The Sunday morning service started as usual. Emily played the organ beautifully, then Josh came out and led the congregation in two traditional hymns. The offering was taken, and the announcements were made,
"I have some news for you, today," Josh began his sermon, "Part of it is personal news, which seems pretty spectacular to us Feltons, and will be surprising to some of you. The rest of the news, however, is far more interesting, far more challenging, and far more important. I want to tell you our news first, but I pray that your reaction to it won't close your minds to the much more important business that follows.
"So, here's the first part: Evalyn and I have given our resignation to denominational headquarters, and this will be our last service here at the church."
Josh hadn't known how his announcement would be received, and hadn't expected anything in particular. Nevertheless, he was surprised by the utter silence that greeted his statement. There wasn't a word, a buzz of sound, or an undercurrent of any kind. It was silent. It was a little disconcerting. Still, one must go on.
"We only recently made our decision, and we have lots to straighten out in our own minds, but let me tell you what we know at this point. I've accepted a position on the editorial board of a Christian publisher in Seattle. We'll be moving within the next few weeks, so we have a lot to do to get ready. 'Denomination' will supply a substitute pastor until your board of elders can select our replacement.
"In some ways, it's hard to believe we've been here for almost fifteen years. In other ways, it's hard to remember when we weren't here, when you and we were not part of this church family. We're going to miss you, and we'll miss many aspects of our life here. But we've asked for and received God's guidance for this new adventure, and we're confident we're doing the right thing.
"In my own self-appraisal, I believe that we have been good pastors to you, and have served the church and the denomination well. We've had good times of worship and fellowship with you, and we've taught you what we knew about God, the Bible, and living the Christian life. We obviously didn't know everything to start with, and we've been learning even as we've been teaching. This past two months, I feel we've grown tremendously, and what I want to do today is let you know just what it is that we've found out. I can summarize it this way: there is much, much more to Christianity than I ever believed there was, even though I came to you as a presumably well-trained minister.
"What more is there? First, there is much that God has given us - rights and gifts - that we have never accepted, Second, there is much He's given us to do - grave responsibilities - that we have neither accepted nor discharged.
"Why haven't we taken what is rightfully ours, and why haven't we discharged our Christian responsibilities? I think the answer to both questions is the same: first, we aren't aware of what the rights and responsibilities are; and second, even once we know what they are, we are sometimes willfully choosing not to accept either the gifts or the jobs.
"Let's talk about 'knowing:' whose fault is it that we don't know? Well, folks, it's yours, and it's mine. It's yours because God has been quite clear about much of what we ought to have and ought to do, and He's given a Bible full of good advice plus His own Holy Spirit to interpret it. He's made it clear that, with the Holy Spirit's help, each one of us can know and can do. We don't require any other interpreter or direction giver. So, clearly, it is your fault.
"But you don't have to take all the blame, because it's my fault, too - me, meaning me as your pastor and as a representative of all organized religion. We've confused the issue so much that, one, you think you need us to tell you what to do, and two, we've done a really bad job of doing it. But, then again, it's your fault for abdicating your responsibility to us, and letting us do such a bad job!
"Let me be more specific about the church shortfall. I see it as a combination of making Christianity both too hard and too easy. We make it too hard by seldom presenting it all. For instance, you hear church people talk about the "full Gospel,' but do you know what that means? Chances are you don't, not if you've learned your Christianity from a denominational church, because few of us preach that 'full Gospel’ to you. We give you those parts that we are most comfortable with - the parts that we think we understand - and conveniently forget the rest. That's how denominations come into being: some of us church people aren't comfortable with the part of the Gospel that others are preaching, or we see some new ‘truth’ that we don't think others are seeing. Either way, we decide to accentuate the differences, and dwell on our own little piece of the puzzle. The only way you can get the other pieces is to go to other churches - which, of course, we frown on. You're 'ours,' and we don't want you tainted or confused in those other places!
“How do we make Christianity too easy, then? We do that by not letting you know in no uncertain terms that if you are a Christian, you have some tough responsibilities that must be taken care of. We do it by not letting you know that, to a certain extent at least, your Christianity depends on fulfilling these responsibilities. We seem to give out the message from the pulpit that if you come to church regularly and are at least a minor pillar of the community, you're doing okay. That's not true, folks. If I've given you that impression over the years, wipe it out of your minds right now. It's a dangerous misconception!"
Josh paused for a minute, and said a quick, silent "Thank You, Lord." He smiled out at the congregation. It was very quiet. "What are these gifts, rights, and responsibilities that I've been alluding to? Let's take the 'get' side of the equation first. The biggest, best gift, of course, is the gift of salvation. We all know what that means, don't we? John 3:16: for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."
"When we think about 'salvation,' I guess it's human nature to think about a future in 'Heaven,' wherever and whatever that is. Everybody has their own ideas, hopes, wishes, etc., etc. The truth is, of course, that we won't know any of the specifics while we're alive - and when we find out, we won't be able to tell anybody else about them. Well, we don't need to know the details. We've been promised that it'll be good. More than that, the fruits of 'salvation' don't wait until after you die. We're already living with the promises that Jesus has bestowed. We just need to make use of them.
"The second best gift, which you get after you accept the first, is the privilege of full-time access to God's Holy Spirit, from now until Jesus comes again, and beyond. Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as the Comforter, and He says - in chapters 14, 15 and 16 of the Gospel of John - that we won't need to worry or be lonely when He's gone because He's sending this new Comforter, who will teach us all things and bring to our remembrance all things that Jesus said, and who will guide us into all truth. Jesus Himself encouraged His disciples with the assurance of the Holy Spirit's arrival and presence. For example, in Matthew 10, He warned them that they would get into trouble with the authorities for being involved with Him, but that they had nothing to worry about. They didn't need to worry because - verses 19 and 20 - the Holy Spirit would speak through them and say what needed to be said. Later Christian writers were tuned in to that promise, also. Remember that 'James' advises us to call on the Holy Spirit if we lack wisdom.
"Well, we have salvation, and we have all the comfort and wisdom of the Holy Spirit. What other gifts did Jesus make available to us? He apparently gave individual gifts of teaching ability, prophesy, discernment, and such. I don't find where Jesus specifically mentions these, but others like Paul and James seem clear that He did, and those gifts were certainly being used. All were the result of the Holy Spirit, of course, working through individuals, and it's clear from Jesus' words that He meant them to empower His people to carry on the work He had started. Empower, folks. He had no illusions about how tough the battle would be, and in order to prevail, Christians had to have power to match Satan's power.
"This is a little digression, but some churches teach that all these supernatural-type gifts were just for those first disciples, and were taken away once the Bible was complete. I have trouble with that, for two reasons. First, tell me why they would be taken away? Jesus hasn't returned, Satan is still as strong as ever, and the battle is still raging. Why would He expect us to operate with less power than the original Christians had? If we believe that Jesus' return is imminent - who knows whether that means hours, days, years, or centuries from now; we know it's getting closer! - then wouldn't we expect Satan to be playing even rougher with us than he did with the early disciples? I have to believe we need all the power we can get!
"As for the second reason I don't believe the gifts are gone, it's a practical one. I've seen them in action. Not all of them yet, but what I see and what I hear makes me completely confident that God's gifts are being used for God's glory today, and we all need to be aware of that. Then, most importantly, we need to take advantage of their availability."
Josh found himself getting excited, He didn't know if anyone else was, and didn't care - no, that wasn't true. He did care, but he felt that it was up to every individual whether the words were heard and understood. He had no doubts that the Holy Spirit was there in the church with them.
"Salvation. Comfort. Wisdom. Assurance. Direct power from God. They're all here, folks. You can have them. You need them. If you don't have them, you can't do - I repeat, can't do - what God wants, needs, and expects you to do. And that leads me to the second topic: what does He expect?
"I think He expects three things from us: that we spread the Gospel, that we love one another, and that we become a functioning member of the Body of Christ. The last may be a combination of the first two, or maybe the logical outgrowth of doing the first two. In any event, I'll sum it all up under those three headings.
"First, spread the Gospel. We're told to go forth into all the world and preach the Gospel - the good news - to everyone. That good news is that we have salvation through Jesus' death for our sins, and His resurrection for our lives. I quoted John 3:16 a while ago; that's it, that's the good news.
"If we really believe Jesus, then preaching the Gospel isn't a mere intellectual exercise that we can choose to do or not do. Then get out there and preach the Gospel!
"So, what does ‘spread the Gospel’ mean? Am I exhorting you to knock on doors and deliver religious tracts, or to enlist as a missionary to some remote jungle kingdom? No, I'm really not. There are times and places for those activities - God spreads His message in many different ways - but the important thing to remember is that you are the message! Some people trust and believe what they've been told without questions, but most people believe what they see. You really have no other message but your life; you are the Gospel, incarnate, if you are living it. You can't convince most people how wonderful organized religion is, because most people can give you two bad - and possibly true - stories about religion, for every one good one you can come up with. You can't talk about how wonderful Christians are, because there are too many Christians around who are anything but wonderful. You can't tell them Christians lead happy, fulfilled, contented lives because they know of too many incidents of crime, adultery, suicide, unhappy marriages, and other social ills that involve professing Christians. So, what do you have to use to convince them that Jesus is the way for them? You have only this; your life, coupled with His words. It's not a perfect life, but it's a life that reflects those attributes and attitudes that the reasonable and prudent man or woman (to use a legal test) would expect a follower of Jesus to exhibit. We've been talking about those traits for several weeks now, things like a loving and non-judgmental nature, a quiet spirit, stability, honesty, integrity, and concern for others. Think about it this way: what would you expect from a person who was trying to convince you of the goodness of Jesus Christ? Remember Matthew 5:16: let your light so shine before men that they will see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven. They see you, but they glorify God! And what about the song we sing: they will know we are Christians by our Jove.
"I say it again: you are the message. Maybe you'll use a written tract to reinforce or explain what they see, but it's you. God may call you to Africa, but whether your mission is to people in Africa or to your own family, it's you. Billy Graham may have had ten thousand people stand up for Jesus at one of his crusades, but if the crusade conversions last out the month it will be because of you. God doesn't work without you, the individual, letting your light shine before other individuals. You are the message!
"All right, the first thing He expects from us is that we spread the Gospel. The second is that we love one another. Do you love one another? What does it mean to love one another? Depending on the circumstances, love is probably the most misused, overused, and underused word in human speech. It's misused to describe a lot of drives and emotions that are very human, but may be only marginally associated with love. It's overused when it is said without any evidence of feeling or meaning behind it, and when it is used as a key word to get something we want. It's underused when people really need to hear it - and feel it - from us, and we don't express it.
"But the uses aside, what is it? I came up with a definition that I think is pretty good and pretty accurate: active caring. In that definition are two thoughts. The first is that we really care about people. We're concerned about what happens to them. We're interested in who they are, what they want and need, and what they aspire to. They aren't just entities that we use to get what we need, but real people who count for something. The second thought involves action: real concern, leading to action. It is sometimes proactive, when we anticipate the needs of those we love; other times, it is reactive, when we see a need and respond to signals sent us by another person. Love is active right now, but it also anticipates the future.
First Corinthians 13 is sometimes called the ‘love chapter,’ because the apostle Paul gives us a lot of good terms to describe love. Starting with verse 4, we find that love is patient and kind, and isn't jealous or envious, Love isn't conceited or self-centered, but seeks to build up the ones loved. Love isn't easily upset or provoked, and it looks for the good and not the bad in every situation - it 'accentuates the positive,' to quote an old song. Love thrives on truth, and hates falsehood. It may be stressed, but it hangs on. It never fails, but endures forever.
"You shouldn't be surprised that the attributes of love are pretty much the same as the attributes of Jesus and of Christians, that I recited earlier. Jesus is the manifestation of God's love, just as we - with the help of the Holy Spirit - are meant to be the living evidence of God's love until Jesus returns.
"I mentioned that love is both short-term and long- term. The short-term aspects deal with our interactions with people today and tomorrow - being there for them, and truly sharing ourselves with them, But love also looks to the future. The need for salvation is an obvious ultimate need that can't be overlooked, but I'm also thinking about how love might manifest itself in the earthly long-term, as well. One topic that came to my mind is conservation. We know that we're eventually going to go out of this world, and I think that knowledge sometimes makes Christians a little cavalier about pollution control, recycling, energy conservation, and such. We all know that God will protect us from the ultimate effects of those earthly ills. But have you stopped to think how deep the garbage might get, or how cold and hungry we could be, if Jesus’ return turns out to be five hundred years from now, rather than the day after tomorrow? It's grim for a lot of the world's population right now - someone is clearly not showing much love for them! - but it could get a whole lot grimmer for everyone who's left in later years. Is it loving to leave that kind of heritage to our children and grandchildren? My point is that love, like all of life in Christ, is not a set of behaviors engineered to turn people on to Jesus. It's a way of life that automatically seeks the best for people, be it their spiritual best or their physical best, their short-term individual best or their long-term collective best. It can't be faked or finessed; it has to be real; it has to be you.
"If I could hear your thoughts right now, I bet I'd hear more than a few of you protesting that, Christian or not, you just can't love that way. You've never been an outgoing person, and you're wary of close relationships. Or you just aren't interested in people, that way. Or you've never been personally, vulnerably close to other people, and you wouldn't know how to start. Never fear; remember that we're not learning a bunch of personality tricks. We're inviting the Holy Spirit to take more and more of our life under His control, so that He may make us the loving people that He wants us to be.
"Just a few more thoughts on love, to tie back to spreading the Gospel. You can't convince people of the love of Jesus Christ without that love being apparent in you. The Holy Spirit may convict a person of their need for God through a Christian crusade or some other impersonal encounter, but at some time that first spark has to be turned into a fire through real, caring relationships with loving Christians. Otherwise, it will die.
"Do you remember the resentment and rebellion expressed in one of the songs from the musical 'Natural High, [1]sung by a young man who sensed the mechanical nature of some 'soul saving’ efforts? 'l don't want to be a feather in some do-gooder's cap, just another notch upon your pearly gun.' People know whether you care about them, or whether you're just working your way into Heaven. You're not supposed to be winning souls and influencing people, to misquote a book title; you're supposed to be loving people into the Kingdom of God!
"It follows, then, that love endures after conversion; we don't turn it off once the fish is caught, to save what we have for the next prospect. But something that may not be so clear is that it endures even if you don't close the deal! People still need your love and concern, whether or not they accept your message. One of the best proofs of your love - your active caring - is that it lasts even after the Gospel message has apparently been rejected. Remember the old adage about loving the sinner, but hating the sin? In any event, talking about the love of Jesus is never wasted. Your words may be the seeds, and the continuing love felt from you and other Christians may yet act as the water and the nutrition needed to make the seed grow."
Josh took another drink of water. "I know this is a long message for me, and I know that Sunday dinner is waiting. But please bear with me ten minutes more. I feel that this is vitally important to all of us." He paused and smiled. "I promise this will be the last time I hold you overtime."
He got a little response from that, but the significance was lost on most of the congregation.
"Okay, my last point: just as God wants each of us to spread the Gospel and to love one another, He also expects each of us to be an active, functioning part of the Body of Christ. Most of you are familiar with the scriptures that portray all Christians together as the embodiment of Jesus on earth during this interim time period. Until Jesus returns, all that the world will know about God is what they read in the Bible, and see and feel in us and in His Holy Spirit. I won't take the time to explore this theme in depth, but I urge you all to read and study Paul's description of the ‘body’ in First Corinthians 12. Paul sets forth some of the functions of the Christian Body, and then compares that Body with the human body. He notes that both organisms need all their parts. In the Body of Christ, we are the parts: we Christians, past and present and future. To be fully functional, this Body needs all its parts working properly, with no disabilities. That means each of us must be working properly as a Christian. And finally, this Christian Body needs all the parts doing the jobs they were designed for. This last requirement isn't usually a problem in the human body - a lung can't do the job of a finger - but in the Christian Body right now, there are lots of 'lungs' doing the work of 'toes,' and lot of 'toes' doing ‘finger’ work. The Body isn't working right, as long as this is happening.
"I think the message is clear from this: we must do our jobs as evangelists, and we must do our jobs as lovers, before the Body of Christ can function properly. I have a hypothesis about that - one that can't be proven until Jesus returns, but I think a pretty good one to think about. This is it: God is ready for Jesus to come back at any time. He's just waiting for us to get ready. When He feels it's as good as it's going to get - when the Gospel is spread, when all souls are saved who are going to be saved, and when all other earthly chores that He's assigned have been completed - He'll be here faster than you can say ‘Hallelujah.’ If I'm right in my hypothesis, then it's all up to us. We can spin our wheels; we can choose not to take advantage of the Holy Spirit's help; we can divide ourselves into denominations and keep ourselves disabled and retarded; and we can refuse to relate to the rest of the world in love. Conversely, we can embrace the Holy Spirit, quit the fighting and quibbling amongst ourselves, and get on with the business at hand. Personally, I'm ready for Jesus to come back. I think you are, too."
***
"So, that's that," said Josh, as they left the church. "Yes, it is," acknowledged Evalyn. "How do you feel?" Josh laughed. "Completely drained, but totally contented. I know we're doing it right." The front door closed behind them. "So, God," whispered Josh, "Let the adventure begin."
***
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[1] 2Composed by Ralph Carmichael and Kurt Kaiser, Lexicon Music
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