What it takes to be a mission focused church - Luke 12

This is the last of my sermon posts for a while. We are on sabbatical from 1st May until 1st September.  Some of our visiting preachers may want to share their sermon notes with us.  You can have a look at those sermons by clicking here.

Isn’t it wonderful how things work together!  And they have done again today.

The hope and prayer we have had for the sabbatical as it has been in the planning not only for the good Felicity and me, but also for the good of the church is that it can be a time that’s purposeful.  For the church family to come together and to work together with a very real sense of purpose.

And so it was that we decided that in planning services for the four months Felicity and I won’t be around that we would invite those taking the services to focus on specific themes. It will be interesting to get different people’s perspectives on those themes.

We begin with one of those themes that we continue to focus on as a church family that goes to the heart of what we are about as a church.   When we shared the vision for our church and its growth we said how important it was for us to focus on mission and outreach.

And so we have asked those who are visiting us and taking services in May and June to reflect on the question – what does it take to be a mission focused church?

Paul Davis will be speaking from his perspective as a retired GP who has entered into ministry and contributed especially to the work of the Congregational Federation’s Pastoral Care Board.   Suzanne Nockels is the minister of two churches in Sheffield and also spearheads the Federation’s Learning Church initiative.  She will be spending Saturday, 16th May with our Ministry Leadership team and then joining us for services on Sunday.  

Pam Dix is an old friend of Highbury and has played a big part in inner city mission through our Stapleton Rd church in Bristol.  Dee Brierley Jones brings her experience as a head teacher and in different forms of ministry, not least sharing with Shirley in taking communion into care homes and doing a regular programme on Cotswold Hospital Radio, Radio Winchcombe and elsewhere. 

While she was training for ministry at Mansfield alongside Mark  Evans, Elaine Kinchin did a short pastoral placement with us at Highbury.  Elaine has been in our prayers as she has had to take early retirement on health grounds.  Her son, Oliver, is minister of our Padfield church in Cheshire and getting involved tutoring on the Congregational Federation’s courses. 

Nick Gleich is an old friend of Highbury.

On Sundays in June we will again be thinking about what it takes to be a mission-focused church.  Wayne Hawkins is well-placed to get us thinking about that challenge, working as he does as Regional Secretary for the European Region of the world mission partnership we are part of, the Council for World Mission.  He will be leading a Parade service in the morning and staying on to share in our evening service too.  Wayne’s wife, Lesley, is Diana and Dick Adams’ daughter and, all being well, we look forward to welcoming Thomas and Samuel too.

By the time she joins us this month Barbara Bridges will have finished her time as President of the Congregational Federation.  As Minister of our Morton in Marsh Congregational Church Barbara is one of our near neighbours.  Nigel Lindsay will be joining the Hy-Speed team on 21st June and staying on for the evening service too: Minister of our church in Wimbledon, Nigel is a former social worker who now spends two months of each year out in Kenya supporting a mission project his church is committed to.

Adrian Wyatt spent a life time in the police service before training on the Federation’s course for ministry.  He is a mission enabler in the South West and will get us thinking about being a mission focused church.  We will also be welcoming Dee Brierley Jones once again this month and also Kev who twenty-five years ago with Jenny was instrumental in getting Hy-Tec, our youth group, off the ground.

Do remember those who will be joining us this month in your prayers and may the thinking they share help to shape the life of our church here at Highbury.

Today we arrive at the halfway point in Luke’s Gospel … and a break as I hope, all being well, to return to Luke’s Gospel when we return on 1^st September.

And what do we find as Jesus continues on his journey to Jerusalem but a Jesus who is passionate that we should share our faith and live our lives in mission and outreach.

Two things come together in this chapter.

The first has to do with sharing our faith.

It’s something we can be very reluctant to do.   We even build in the expectation that in polite society we won’t – politics and religion are subjects to be avoided.

That’s not the kind of society Jesus moved in.  And it’s not what he expected of his followers.

The Jesus we meet on this journey is a pretty forthright Jesus who stands up for what he is about and has a gritty determination to press on towards a Jerusalem that he knows will be filled with hostility to the prophetic message he has to share.

When it comes to sharing the faith one of the things Jesus recognises is the need for us all to be genuine in our faith – people see through the sham that is only concerned with outward appearances.  And Jesus has no time for that kind of religion.

Meanwhile, when the crowd gathered in thousands, so that they trampled on one another, he began to speak first to his disciples, ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy. 2Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. 3Therefore whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed from the housetops.

Jesus is advocating here a transparency, a genuiness.  How important it is for us to seek to live the faith we profess.   Words into action … are so important.  So important that sometimes we fall into the trap of imagining all we need is actions.  Let’s do as much good as we can and say as little as we can.

It’s the maxim attributed to St Farncis of St Francis – share your faith and only use words if necessary.

I did as you do and googled it to find according to that fount of Wisdom, Wikipedia, that it is falseyly attributed to St Francis.

All sorts of other quotes … but not quite St Francis.

Preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words[edit]

Preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words

Such expressions are widely attributed to Francis, but no published source has yet been located prior to the early 1990s. Variants include those listed below.

• Witness for Christ each day, and if necessary use words.
• Conspiracy of Kindness : A Refreshing New Approach to Sharing the Love of Jesus With Others (1993) by Steve Sjogren, p. 120.

• Always remember to preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.
• The Short-Term Missions Boom : A Guide to International and Domestic Involvement (1994) edited by Michael J. Anthony, p. 38.

• Wherever you go, preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.
• What They Don't Always Teach You at a Christian College (1995) by Keith Anderson, p. 185.

• Share the gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words
• The Basics of Life (1998) by Andy Chrisman, Kirk Sullivan, Mark Harris and Marty Magehee.

• Go into all the world and preach the gospel, and, if necessary, use words.
• The Boomerang Mandate : Returning the Ministry to the People of God(1999) by Jim L. Wilson and Tom Stringfellow, p. 70.

• Do all you can to preach the gospel and if necessary use words!
• The Lord is my Shepherd (1999) by Alf Droy, p. 84.

• Preach often, and if necessary, use words
• This Is Your Time : Make Every Moment Count (2000) by Michael Whitaker Smith and Gary Lee Thomas, p. 93.

• Preach the gospel always and if necessary, use words.
• Cease Fire, the War Is Over! (2005) by Eric Bumpus and Tim Moranville, p. 88

Close, authentic quotation:

• ...love one another, as the Lord says: "This is My commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you." And let them show their love by the works they do for each other, according as the Apostle says: "let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth."
• Francis of Assisi, Rule of 1221, Rule 11 - That the Brothers ought not to speak or detract, but ought to love one another.

 Isn’t that interesting.

The basic idea is good …  but.  And it is a big BUT.  It’s not quite good enough.   Too often churches have hidden behind that maxim and not encouraged people to talk about their faith.  Actually it is something we are called on to do by Jesus … and we are called on to do it fearlessly.

The heading in the NRSV is pretty powerful and challenging.

Exhortation to Fearless Confession

4 ‘I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. 5But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! 6Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. 7But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

8 ‘And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; 9but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God. 10And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 11When they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, do not worry about how you are to defend yourselves or what you are to say; 12for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say.’

You will be given the right words to say.   How do you explain your faith? It’s worth reflecting on.  It’s one of the things Karen our Discipleship ministry leader is focusing on through the summer.

We are going to do a course inspired by a book by Philip Yancey.  What’s so amazing about grace?  It’s the kind of course to refresh your faith, to help you put your faith into words, to share your faith more effectively.

The simple story of why you believe, what you believe and how it helps you live your life more fully.  More and more as I tell my story I want to come back to Jesus – the one who maps out a way of life that can make a world of difference in love for God, love for neighbour too.  But he is the one who then comes alongside and forgives us when we make a pig’s ear of it and fail to do just that.  It’s that forgiveness that streams out from Jesus that is for me this amazing grace – and it picks me up to get me going again.  Not in my own strength, but in the strength of that unseen power of God with me.

That’s my story … and I’m sticking to it!

But mission is not just about telling the story of Jesus.

Mission has to do with the values of the Kingdom of God that Jesus came to proclaim.  And those values turn upside down the values of the world.

So much of the world’s way of thinking effectively reinforces the selfishness that’s in each of us and can be so destructive when unleashed.

One thing that troubles me in the election as in so many elections is that sense you have of things that are being offered that will satisfy our selfishness.

And not just our selfishness but our desire for money and riches and wealth.

It ever has been thus.

It was the case in the world of Jesus’ day.

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.’ 14But he said to him, ‘Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?’ 15And he said to them, ‘Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.’

Wow – that’s something for the politicians to  hear.  It’s something for us to heed as we weigh up what those who are offering to lead our country are offering us.

How better to push the point home than in a parable.

And that’s what Jesus tells.  One of those story parables that Jesus tells on the journey and are only to be found in Luke 10-19

16Then he told them a parable: ‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly. 17And he thought to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?” 18Then he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” 20But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” 21So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’

It’s a powerful story.  Brilliantly told.  Look how many times the word ‘I’ appears.  It’s I, me, mine that count.

How we need to take it to heart.

But it’s scary not to pin our hopes on possessions.

Do Not Worry, says Jesus.

22 He said to his disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. 23For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 26If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? 27Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 28But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! 29And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. 30For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

32 ‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

This is unsettling for us.  How important we heed these words.

This is where we take a stand.  Generous giving.

More stories follow about the need to be on the watch, the need to be faithful in our service of Christ.    There is a cost to following in the footsteps of Jesus as sometimes it will mean we lose friends – it’s not a popularity contest.  How important it is to seek to build bridges on the way.

Share the faith and live the mission.

Live the faith and share the mission.

Let’s put all that lies ahead of us into the hands of God.

Watchful Slaves

35 ‘Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; 36be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. 37Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. 38If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

39 ‘But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.’

The Faithful or the Unfaithful Slave

41 Peter said, ‘Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?’ 42And the Lord said, ‘Who then is the faithful and prudent manager whom his master will put in charge of his slaves, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? 43Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. 44Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. 45But if that slave says to himself, “My master is delayed in coming”, and if he begins to beat the other slaves, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and put him with the unfaithful. 47That slave who knew what his master wanted, but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive a severe beating. 48But one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.

Jesus the Cause of Division

49 ‘I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! 51Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 52From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; 53they will be divided:

father against son

   and son against father,

mother against daughter

   and daughter against mother,

mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law

   and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’

Interpreting the Time

54 He also said to the crowds, ‘When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, “It is going to rain”; and so it happens. 55And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, “There will be scorching heat”; and it happens. 56You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

Settling with Your Opponent

57 ‘And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? 58Thus, when you go with your accuser before a magistrate, on the way make an effort to settle the case, or you may be dragged before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you in prison. 59I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.’