a portion of a video-taped lesson by pastor, teacher and author John Maxwell. On one of the videos Maxwell talks about a book he wrote called, "The Success Journey." He says that his publishers spent some time arguing with him about the title; they wanted to call it "The Journey to Success." But Maxwell said NO! The whole point of the book is that success is ajourney, not a destination. There is no formula one can follow for reaching a final point of"success." Success is something we are creating...a road we are traveling.. .everyday as we seek to do the best and be the best and give the best that we possibly can.
We are on a success journey. And God has given us a formula for creating success all along the way. We are each called to be involved in a personal process of participation in the Body of Christ...so that God will be glorified and the world will be "healed and freed." What does that mean for us: to be in a personal process of participation? Well, just as it implies, it's different for everyone!
Friday morning, in order to do some reading and praying about this morning's message, I went to the Botanical Gardens and walked some and sat some and looked some and thought some. We are so blessed here in St. Louis to have such a wonderful place to go and see the bounty of God's creation; it is absolutely beautiful there. That's why I chose to hold next Saturday's prayer retreat there. It is so easy to see and feel God around you in those gardens.
But I also realized something as I looked around there on Friday. We tend to say, as I just did, "oh, the Botanical Gardens"...as if we were talking about one thing. But the overall beauty is really due to the sum of the individual parts; God is in the details! The perfection of a single rose...the fragrance of a lone blossom...the canopy of one great tree...the ripple of a small stream of water over one large rock. The gardens are what they are because of the rich diversity of life that exists there...because of the contrasts and the differences and the likenesses and the cumulative effect of seeing something different but wonderful everywhere you look!
Doesn't that sound like how Christ's body, the Church, ought to be? And doesn't that sound like what this church is becoming all around us?! We are on a success journey. But the journey will only continue in this way if every one of us realizes and accepts that God has called each of us to a personal process of participation in this success journey.
Love of God and devotion to Christ is not something we can mandate corporately; it can only come from within each of us; it's personal. But as it grows in each of us...as we allow God's process of growth to happen inwardly...we will see the results among us outwardly and collectively. Then we each must accept our calling to participation...to be a minister among all the other ministers in this place.
Now some of you have already found your ministry and have come to a peace about who you are as a minister in this church and in the world. Most ofyou have not. And I'm not referring to whether or not you have volunteered for something or attended monthly meetings of some kind. I'm talking about coming to a personal awareness that God is calling YOU to be in ministry: "to minister in deed and words that heal and flee." If you haven't - and I know some of you haven't because you've come to me talking about this "pull of the spirit" inside you that you can't quite understand or find direction for - then I hope you hear Christ speaking to you this morning, saying, "Come on. Let's take another step forward, I want you to let Me lead you on this personal process of participation with My Church."
Now, it's no coincidence that I referenced the teachings of John Maxwell a few minutes ago. Pick up your bulletins again. Inside is an insert that gives information about an upcoming event called "Lay Ministry '99." This is going to be held on Saturday, November 13th in Indianapolis, Indiana. We are organizing a "road trip" for anyone who would like to attend this seminar. The cost for registration is $35.00. There will also be the cost of meals and one night's hotel. But if you feel called to attend this event, but can't afford to, this church will pay your way. Don't let money be your excuse. In fact, for just a moment, stop making excuses as to why you shouldn't go.
This event is not just for people already in leadership. In fact, it's not primarily intended for those in leadership. It's intended for those of you who have been feeling "that itch," squirming from that "pull," wrestling with God about your life as a Christian.
Now what you WON'T get from John Maxwell is a warm welcome for M.C.C. - he tolerates us, that's about it. You won't hear really inclusive language or theology; you'll hear pastors mostly referenced as "he" and you'll hear some about "men of God" and lots of other stuff that may be offensive. But if there's one thing I have learned about traveling the success journey...it's that you take all the good stuff and toss out the junk!
And what you will get from Maxwell is some very good stuff. In fact, you may just discover that your life in this church...your life as a Christian...YOUR LIFE will never be the same because of what you will hear and experience that day. The deadline for calling Becky with your intent to attend is next Sunday. We have to make hotel and transportation arrangements. Our group will depart on Friday evening and return late Saturday night. It won't be a "fun" trip in that sense. But what those who attend will learn and discover about themselves will help insure that what Professor Ashcraft and his class experienced with this church will not be an isolated event but will continue for all who come here for years and years and years. Pray about it. You already know what God is saying to you. You can run but you can't hide.
Don't be afraid. This church...and many, many of you here today, are experiencing a spiritual renewal that is only going to grow and get stronger and alter our lives in ways we never expected. But the good news in that God hasn't called us and sent us out alone. Whatever point ofthe success journey each of us may be on...Christ's strength is holding us up...Christ's love is surrounding us always...and Christ's gentle hands are guiding our steps so that, more than anyone we may minister to, WE can each be healed and freed in the process. And THAT is truly success! Keep going, church! Amen.
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