Monday, March 28, 2011
How You Can Overcome Loneliness
Contemporary Americans are, overall, a pretty lonesome, friendless, bunch.
Our faith can help overcome this cloud of loneliness that so many feel.
You don’t have to look around very long to find lonely people.
A haunting song you still hear is “Eleanor Rigby.” “Look at all the lonely people — where do they all come from?”
Eleanor Rigby became the symbol of loneliness in the ‘60s and ‘70s, and we still hear it in the 21st century and we still resonate to it.
The Beatles were not singing the blues for themselves.
They vocalized loneliness —
the century̓s saddest disease.
As I noted last week, I am doing a series of sermons on the spiritual needs of Americans.
One of the most common needs uncovered by the Gallup Poll is the need for a sense of community and deeper relationships.
This confirms the study I have referred to before about the in-depth look at “friendship” among American adults.
This is the study that revealed that men in today’s society are largely friendless.
Some 60% of all the men over the age of 30 cannot identify a single person whom they would term a close friend.
The study showed that adult American women fared only slightly better.
When asked, most women can name five or six other women whom they term “close” friends.
But, when the subject is probed a bit, many of these so-called close friends are merely “functional” friends –
that is they know one another from one particular part of their lives: the pool, the circle, a garden club, bridge, whatever.
Much like the men, American women often share nothing with those persons outside that specific context.
In short, the study shows that contemporary Americans are, overall, a pretty lonesome, friendless, bunch.
Thomas Wolfe, one of our country’s greatest novelists, once wrote: “loneliness, far from being a rare and curious phenomenon…is the central and inevitable fact of human existence.”
Twenty-two percent of all Americans ate dinner alone last night.
A recent Gallup poll stated that 3 out 10 Americans are lonely.
People from all walks of life experience loneliness.
Money cannot insure against loneliness;
position cannot rise above loneliness;
power cannot stand before loneliness.
Loneliness can cause great psychological damage.
It has been estimated that 80% of the people who seek psychiatric help come primarily because of feelings associated with loneliness.
Many people become suicidal because they cannot handle the overwhelming feeling of loneliness.
Loneliness permeates our culture.
Do you remember when the telephone company had an ad that said, “Reach Out and Touch Someone.”
When you watch these beer commercials do you ever notice that the people are never drinking alone; they are always drinking with someone else?
There are even “900” numbers where you can call just to talk to people.
Lonely people wander all over our society trying to look for someone or something that can cure their loneliness.
In many cities you used to have “Lonely Heart’s Clubs” where people would try to be lonely together.
Well, friends, I am here to tell you today that our faith can help overcome this cloud of loneliness that so many feel.
If you are a child of God today you may be lonely, but it’s not because you’re alone.
As a child of God you enjoy the permanent company of God the Father who said,
“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Heb. 13:5)
You enjoy unbroken fellowship with God the Son who said, “Lo, I am with you always.” (Mt. 28:20)
You enjoy the continuing presence of God the Holy Spirit who we are told, “will abide with us forever.” (Jn. 14:16)
The first cure for loneliness is to remember what Jesus said, “I call you friend.”
And the second cure for loneliness is to reach out to someone else.
If you are lonely look for someone else who is lonely and befriend them;
be a blessing to them.
It is possible for you to forget about your loneliness as you to cure their loneliness.
Several years ago, family therapist, Virginia Satir wrote a book entitled, Peoplemaking.
Not only was this a good descriptive for what happens in functional families, but I thought it was descriptive of the church, as well.
In the best sense, we here at Christ Church, are about peoplemaking.
Here, we teach and share values which enhance a person’s life and enable full growth to occur.
In a very real sense, our churches are probably the only place left in our culture where there is any chance of making friends –
of bonding with another person
around common concerns,
common interests,
a common faith.
Friends, let the word go out –
especially in these perilous time –
that Christ Church is a place where friends are made.
Loneliness can be overcome – right here in Drexel Hill.
These comments are excerpted from a sermon heard by the congregation of Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA, Sunday, March 27, 2011.
Monday, March 14, 2011
During this time before Easter we are challenged to open ourselves in new ways to the Spirit’s transforming power – not unlike Jesus did at the beginning of hihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifs ministry.
Check it out.
Check it out.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Today Is the First Sunday of Lent
We have it all wrong when we talk about giving up something for Lent.
The true practice of Lent, has nothing to do with diet –
nothing to do with giving something up –
and everything to do with living your faith –
putting flesh on what you say you believe –
enacting your faith.
Isaiah 58:1-12
Matthew 6:1-8,16-18
Lent is a fascinating time in the church year that Presbyterians are only beginning to appreciate.
Used to be, as you know, we never observed Lent in Presbyterian churches.
But, today we see this time as an opportunity to attend to the parts of our lives that we often neglect.
During this time before Easter we are challenged to open ourselves in new ways to the Spirit’s transforming power – not unlike Jesus did at the beginning of his ministry.
From the very earliest times, Christians took time out before Easter to reflect on their faith, cultivate it, and prepare for a most joyous celebration of Easter.
Remembering that Jesus took 40 days off to prepare for the beginning of his ministry, the church sets aside these 40 days prior to Easter for us to get ready.
This is a time for us to explore the mysteries of the universe,
looking beneath the surface –
within ourselves –
examining our own motives and desires,
and ascertaining exactly what our commitment is:
to what,
to whom,
and what it means.
Lent is meant to remind us that the days are getting longer –
Spring is right around the corner.
Actually, the word Lent comes from an ancient word that meant "springtime," –
that period of the calendar during which the days lengthen - in the northern hemisphere, anyway.
Because the church season always fell at that time of year, the name came to apply the season as well.
In our part of the world, all around us new life is preparing to break out as the weather turns.
Signs of life are preparing to bud right before our eyes.
And, our task during this season is to prepare ourselves to see these signs when they occur.
Like I said in the newsletter, we need Lent!
Lent encourages us to look within ourselves to see how we have confused popular cultural values with Christian faith.
Through sustained focus on the life and ministry of Jesus, Lent can help us resist the pressures of this culture.
Lent can remind us that we are called to continue his ministry:
“As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
Consequently, Lent prepares us for an Easter that is more than bunnies and eggs –
an Easter that begins a whole new reality –
a whole new world.
From the beginning, part and parcel of the Lenten observance has been alms-giving.
The purpose of fasting is not so much a bodily discipline and it is a sharing discipline.
Becoming aware of the needs of others,
and responding to them with generous gifts of our time and talents and money are particularly transforming.
Somehow, somewhere along the way, we have lost the complete meaning of fasting, and alms-giving, and righteous living.
Clearly it is not a new problem.
Even before Jesus’ time, prophet after prophet after prophet took the people to task about their misguided fasting.
Isaiah could say to the devout:
Do you think the LORD wants you to give up eating and to act as humble as a bent-over bush?
Or to dress in sackcloth and sit in ashes?
Is that what you call fasting?
Do you think I will be pleased with that?
They just didn’t get it.
And, quite frankly, we just don’t get it either.
Today, we think fasting has something to do with diet, don’t we?
Maybe you saw the article not too long ago. It was about this guy, Mussa Zoabi of Israel.
Mussa Zoabi claims to be the oldest person alive.
He says he's 160 years old.
Unfortunately, Guinness Book of World Records isn't going to print his name simply because his age can't be verified.
Mr. Zoabi is older than most records keeping systems will go.
But here's the interesting thing!
However old he really is, Mussa Zoabi knows exactly how he managed to live so long.
He'll tell the secret to anybody who wants to know. He says: “Every day,” he says, “I drink a cup of melted butter or olive oil!”
Doesn't that sound like a great diet?
Maybe you heard about the Danish Diet.
I’m not making this up.
It’s a craze in Denmark.
All over people are eating horse food!
Hey! You don't see many sick horses, do you?! Health Department spokesman Haagen Schmidt, says that "especially young women keep on eating hay and raw oats!"
And they do it, he says, in spite of a tremendous surge in digestive problems reported by hospitals all over the country!
Surveys say that sixty percent of women in North America say they're on a diet!
Imagine that!
I am actually on two diets at this time – I just wasn’t getting enough to eat on one diet.
A Weight Watchers story is about a new client who had begun her diet.
She came in to be weighed after the first stressful week of the dieting.
She stepped on the scale and, lo and behold, she had lost a couple of pounds!
But the dieter wasn't too happy.
She complained.
She said: My friend comes here to Weight Watchers, and she told me she lost ten pounds the first week.
She said I'd lose ten pounds in the first week, too!
Well, the leader at Weight Watchers was a little disturbed.
She knew that you don't lose weight over night.
So she asked the dieter, a little indignantly:
Who told you that?! Is she a doctor?!
The woman shook her head.
Is she a nurse?! No, said the woman.
Well! Is she a nutritionist, or another Weight Watchers leader?! Negative again!
Well who is she?!
I think . . . said the newcomer, I think she's a liar!
Well, time and time again the prophets and Jesus reminded people in the past –
and reminds us today –
fasting has nothing to do with diet.
Of course, it is a lot easier for us to think that.
But, Micah tells us, Jeremiah tells us, Jesus tells us – what Isaiah tells us:
"The kind of fasting I want is this:
Remove the chains of oppression and the yoke of injustice, and let the oppressed go free.
Share your food with the hungry
and open your homes to the homeless poor.
Give clothes to those who have nothing to wear,
and do not refuse to help your own relatives.”
Or, as one translator puts it:
"This is the kind of fast day I'm after:
to break the chains of injustice,
get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
free the oppressed,
cancel debts.
What I'm interested in seeing you do is:
sharing your food with the hungry,
inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
being available to your own families.”
You see, for the ancient Jews, the goal of the faith is righteous living.
And there were three parts to righteous living:
fasting,
prayer,
and alms-giving.
Time and time again, folks went astray and thought fasting had something to do with diet –
self-deprivation was a whole lot easier to deal with than what the prophets and Jesus said God has in mind.
Fasting has to do with living your faith –
putting flesh on what you say you believe –
enacting your belief.
You see, we have it all wrong when we talk about giving up something for Lent.
The true practice of Lent, has nothing to do with diet – nothing to do with giving something up –
and everything to do with living your faith –
putting flesh on what you say you believe –
enacting your faith.
When Jesus addressed the crowd about correct methods of righteousness, everyone knew what he was talking about.
They knew about the three legs on the stool of righteous living.
These days we don’t like to read this passage –
the only time it is brought up in the Lectionary is for Ash Wednesday services.
So for folks that never go to Ash Wednesday services, never have an occasion to hear this in church, unless their pastor is somewhat eclectic in his or her approach to Scripture.
But, we need to hear these words.
Jesus does not say “Don’t fast.”
Jesus does not say “Don’t give alms.”
Any more than Jesus does not say “Don’t pray.”
But, we don’t hear that, do we.
He said: “It is good to put the disciplines of godly living into practice.”
Jesus assumes you will be praying – and even tells you how.
Jesus assumes you will give alms.
Jesus assumes you will fast –
But, he warns about making a show of things when you do these acts of faith –
these acts of godly living.
In fact, Jesus says it is not kosher to do faith acts for show.
Jesus was very clear that it is so important to do things for the right reasons.
English poet George Herbert was a skilled amateur musician.
He played in an orchestra of like-minded amateurs.
One afternoon he was on his way to meet with his friends for music-making.
On the road he encountered a man whose cart had become stuck in a muddy and watery ditch.
George Herbert stopped and helped the pedestrian.
Due to his good deed the poet arrived at his friend's house later than expected.
One of the musicians chortled, "Looks like you've missed all the music."
George Herbert replied, "Yes, but I will have songs at midnight."
George Herbert had the satisfaction of doing the Christ-like thing.
His motivation in helping another was pure and loving.
Peter Marshall could say "... Faith is belief plus what you do with that belief."
Jesus would agree with that statement.
But he goes further:
the righteous living Jesus talks about,
the godly acts Jesus talks about,
the faith Jesus talks about,
is a stealth faith.
Jesus warns against us doing all pietistic acts in public:
when you pray, go off by yourself and shut the door – and by the way, stop using all those empty phrases.
When you give alms – do it in secret, don’t even let one hand know what the other is doing.
When you fast – that is to say
when you work to break the chains of injustice,
or to get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
or to free the oppressed,
or when you share your food with the hungry,
or when you invite the homeless poor into your homes,
or when you put clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
or when you are available to your own families –
do it on your on your own time.
These are not things you seek publicity for.
These are not things you should call attention to.
For sure, these things are to be done –
but do it under the radar.
Wash your face and comb your hair.
Let know one suspect.
I think it is clear that we need to pay more attention to these admonitions.
This is essential to the faith that has been passed on to us.
We can choose to ignore it – to our peril.
Or, we can take it to heart and spend these 40 days in Lent to deepen our faith and how it impacts our life – who we are and what we do.
To this end, I have prepared a little guide to help you focus on the essentials during this Lenten season as we prepare ourselves for that Great Easter Day.
Take one home with you.
Take two or three – or four or five.
Give them to others in your family,
or a friend,
or a neighbor,
or someone you think might like to know about our church and what we do here.
If the goal for Lent is to prepare for Easter, I am convinced that you and I can have the very best Easter ever as we heed our scriptural readings.
Amen.
This sermon was a part of the worship service at Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA, on this day, the first Sunday of Lent, March 13, 2011.
The true practice of Lent, has nothing to do with diet –
nothing to do with giving something up –
and everything to do with living your faith –
putting flesh on what you say you believe –
enacting your faith.
Isaiah 58:1-12
Matthew 6:1-8,16-18
Lent is a fascinating time in the church year that Presbyterians are only beginning to appreciate.
Used to be, as you know, we never observed Lent in Presbyterian churches.
But, today we see this time as an opportunity to attend to the parts of our lives that we often neglect.
During this time before Easter we are challenged to open ourselves in new ways to the Spirit’s transforming power – not unlike Jesus did at the beginning of his ministry.
From the very earliest times, Christians took time out before Easter to reflect on their faith, cultivate it, and prepare for a most joyous celebration of Easter.
Remembering that Jesus took 40 days off to prepare for the beginning of his ministry, the church sets aside these 40 days prior to Easter for us to get ready.
This is a time for us to explore the mysteries of the universe,
looking beneath the surface –
within ourselves –
examining our own motives and desires,
and ascertaining exactly what our commitment is:
to what,
to whom,
and what it means.
Lent is meant to remind us that the days are getting longer –
Spring is right around the corner.
Actually, the word Lent comes from an ancient word that meant "springtime," –
that period of the calendar during which the days lengthen - in the northern hemisphere, anyway.
Because the church season always fell at that time of year, the name came to apply the season as well.
In our part of the world, all around us new life is preparing to break out as the weather turns.
Signs of life are preparing to bud right before our eyes.
And, our task during this season is to prepare ourselves to see these signs when they occur.
Like I said in the newsletter, we need Lent!
Lent encourages us to look within ourselves to see how we have confused popular cultural values with Christian faith.
Through sustained focus on the life and ministry of Jesus, Lent can help us resist the pressures of this culture.
Lent can remind us that we are called to continue his ministry:
“As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
Consequently, Lent prepares us for an Easter that is more than bunnies and eggs –
an Easter that begins a whole new reality –
a whole new world.
From the beginning, part and parcel of the Lenten observance has been alms-giving.
The purpose of fasting is not so much a bodily discipline and it is a sharing discipline.
Becoming aware of the needs of others,
and responding to them with generous gifts of our time and talents and money are particularly transforming.
Somehow, somewhere along the way, we have lost the complete meaning of fasting, and alms-giving, and righteous living.
Clearly it is not a new problem.
Even before Jesus’ time, prophet after prophet after prophet took the people to task about their misguided fasting.
Isaiah could say to the devout:
Do you think the LORD wants you to give up eating and to act as humble as a bent-over bush?
Or to dress in sackcloth and sit in ashes?
Is that what you call fasting?
Do you think I will be pleased with that?
They just didn’t get it.
And, quite frankly, we just don’t get it either.
Today, we think fasting has something to do with diet, don’t we?
Maybe you saw the article not too long ago. It was about this guy, Mussa Zoabi of Israel.
Mussa Zoabi claims to be the oldest person alive.
He says he's 160 years old.
Unfortunately, Guinness Book of World Records isn't going to print his name simply because his age can't be verified.
Mr. Zoabi is older than most records keeping systems will go.
But here's the interesting thing!
However old he really is, Mussa Zoabi knows exactly how he managed to live so long.
He'll tell the secret to anybody who wants to know. He says: “Every day,” he says, “I drink a cup of melted butter or olive oil!”
Doesn't that sound like a great diet?
Maybe you heard about the Danish Diet.
I’m not making this up.
It’s a craze in Denmark.
All over people are eating horse food!
Hey! You don't see many sick horses, do you?! Health Department spokesman Haagen Schmidt, says that "especially young women keep on eating hay and raw oats!"
And they do it, he says, in spite of a tremendous surge in digestive problems reported by hospitals all over the country!
Surveys say that sixty percent of women in North America say they're on a diet!
Imagine that!
I am actually on two diets at this time – I just wasn’t getting enough to eat on one diet.
A Weight Watchers story is about a new client who had begun her diet.
She came in to be weighed after the first stressful week of the dieting.
She stepped on the scale and, lo and behold, she had lost a couple of pounds!
But the dieter wasn't too happy.
She complained.
She said: My friend comes here to Weight Watchers, and she told me she lost ten pounds the first week.
She said I'd lose ten pounds in the first week, too!
Well, the leader at Weight Watchers was a little disturbed.
She knew that you don't lose weight over night.
So she asked the dieter, a little indignantly:
Who told you that?! Is she a doctor?!
The woman shook her head.
Is she a nurse?! No, said the woman.
Well! Is she a nutritionist, or another Weight Watchers leader?! Negative again!
Well who is she?!
I think . . . said the newcomer, I think she's a liar!
Well, time and time again the prophets and Jesus reminded people in the past –
and reminds us today –
fasting has nothing to do with diet.
Of course, it is a lot easier for us to think that.
But, Micah tells us, Jeremiah tells us, Jesus tells us – what Isaiah tells us:
"The kind of fasting I want is this:
Remove the chains of oppression and the yoke of injustice, and let the oppressed go free.
Share your food with the hungry
and open your homes to the homeless poor.
Give clothes to those who have nothing to wear,
and do not refuse to help your own relatives.”
Or, as one translator puts it:
"This is the kind of fast day I'm after:
to break the chains of injustice,
get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
free the oppressed,
cancel debts.
What I'm interested in seeing you do is:
sharing your food with the hungry,
inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
being available to your own families.”
You see, for the ancient Jews, the goal of the faith is righteous living.
And there were three parts to righteous living:
fasting,
prayer,
and alms-giving.
Time and time again, folks went astray and thought fasting had something to do with diet –
self-deprivation was a whole lot easier to deal with than what the prophets and Jesus said God has in mind.
Fasting has to do with living your faith –
putting flesh on what you say you believe –
enacting your belief.
You see, we have it all wrong when we talk about giving up something for Lent.
The true practice of Lent, has nothing to do with diet – nothing to do with giving something up –
and everything to do with living your faith –
putting flesh on what you say you believe –
enacting your faith.
When Jesus addressed the crowd about correct methods of righteousness, everyone knew what he was talking about.
They knew about the three legs on the stool of righteous living.
These days we don’t like to read this passage –
the only time it is brought up in the Lectionary is for Ash Wednesday services.
So for folks that never go to Ash Wednesday services, never have an occasion to hear this in church, unless their pastor is somewhat eclectic in his or her approach to Scripture.
But, we need to hear these words.
Jesus does not say “Don’t fast.”
Jesus does not say “Don’t give alms.”
Any more than Jesus does not say “Don’t pray.”
But, we don’t hear that, do we.
He said: “It is good to put the disciplines of godly living into practice.”
Jesus assumes you will be praying – and even tells you how.
Jesus assumes you will give alms.
Jesus assumes you will fast –
But, he warns about making a show of things when you do these acts of faith –
these acts of godly living.
In fact, Jesus says it is not kosher to do faith acts for show.
Jesus was very clear that it is so important to do things for the right reasons.
English poet George Herbert was a skilled amateur musician.
He played in an orchestra of like-minded amateurs.
One afternoon he was on his way to meet with his friends for music-making.
On the road he encountered a man whose cart had become stuck in a muddy and watery ditch.
George Herbert stopped and helped the pedestrian.
Due to his good deed the poet arrived at his friend's house later than expected.
One of the musicians chortled, "Looks like you've missed all the music."
George Herbert replied, "Yes, but I will have songs at midnight."
George Herbert had the satisfaction of doing the Christ-like thing.
His motivation in helping another was pure and loving.
Peter Marshall could say "... Faith is belief plus what you do with that belief."
Jesus would agree with that statement.
But he goes further:
the righteous living Jesus talks about,
the godly acts Jesus talks about,
the faith Jesus talks about,
is a stealth faith.
Jesus warns against us doing all pietistic acts in public:
when you pray, go off by yourself and shut the door – and by the way, stop using all those empty phrases.
When you give alms – do it in secret, don’t even let one hand know what the other is doing.
When you fast – that is to say
when you work to break the chains of injustice,
or to get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
or to free the oppressed,
or when you share your food with the hungry,
or when you invite the homeless poor into your homes,
or when you put clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
or when you are available to your own families –
do it on your on your own time.
These are not things you seek publicity for.
These are not things you should call attention to.
For sure, these things are to be done –
but do it under the radar.
Wash your face and comb your hair.
Let know one suspect.
I think it is clear that we need to pay more attention to these admonitions.
This is essential to the faith that has been passed on to us.
We can choose to ignore it – to our peril.
Or, we can take it to heart and spend these 40 days in Lent to deepen our faith and how it impacts our life – who we are and what we do.
To this end, I have prepared a little guide to help you focus on the essentials during this Lenten season as we prepare ourselves for that Great Easter Day.
Take one home with you.
Take two or three – or four or five.
Give them to others in your family,
or a friend,
or a neighbor,
or someone you think might like to know about our church and what we do here.
If the goal for Lent is to prepare for Easter, I am convinced that you and I can have the very best Easter ever as we heed our scriptural readings.
Amen.
This sermon was a part of the worship service at Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA, on this day, the first Sunday of Lent, March 13, 2011.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Singing A New Song: Designing A New Church
Today, I aim to further stimulate the thinking for a new way of being and doing church.
There are many ways of doing and being church.
Psalm 98
Matthew 5:14-16
The psalmist encourages us to learn a new song to sing –
not so much because our old songs are no longer adequate, or relevant, but
because God continues to do new things
and we need to keep alert to what God is doing,
and be aware of what is happening –
but more than that,
God is doing new things for us –
and we are being called to join in the work being done.
This psalm has informed me these past many months as I have thought about this church
and what it might look like in a year or two.
This is the third sermon in this series about Vision2012 for CPC 2.0.
(If you missed one or both, and are in the least bit intrigued, you can find them on the internet –
accessible from our website www.ConnectOnLine.com
or on the blog I use periodically: ConnectingWithThe Faith.Blogspot.com .)
The first week dealt with the underpinnings of a new way of being and doing church –
looking at what would be the basics to consider as a dream of a new church emerges.
And, I spoke of some considerations from a recent book entitled, What If the Church Were Christian?
spelling out several instances were practices of the church are at variance with the faith we profess based on this Jesus of Nazareth.
The second sermon was based upon the need to redefine our idea of neighbor – and neighborhood – as Jesus did in the parable of the Good Samaritan.
Luke thought this story was essential to understanding what Jesus was up to and what believers were to do in the way they were to live their lives.
And I have to believe that a new vision of church must include a new definition neighbor and neighborhood as well.
In the era in which we live, our neighbors can no longer be defined as those who reside near us in a geographic area that we call neighborhood –
but the internet, and social networks like You Tube and Facebook, and cell phones are redefining for us what we would call neighbors and neighborhoods;
and any vision of a new way of being and doing church in the years to come will have to include this new way of defining and being neighbor.
And, today, I aim to further stimulate the thinking for a new way of being and doing church.
One church thinker offers this image for us to consider:
for hundreds of years now, the prevailing image of what a church is is based upon a box, right?
You build a box and folks will come, right?
(Not unlike that movie, The Field of Dreams: you build it and they will come.)
And this worked pretty well for many many years.
But today much has in our society has changed – and this “box” model doesn’t work as well anymore.
The situation that this church has faced for several years is not unlike the experience of many many churches – not only around here, but all across our land.
Overall, fewer and fewer people are coming to our box churches.
Most congregations meet in aging boxes designed in another era with different needs and concerns.
And our whole idea – our whole concept – of church becomes so tied to this “box” idea –
this idea that our church is the building we use.
And it becomes easier to close the doors when the economics of operating a church with a large aging building become overwhelming –
rather than undertaking the task of re-envisioning another way of doing and being church.
You see, my basic theological understanding is the God continues to be at work in the world – even, or especially, in our time –
and the primary task of believers is to join in God’s work – wherever we see it happening.
Sing a new song, the psalmist says.
I am sure that it is time for us, in this church, today and in the years ahead to think outside the “box”.
Exactly how, I don’t know.
But I am sure that our vision and dream for a new way of being and doing church will include the concerns I have tried to address in this series of Vision/2012: CPC 2.0 .
What I do know is that there are many ways of doing and being church that do not rely on the box model.
You may not be aware of many of these other ways because there has been very little written or publicized about them.
Fifty years ago, Malcolm Boyd wrote a book that profoundly affected me and helped to move me in to be a minister.
The book was called The Underground Church.
And it was an anecdotal collection of stories about several churches from all over the country where believers were gathering in alternative ways and places outside of the walls of a traditional church building.
The book contained stories of 8 or 9 of these churches – but at the time hundreds existed all over the country.
You may not be aware of what is happening in China.
When the government made Christianity illegal in China, Christians were no longer able to meet in large meeting anywhere – certainly not in church buildings.
And the communist government initiated programs to eradicate all professing Christians.
Many were taken to prisons, some were brought to trial and put to death.
And to this day this persecution of Christian leaders is going on.
For 60 years it has been illegal to be Christian in China.
But, for 60 years, the Christian faith has been living and thriving in China.
All over the country of China Christians meet in one another’s homes – small groups trying to be under the radar in their meeting
but highly visible in their living.
And the witness they bear to others is noticed by others and the church grows.
The church grows even though the government still shuts down every house church they hear about, and even though they imprison every church leader they find.
There are thousands of these house churches in China.
And today, 60 years after it was made illegal, there are roughly 54 million Christians in China actively involved in living their faith.
And in our country, although you probably have never heard about it, there are thousands and thousands of house churches all over the country.
One researcher estimates that somewhere between 6 and 12 million Americans worship regularly in a house church –
a small group of people usually, but not always, meeting in a home.
All over the country there have evolved what I call “boutique” churches –
believers gathering around a particular mission or purpose for being.
Some meet in pubs,
some operate soup kitchens which become where they meet to worship,
some meet in and operate coffee houses,
some meet in industrial parks,
some meet in corporate board rooms,
some meet in union halls.
They meet in a wide variety of places –
places that are tied in to what they see as their purpose or mission.
A growing trend for churches that give up their building is to use another building for their services.
Many churches are meeting on Sunday morning in a movie theater – in fact the chain that has the Upper Darby theaters is a prime supplier to churches that use this method.
In Edmond, Oklahoma, of all places, there is a church that sees its purpose and mission to minister to people all over the country and world though the internet.
They were one of the first - and certainly the one most devoted to making this internet church work.
And today their services attract millions of participants from all over the world.
There are literally hundreds of ways of being and doing church that are out there right now.
So, what will this church look like 10 years from now?
I don’t know.
But, I am certain that the new CPC will be “out of the box.”
You see, in whatever form it takes, a church is a community of people seeking to hear about and to live a Christ-like life – for many reasons, to be sure –
maybe the reasons give rise to new forms,
may one form is no longer viable to maintain.
For me a church is about offering opportunities to express love for the Lord God,
with all our hearts,
with all our souls,
with all our strength,
and with all our minds.
While Jesus never went to church, he spoke of its purpose right there in what we call his sermon on the mount.
Jesus told the folks on the mountain that day that they were to be as light for the world.
To illuminate the darkness and to show the way for others . . .
A light shining brightly like a lighthouse,
a beacon burning brightly – placed on a stand for all to see.
I just had a vision!
You know the Swiss Farm Drive Through Stores?
You know where they are – and you know what they are – because of their what?
Every single one of the stores is built with a predominant silo, right?
Well, what if we were to build a chain of small churches on strategic corners all over the place in the form of lighthouses?
Wouldn’t that be great?
What a concept, huh?
Well, I think we should take a clue from the psalmist and learn a new song to sing.
And we know why, because of what Jesus said.
Whatever dream or vision comes, it will be as a beacon on hill – doing God’s work, being church, for all the world to see.
For friends, Jesus’ words were not just for the folks on the mountain that day.
They are for you and me, too.
His words speak to us, as well as to those that day.
You and I are beacons.
How we live our lives is seen by others.
Where and how and whether we shine the light is what we ultimately will be judged on.
One translator puts the final words of our lesson today like this:
Keep open house;
be generous with your lives.
By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
That’s the reason for what we do.
That’s purpose for doing what we do in the way we do it.
let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds
and give honor to your Father in heaven.
Let this inform what you do and how you do it in the life you lead;
and let this inform what we do as a church and how we do it as well.
Remember to pray for your church this week –
as we pray for you.
Amen.
This sermon was part of a worship service at Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, March 6, 2011.
There are many ways of doing and being church.
Psalm 98
Matthew 5:14-16
The psalmist encourages us to learn a new song to sing –
not so much because our old songs are no longer adequate, or relevant, but
because God continues to do new things
and we need to keep alert to what God is doing,
and be aware of what is happening –
but more than that,
God is doing new things for us –
and we are being called to join in the work being done.
This psalm has informed me these past many months as I have thought about this church
and what it might look like in a year or two.
This is the third sermon in this series about Vision2012 for CPC 2.0.
(If you missed one or both, and are in the least bit intrigued, you can find them on the internet –
accessible from our website www.ConnectOnLine.com
or on the blog I use periodically: ConnectingWithThe Faith.Blogspot.com .)
The first week dealt with the underpinnings of a new way of being and doing church –
looking at what would be the basics to consider as a dream of a new church emerges.
And, I spoke of some considerations from a recent book entitled, What If the Church Were Christian?
spelling out several instances were practices of the church are at variance with the faith we profess based on this Jesus of Nazareth.
The second sermon was based upon the need to redefine our idea of neighbor – and neighborhood – as Jesus did in the parable of the Good Samaritan.
Luke thought this story was essential to understanding what Jesus was up to and what believers were to do in the way they were to live their lives.
And I have to believe that a new vision of church must include a new definition neighbor and neighborhood as well.
In the era in which we live, our neighbors can no longer be defined as those who reside near us in a geographic area that we call neighborhood –
but the internet, and social networks like You Tube and Facebook, and cell phones are redefining for us what we would call neighbors and neighborhoods;
and any vision of a new way of being and doing church in the years to come will have to include this new way of defining and being neighbor.
And, today, I aim to further stimulate the thinking for a new way of being and doing church.
One church thinker offers this image for us to consider:
for hundreds of years now, the prevailing image of what a church is is based upon a box, right?
You build a box and folks will come, right?
(Not unlike that movie, The Field of Dreams: you build it and they will come.)
And this worked pretty well for many many years.
But today much has in our society has changed – and this “box” model doesn’t work as well anymore.
The situation that this church has faced for several years is not unlike the experience of many many churches – not only around here, but all across our land.
Overall, fewer and fewer people are coming to our box churches.
Most congregations meet in aging boxes designed in another era with different needs and concerns.
And our whole idea – our whole concept – of church becomes so tied to this “box” idea –
this idea that our church is the building we use.
And it becomes easier to close the doors when the economics of operating a church with a large aging building become overwhelming –
rather than undertaking the task of re-envisioning another way of doing and being church.
You see, my basic theological understanding is the God continues to be at work in the world – even, or especially, in our time –
and the primary task of believers is to join in God’s work – wherever we see it happening.
Sing a new song, the psalmist says.
I am sure that it is time for us, in this church, today and in the years ahead to think outside the “box”.
Exactly how, I don’t know.
But I am sure that our vision and dream for a new way of being and doing church will include the concerns I have tried to address in this series of Vision/2012: CPC 2.0 .
What I do know is that there are many ways of doing and being church that do not rely on the box model.
You may not be aware of many of these other ways because there has been very little written or publicized about them.
Fifty years ago, Malcolm Boyd wrote a book that profoundly affected me and helped to move me in to be a minister.
The book was called The Underground Church.
And it was an anecdotal collection of stories about several churches from all over the country where believers were gathering in alternative ways and places outside of the walls of a traditional church building.
The book contained stories of 8 or 9 of these churches – but at the time hundreds existed all over the country.
You may not be aware of what is happening in China.
When the government made Christianity illegal in China, Christians were no longer able to meet in large meeting anywhere – certainly not in church buildings.
And the communist government initiated programs to eradicate all professing Christians.
Many were taken to prisons, some were brought to trial and put to death.
And to this day this persecution of Christian leaders is going on.
For 60 years it has been illegal to be Christian in China.
But, for 60 years, the Christian faith has been living and thriving in China.
All over the country of China Christians meet in one another’s homes – small groups trying to be under the radar in their meeting
but highly visible in their living.
And the witness they bear to others is noticed by others and the church grows.
The church grows even though the government still shuts down every house church they hear about, and even though they imprison every church leader they find.
There are thousands of these house churches in China.
And today, 60 years after it was made illegal, there are roughly 54 million Christians in China actively involved in living their faith.
And in our country, although you probably have never heard about it, there are thousands and thousands of house churches all over the country.
One researcher estimates that somewhere between 6 and 12 million Americans worship regularly in a house church –
a small group of people usually, but not always, meeting in a home.
All over the country there have evolved what I call “boutique” churches –
believers gathering around a particular mission or purpose for being.
Some meet in pubs,
some operate soup kitchens which become where they meet to worship,
some meet in and operate coffee houses,
some meet in industrial parks,
some meet in corporate board rooms,
some meet in union halls.
They meet in a wide variety of places –
places that are tied in to what they see as their purpose or mission.
A growing trend for churches that give up their building is to use another building for their services.
Many churches are meeting on Sunday morning in a movie theater – in fact the chain that has the Upper Darby theaters is a prime supplier to churches that use this method.
In Edmond, Oklahoma, of all places, there is a church that sees its purpose and mission to minister to people all over the country and world though the internet.
They were one of the first - and certainly the one most devoted to making this internet church work.
And today their services attract millions of participants from all over the world.
There are literally hundreds of ways of being and doing church that are out there right now.
So, what will this church look like 10 years from now?
I don’t know.
But, I am certain that the new CPC will be “out of the box.”
You see, in whatever form it takes, a church is a community of people seeking to hear about and to live a Christ-like life – for many reasons, to be sure –
maybe the reasons give rise to new forms,
may one form is no longer viable to maintain.
For me a church is about offering opportunities to express love for the Lord God,
with all our hearts,
with all our souls,
with all our strength,
and with all our minds.
While Jesus never went to church, he spoke of its purpose right there in what we call his sermon on the mount.
Jesus told the folks on the mountain that day that they were to be as light for the world.
To illuminate the darkness and to show the way for others . . .
A light shining brightly like a lighthouse,
a beacon burning brightly – placed on a stand for all to see.
I just had a vision!
You know the Swiss Farm Drive Through Stores?
You know where they are – and you know what they are – because of their what?
Every single one of the stores is built with a predominant silo, right?
Well, what if we were to build a chain of small churches on strategic corners all over the place in the form of lighthouses?
Wouldn’t that be great?
What a concept, huh?
Well, I think we should take a clue from the psalmist and learn a new song to sing.
And we know why, because of what Jesus said.
Whatever dream or vision comes, it will be as a beacon on hill – doing God’s work, being church, for all the world to see.
For friends, Jesus’ words were not just for the folks on the mountain that day.
They are for you and me, too.
His words speak to us, as well as to those that day.
You and I are beacons.
How we live our lives is seen by others.
Where and how and whether we shine the light is what we ultimately will be judged on.
One translator puts the final words of our lesson today like this:
Keep open house;
be generous with your lives.
By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
That’s the reason for what we do.
That’s purpose for doing what we do in the way we do it.
let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds
and give honor to your Father in heaven.
Let this inform what you do and how you do it in the life you lead;
and let this inform what we do as a church and how we do it as well.
Remember to pray for your church this week –
as we pray for you.
Amen.
This sermon was part of a worship service at Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, March 6, 2011.
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