Grow Up

Grow Up
Grow: Rethinking Church Growth - Part 2
April 14, 2024
Ephesians 4:11-16, Hebrews 5:12-14, 1 Peter 2:1-5, 1 Corinthians 3:1-3

Brothers and sisters, I couldn’t talk to you like spiritual people but like unspiritual people, like babies in Christ.  I gave you milk to drink instead of solid food, because you weren’t up to it yet.  Now you are still not up to it because you are still unspiritual. When jealousy and fighting exist between you, aren’t you unspiritual and living by human standards?

 1 Corinthians 3:1-3

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Growth is a natural part of life.  It’s been said that if you are not growing, you are dying.  But the question is, what kind of growth are we talking about? 

In the church, growth is often measured by numbers… in particular worship attendance or membership, and financial giving.  That’s it.  But scripture consistently refers to the church as a living organism, as the body of Christ.  I wonder, what would happen if we measured the growth of the human body on those standards alone?  What if growth was only measured by how tall we got and how much weight we gained?

That might be a good starting point for an infant, especially one who may have been pre-mature or underweight at birth, but for an adult, there comes a point when we will not grow any taller and if anything, many of us would rather lose weight than gain it.  If our only measurement for growth is physical size, then we spend the majority of our lives either stagnant or dying because we simply cannot grow anymore.

There are many debates about whether or not a church can grow too big, or what the ideal “weight” or size of a healthy church might be.  Some idealize the multi-thousand member mega church as the expected norm, while others in mid to larger size churches quickly realize that they have become so bloated with programs and buildings that they must streamline in order to make their ministry sustainable.  It has been argued that it is better to do one thing exceptionally well than 20 or 30 things mediocre because your budget and your people are stretched too thin. 

In his book, Good to Great, Jim Collins identifies what he calls “The Hedgehog Concept”, in most successful companies.  As a leadership model, the hedgehog concept is based on the fact that a hedgehog really only has one natural defense mechanism in nature.  It can roll up in a spiky little ball and become almost impossible for a predator to eat.  It is easy to look at that hedgehog as small, weak, and insignificant compared to more majestic animals like lions and bears, but no one can argue with the effectiveness of the hedgehog’s ability to survive and thrive by warding off predators in such a simple way.  If it tried to fight back or compete with other animals, it would likely lose, but when it does what it was created to do, all is well.

New Testament writers regularly call out the church for essentially getting fat on baby food ( Eph. 4:11-16, Heb. 5:12-14, 1 Pet. 2:1-5, 1 Cor. 3:1-3, etc.)  They are never concerned about numerical growth in the countless small house churches and faith communities sprouting up across the known world.  Rather, they call out the lack of spiritual maturity among those who have been in the faith the longest.  In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul particularly uses their constant jealousy and quarreling as evidence of this lack of spiritual growth and health. 

I wonder how much of our own quarreling and even decline in today’s world stems from our jealousy of larger churches and our own insecurities about size and money? 

What if real growth means simply being the best, healthiest and most mature little hedgehog we can be?

Think Small

Think Small
Grow: Rethinking Church Growth - Part 1
April 7, 2024
Luke 13:18-21

Jesus asked, “What is God’s kingdom like? To what can I compare it?  It’s like a mustard seed that someone took and planted in a garden. It grew and developed into a tree and the birds in the sky nested in its branches.”

Again he said, “To what can I compare God’s kingdom?  It’s like yeast, which a woman took and hid in a bushel of wheat flour until the yeast had worked its way through the whole.”

Luke 13:18-21

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Somewhere along the line, our culture became obsessed with the idea that “bigger is better.”  It is the philosophy that drives our capitalistic, consumer market.  We don’t even have to leave our home to find ourselves inundated with advertising that tries to tell us that we need more… bigger, better, faster… in sum, that we never have enough.  It is not a far stretch to move from the idea that we don’t have enough to the deeply rooted feeling that we are not enough.  The “Bigger is Better” philosophy has created a deep cultural crisis of identity and worth that we have barely begun to realize or admit. 

When applied to the church, we have bought into the lie that only large churches are successful and we have created an endless array of costly programs with the goal of helping to make small churches big.  We have come to believe that if we do not have enough people, money, and space to have personalized programming for every possible demographic like the mega church down the road, that we somehow have less value in God’s Kingdom.  We are easily discouraged by attendance and offering numbers, seemingly forgetting that we follow a savior who transformed the world with only 12 disciples and fed thousands with only 5 loaves of bread and a few fish. 

The Kingdom, Jesus said, is like a mustard seed or  a  pinch of yeast, tiny, unnoticed and seemingly insignificant, but with the power to transform into something amazing.  If such parables are to be taken seriously, we must consider the immense value that small congregations have in the Kingdom on earth.  Small churches offer unique opportunity for deeper intergenerational relationships.  They can more easily adapt and respond to the immediate needs of the community around them as there is less bureaucracy and administrative red tape.  We are able to know everyone and quickly recognize and welcome newcomers when we gather.  Personally, I have found that even kids can feel more included in a small congregation of loving adults than in a large organization where they get lost in a crowd of other children and never even speak to the pastor or other church members aside from a Sunday School teacher or children’s minister. 

Could it be, as Karl Vaters suggests, that 100 congregations of 50 people could be more effective, or at least as effective, at transforming their communities than a single church of 5,000? 

What would it take for small churches to recognize and live into their own significance, to celebrate their strengths and giftedness, and to focus on faithfulness over numerical growth? 

How might our own church and community look different if instead of struggling to grow bigger, we instead focused on growing healthy in Christian maturity, growing deep in our discipleship, growing wide in hospitality and welcome, and growing in love as we live into the Great Commandment and Great Commission of Jesus?

Weak to Be Strong

Weak to be Strong
Finding God at the End of Your Rope - Part 7
Easter Sunday, March 31, 2024
Matthew 27:62-28:15, 2 Corinthians 1:3-11

The next day, which was the day after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate.  They said, “Sir, we remember that while that deceiver was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will arise.’  Therefore, order the grave to be sealed until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people, ‘He’s been raised from the dead.’ This last deception will be worse than the first.”

Matthew 27:62-64

If the authorities were terrified of a dead savior, who they were convinced could not truly have risen from the grave, how is it that a living savior who we believe is alive in us be so easily ignored by the world?  Could it be that a dead Savior held more power over them than a living savior holds over us? 

In Matthew 28, we find the soldiers spreading the lie that they had fallen asleep and that the disciples indeed did steal the body.  What could possibly drive a Roman Soldier to "admit" that he fell asleep on duty, let alone an entire guard unit?  Such failure carried serious consequences, perhaps even death, which is why they depended on bribes from the Sanhedrin to save their own necks.  

Even though Jesus’ enemies did not believe in the resurrection itself, they absolutely believed in the power of the idea of a resurrection, and it brought them to their knees and left them scrambling to cover up the evidence at any cost.  We believe in the resurrection, or at least we say we do, but somehow, we don’t live as if we believe it has any power or meaning.

For the disciples, this truth had the power to turn their very lives upside down… it gave them the boldness to risk everything and defy the very world which held over them the same power of life and death they had held over Jesus.  Almost every one of them was so absolutely confident in the power of the resurrection, that they preached it even in the face of their own executions.  Like Jesus, the disciples were loved by many who believed, but were very much despised, rejected and hated by the world as a whole.  They suffered imprisonment, abuse of every kind, and even death at the hands of both the religious leaders and Rome itself.  But no matter how badly they were treated, they absolutely could not be ignored, because the power of the Risen Christ lived within them?

The power of the resurrection is easily stripped away by familiarity, as if it were just another good story.  But this year, will we allow ourselves to look deeper into our weakness, deeper into the graves in our lives, and tremble with fear and joy that God has overcome the grave.  If Christ is still dead… then we are still dead in our sins… but if Christ is alive, then the Resurrected King is resurrecting us… unraveling the grave-clothes of sin that have held us in the tomb for so long and sending us forth to declare His victory!

The final question for us…

Does the reality of a Risen Savior affect our lives as much as the mere idea of a Risen Savior affected the authorities of Jesus’ day?

When someone looks at you and the way you live out your faith, would they conclude that Christ is alive or dead?  And would they have any reason to believe that it matters?  We may be loved or we may be hated, but if Christ truly lives within us… we cannot be ignored! 

We cannot simply walk away as if it’s just another good story.  In any age… a “dead man walking” demands a response from everyone who hears. 

How do you respond to the Good News that Christ the Lord is Risen Today?  Perhaps with joy, perhaps with fear… but indifference is simply not an option.  As you walk away from the empty tomb this week, what will you do with the Risen Christ?

Get Up and Walk

Get Up and Walk

Good News - Part 6

Sunday, February 11, 2024
Mark 2:1-12

So many gathered that there was no longer space, not even near the door. Jesus was speaking the word to them. Some people arrived, and four of them were bringing to him a man who was paralyzed. They couldn’t carry him through the crowd, so they tore off part of the roof above where Jesus was. When they had made an opening, they lowered the mat on which the paralyzed man was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Child, your sins are forgiven!”

 Mark 2:2-5 (CEB)

Listen to this Week’s Sermon here:

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This may be one of my favorite scenes in the gospels partly because it is so absurd, but even more because it shows how far people will go when something matters enough to them.  In this case, what mattered most for these four individuals, was their paralyzed friend.

Most of us are probably good friends.  We care for those we love in times of need.  We will visit them in the hospital and call to check in if someone is alone.  I’m guessing these four also were good friends to the paralyzed man.  They probably made sure he could get where he needed to go and helped him with food and other basic needs.  Without friends like that, someone in his condition would not have lived very long.  It is truly a humbling experience to depend on someone that much just to survive. 

At a previous church I regularly visited Rex, who at age 18, became a quadriplegic after a tragic diving accident in a pond.  Rex spent 38 years in a hospital bed at home, unable to move except for his head.  I was privileged to preside over his funeral in 2015.  He was strong and always did what he could to help others primarily on the phone, arranging anything his mom needed taken care of in the house even as she struggled to care for his medical needs.  He was also a brilliant artist, having taught himself to paint by holding the brush in his mouth.  During the final years of his life, he knew his mother’s health was declining and he constantly felt like a burden to her no matter how much she said otherwise.  His last words to me expressed his desire to go home to Jesus so she could finally get the rest she so desperately needed.  I imagine Jesus’ first words to him in heaven may have been something like, “get up and walk,” just as he said to the man in this passage.

As I saw modeled in Rex’s mom, it takes a tremendous amount of strength to care for someone in that situation.  The man’s friends in Mark must also have been like that, even as they carried him on a stretcher for who knows how far, just to see Jesus.  But when they got there, it was too crowded.  There was no way to get anywhere near this increasingly famous healer.  So they raised his stretcher up to the roof, removed a section of thatch, and lowered him down to Jesus.  Setting aside the issues of destruction of property and cutting in a very long line, their dedication to him and their faith in Jesus was incredible. 

It makes me wonder, as we care for our friends and family and others in need around us, how far would we be willing to go to get them to Jesus?  Do we even mention Jesus’ name when we are in their company?  Do we share what our faith means to us and how Jesus has strengthened and healed us in our own lives?  Do we ask them to share stories of the beautiful things in their lives and celebrate together as we reflect on the amazing ways God keeps showing up? 

Who in your life needs you to bring them to Jesus this week?

Be Clean

Be Clean

Good News - Part 5

Sunday, February 4, 2024
Mark 1:40-45, 2:13-17

A man with a skin disease came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”  Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I am willing. Be made clean!”  Immediately the skin disease left him, and he was made clean. 

Mark 1:40-42 (NRSV)

Listen to this Week’s Sermon here:

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“If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

At first glance, I find two very interesting things about this simple line.  First, it is not actually a question.  The man with the skin disease, likely leprosy, does not directly request healing.  Perhaps he feels unworthy or afraid to ask, especially given his unclean status in society.  But whatever the reason, he only acknowledges his faith in Jesus’ ability to cleanse him. 

The second point is the issue of willingness.  Other translations say, “If you want to…”  In today’s prayerful language, we might say something like, “If it be your will…”  The man seems to be hedging his bets.  On one hand, he believes Jesus can heal him, but on the other hand, he’s not sure Jesus would even want to help.     

The writer says that Jesus was moved with pity or compassion and declares that he is willing and wanting to heal.  This is consistent with Jesus’ actions throughout the gospel, healing sometimes even without intentionally doing anything, such as when the healing power simply flowed out of him to the unknown woman who touched his cloak (Mark 5:28-30). 

Other Greek manuscripts, however, say that Jesus was moved with anger, or incensed, when he responded.  There is much scholarly debate as to which translation is the most authentic, but regardless of the answer, I find the possibility of anger interesting indeed.  I confess, I printed this scripture in the NRSV instead of the CEB which I typically use, precisely because the language of pity felt more comfortably in line with Jesus’ nature than the word “incensed” used in the CEB.  However, that choice may reflect my own discomfort at the idea of Jesus’ anger at a man in need of healing.  Which raises the question, is there a good reason why Jesus might be angry at this man’s request?

Some say that Jesus was angry at the suffering this man had endured.  Perhaps, but I wonder if he might have also been upset about the way the question was raised.  “If you want to…”

Almost every day after school our daughter asks “What’s for dinner?”  Sometimes, especially if we are going out, I say, “You’ll see when we get there.”  Her response is, “Well is it at least something I like.”

In this response, I can imagine why Jesus might get frustrated with the question.  I answer, “Have we ever gone someplace that didn’t have something you like?” to which she sheepishly responds, “Well, no…” and then continues on with her persistent curiosity.  The negative assumption in the question is that we might not take her into consideration or care about what she wants.  Similarly, the assumption of Jesus is that though he could certainly help, he may simply not feel like it, or may not think this man worthy enough.  It challenges Jesus’ character.  It questions Jesus’ desire for an abundant, flourishing life for all people and God’s nature as one abounding in mercy and steadfast love.

I wonder if in our attempt to hedge our bets about whether something is God’s will, just in case it doesn’t happen, if we may be unintentionally causing people to question whether God would even want to help us at all.