My First Six Months as Pastor: Part Seven, Bill Easum
(By now I am at the close of my first six months as pastor. I have trained a small cadre of leaders and we have canvassed about 2,000 homes to see what they need from the church. A board meeting is scheduled for this Sunday evening. We have a proposal before the Board that will change the course of the church and begin it on its slow climb to become the second largest church in our conference (the proposal is to borrow enough money to begin a preschool and to change the style of worship). What I will learn that night is that one half of the present 40 attendees will leave as a result of this evening. It’s show time.)
And now the essence of the message that Sunday morning.
Our reading of the life of the early church should have taught us one thing about strong churches should function. If we want to be an authentic church of Jesus Christ, we must be willing to give ourselves on behalf of our God, our neighbors, and one another. Every example from Acts so far has shown us that authentic Christianity is lived on behalf of others, not self. Every example has shown us that God’s church can change the course of history.
This means that everything we do as a people should be to honor God, reach out in love to our neighbor, and support one another. No church can achieve such stature before God by caring for itself more than it cares for those who are not yet with us.
Therefore, the primary thrust of our church must be outward and not inward. We must evaluate every issue by how it will honor God, transform our neighbor, and unite us in love. We must never make the mistake most of the congregations of our denomination have made – we must never make the survival of our church the main issue.
I know these may sound like silly words for a congregation still facing bankruptcy. I’m still not getting paid. But mark it well- God honors those who honor God. What you have been doing the past few years has not honored God; it has honored a socialist way of life that puts the well being of society before the advancement of God’s kingdom. You should know by now that I am changing that. From now on you must cease worrying about survival and go on the offence for the Kingdom. It is time we became a church and closed the social club.
Acts 15:36-18:31
God’s mission is to make churches Strong. That is the essence of the rest of Acts.
“And he went through Syria and Cilicia strengthening churches…. So the churches were strengthened in faith and increased in numbers daily.”
The rest of Acts consists of Paul’s missionary journeys. Paul revisits all of the churches he had been in previously with one purpose in mind- to make them stronger.
That is my calling for this Church – that we are strong enough to do what the early churches did – change the course of their society. We’re not just building a church; we’re building a people that will change the city. We’re not concerned about members; we’re concerned about making disciples who will turn this city upside down. We’re not concerned about our survival anymore. Now we are concerned about being an instrument of God for the good of those around us. We shouldn’t be concerned about the naysayers; we should be listening to the voice of God. We shouldn’t worry about the cost because Jesus didn’t worry about the cost of our redemption.
I’m asking you to join me tonight in casting your vote for the advancement of the Kingdom not the survival of the church. God wants this church to be strong and vibrant. God wants this church to change the city. And I’m asking you to join me in that quest.
Now I want you to notice a few things about strong churches.
One, strong churches challenge the evils of society. (I referenced Acts 16:16-40. You might choose another text to show this point and then talk about any events in the life of your church in the past where this might have happened).
For those of you concerned about the social ills of society, I promise you the day will come when this church will exercise an immense influence on the actions of this city. But for now we will put this part of our ministry on hold until we are strong enough to make a difference. (There were a number of people who felt strongly about social justice; unfortunately they were the first to leave when we focused on Jesus. A shame, since social justice became one of our strongest ministries the last half of my 24 year ministry among them). (You should keep in mind that unless you are an African-American church or Hispanic church or a downtown church you should avoid social issues until you are strong.)
Two, strong churches use the culture in order to reach the culture. (I referenced Paul at Mars Hill Acts 17. I took some time here because it was the foundation for changing the worship style). We must not be afraid of using parts of the culture to reach culture. No where is the truer than in the way we worship. Our worship must change. It must reflect the culture so that people are comfortable. In no way will the Gospel be watered down or changed. It will remain the same, but our worship style must change so that the unchurched feel comfortable enough to hear the dangerous Gospel. If the vote is passed tonight, next Sunday will be totally different. And I remind you no form of worship is presented in the scriptures as the most authentic. Just think of the style of worship as the package in which the Gospel is presented. Don’t confuse the style with the essence. Worship must be done in a way that people can experience God through it. That can’t happen if worship is foreign to them.
Three, strong churches grow and make no excuse for their growth. I’m tired of those of you who say that you want the church to remain small. I’m tired of those of you who say you don’t think we should be concerned with numbers. I’m tired of those who say all I’m concerned about is building my own little kingdom. I’m tired of my colleagues who say that I want to water down the Gospel in order to grow. The Bible is clear – strong churches add to their numbers daily. If you don’t believe that and aren’t willing to pray for that then you should find another church. It’s just that simple because this church is going to grow!
Four, strong churches know that being on the road to mission with Jesus is the primary ministry of the church. (I made reference to the fact that most of the rest of Acts is about Paul’s missionary journeys).
If we are to be faithful to the Gospel, most of our ministry must have an outward thrust to it. We must gauge our success by how many adult baptisms we have; by how many recommitments of faith we see; by how many ministers of Jesus Christ we produce (I still feel badly that I didn’t see the whole picture then or I would have said, “by how many missionaries of Jesus Christ we produce). This means that our mission is not how many members we have or how big we become. Our mission is about growing a people who will transform a city. That’s our goal. And I think it is one worth sacrificing for.
Five, strong churches are prepared to suffer for the Gospel.
Several times during the last few years of Paul’s life he was persecuted and even thrown into jail. The one experience that I can’t get away from is when Paul and Silas are thrown into Jail in Philippi (Acts 16). While waiting their sentence, three things happened; they sang praises to God; the doors of the jail were burst open; and the jailer asked, “What must I do to be saved?” Suffering isn’t always what it seems to be. Sometimes it is the prelude to God’s future.
My friends. What we will propose tonight is worth suffering for. And believe me, If you adopt the proposal it will cause you some suffering. For some the suffering will be the loss of some friendships; for others it will be the loss of some church heritages that are dear to you; but for all who choose to go forward with this proposal the suffering will be financial. We will all have to decide how much the mission is worth.
It’s time to show what we’re made of. It’s time to quit hunkering down and begin reaching out to all of San Antonio. It’s time to be a church once again.
End of Series
(That night 40 people showed up. The vote was 21-19 in favor of a new direction. Over the next few months most of the 19 left. I felt bad about that then, today I don’t. Now I know they were the primary problem).
Please be sure that whatever you do you do it in love. Don’t copy what I did. I had nothing to lose. Do what you are comfortable doing. But remember, there is more to life than changing spiritual diapers.
Happy New Year and a great new beginning for you and your church