At daybreak Jesus departed and went into a deserted place.
And the crowds were looking for him;
and when they reached him,
they wanted to prevent him from leaving them.
But he said to them,
“I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also;
for I was sent for this purpose.”
So he continued proclaiming the message in the synagogues of Judea. Luke 4:42-44
Dear Friends,
Aren’t the “crowds” in the previous passage just like us? Jesus had shown up in the city and started teaching and proclaiming the good news of God’s reign like no one they had ever heard. Plus, he was getting rid of unclean spirits and curing any and everybody. Wouldn’t you try to get him to stay in your city?
Jesus reply to their request to stay was to talk about his purpose,
“I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other cities also…”
If we look at Jesus’ life as the fulfillment of his purpose, what does that tell us?
· Everywhere he went, the things he said and did created sound minds, renewed spirits, & whole bodies AND encouraged people to be in action to help and serve others.
· The main “idol” that Jesus named and challenged was the accumulation of wealth.
· When confronted with his own survival, he chose to risk--and give away--his life so that life and love may abound.
In the lobby at FLC is a large rock that memorializes the movement of First Lutheran over the years:
1900-1953-1982-1998
After 125 years of ministry as First Lutheran Church, it seems like an appropriate time to review how we are doing as the body of Christ in this place…
· How are we doing at fulfilling God’s purpose for us?
· What is God’s purpose for us?
· What game(s) have we been playing?
· Are there bigger games that God is inviting us to play?
I believe that these are all life-giving questions to ponder. To deepen these questions (one might say, to stir the pot), I’m going to make what might seem to be some absurd and even nonsensical statements that—for me--connect to the observations I made above about Jesus’ life…
1) Outreach is NOT about getting new members.
Jesus healed people. Jesus helped people. His purpose was to let people know that the kingdom of God had come and to give people an experience of that kingdom of God. He embodied loving one’s neighbour. When “getting members” is the primary goal of outreach activities, it gets in the way of just loving, serving, and caring about them. The curious thing is, new members are often a byproduct of this kind of loving outreach but primarily when the goal of simply loving and serving the neighbour is foremost.
2) Giving money so we can pay the bills is a pretty small game.
If you’ve ever been on church council, you have probably experienced the ongoing conversation about whether we’re going to have enough money this year to cover our expenses. One of the impacts of that conversation is that it tends to suppress any new ministries and expenditures. It keeps the members playing a small game in their stewardship and it keeps the congregation playing a small game in considering and starting new ministries. One of Jesus’ main topics in his teachings was about how the pursuit of wealth gets in the way of living a godly life. When people choose to trust God and follow Jesus with their whole lives (including with their financial resources), powerful spiritual transformations happen that cannot happen otherwise. Congregations that practice this kind of discipleship experience generosity amongst the members and abundance in blessings. It propels them to play bigger games!
3) The main goal of the church is NOT to survive.
The default goal and purpose of every institution is to survive. Duhhh.
It wasn’t Jesus’ goal and purpose. When congregations risk their very “life” for the sake of the world, they gain their lives! The more a congregation tries to “hang on” instead of going for it and trusting God, the more likely it is to die. Hmmm
I hope you “try on” these statements and see what kind of insights they provide for our life together as we seek to discern God’s purpose for FLC.
Peace,
Pastor Phil
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