Isaiah 43:19-21 Philippians 3:4b-14
<//b>A Faith-Sharing by Thomas G. Bandy      

"I want to know Christ,
and the power of his resurrection,
and the sharing of his sufferings ...."

In the congregation where my wife is the pastor, the 20 year old son of a well-loved family came down with serious headaches. A day later he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The next Monday the doctors operated for 15 hours. On Tuesday morning he died without ever having regained consciousness. At the funeral, 150 weeping teenagers and 20 year-olds were gathered, in addition to the core church members. And this is what they sang:

"As comes the breath of spring, with light and mirth and song,
so does your Spirit bring new days brave, free, and strong.
You come with thrill of life, to chase hence winter’s breath,
to hush to peace the strife of sin that ends in death."

One of the fastest growing generations in North America, namely the unchurched, who never darken a church sanctuary except in quest of a center aisle for a wedding, were stunned into submission by the ferocity of that one song.

Many are familiar with the abundance of writings about leadership and corporate life. The works of Steven Covey, for example, and the habits of successful leadership. Everywhere we are learning that to succeed in life .... just as to succeed in business .... we must have clarity about our real purpose. A few years ago, a group of corporate leaders identified the top ten requirements for successful leadership. The #1 requirement they unanimously identified was the need for every person to discover that fundamental goal, the achievement of which was the most important thing they could do with their lives. They were not just talking about business. They were intentionally talking about life. They were saying that the most important thing a business person .... a student ..... a teacher ..... a nurse ..... a "Minute Muffler" manager ....... a homemaker ...... needed to do to be a success in their field was to identify the single, most fundamental goal of their living.

St. Paul had a similar insight. He was one of the most successful religious leaders in his day ........a man marked for advancement ...... expected to be influential among the great political leaders of his day. Yet he says: "I regard everything as just so much rubbish, compared to the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" (Phil. 3:8).

That same insight is true for organizations like the church. They have to clearly and enthusiastically identify their purpose ..... the reason for living that is "to die for". I have been in consultation with many congregations about future planning. In every stagnant congregation, no matter how friendly they are, I have spoken to people who will say: "I love this church. I love the people in this church. But despite the great coffee and friendliness of the congregation, despite the fact that my children enjoy the activities here, and even despite the fact that I will truly weep when I leave this church .....I AM GOING TO LEAVE!" Many have already left ..... drifted to the margins of congregational life ...... formally transferred to another church .... or just immersed themselves in some other spiritual movement or personal development strategy. And they have done so despite the fact that the church has gone out of their way to be a truly friendly, welcoming place. WHY? Because the church has not clearly and enthusiastically identified the most fundamental goal of their living ..... and these individuals have clearly and painfully discovered their most fundamental yearning for living. As long as the two don’t meet, then despite the tears of farewell, they’re history!

And the same is true, of course, for the many people who visit these churches, but who fail to ever participate fully and regularly in church life. In one congregation, surveys revealed that fewer than 1/3 of the people who visit the church remain in participation after 6 months. WHY? Again and again the answer is the same. They have asked the church: What is the point? What is your fundamental purpose as a church? Where are you going? What is "to die for" here? What is so important about your church that nothing .... not the Rotary, not the Garden Club, not Weight Watchers, not Aerobics Class, not even the 12 Step Program ..... nothing can take the place of this church in my life? What is so important about what you are about in this church that deserves the sacrifice of all that time and money you keep asking me for?" They ask these questions .... and the church does not have an answer.

Many churches speak out of their experience of life struggle. But can you speak out of your experience of spiritual victory?

"You come like dawning day, with flaming truth and love,
to chase all glooms away to brace our wills to prove
how wise, how good to choose the truth and its brave fight,
to prize it, win or lose, and live on your delight."

Do you know what you delight in? Can you identify that delight with the public? Can you share it, proclaim it, demonstrate it ..... can you give it away spontaneously and freely to your friends, neighbors, work associates, and relatives? Does it just bubble up inside of you in the hockey arena or the coffee shop whenever you see a need, and you just can’t sit still with your mug of café latte unless you say something?

Some people call this "delight" a BHAG. It’s a "Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal", and it fills the congregation with excitement and pride and energy and urgency. Everything that is done in the church is connected to the fulfillment of the BHAG. Nothing is done in the church unless it advances everyone toward the BHAG. People cannot wait to get to a church meeting to forward the BHAG. And people are actually reluctant to leave the church after Sunday worship because they are so "fired up" to achieve the BHAG. When they do go home, the tell their friends and work associates about the Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal which has filled the horizon of their living and keeps them awake at night with eager anticipation.

And what is that Big, Hairy Audacious Goal: Is it fund raising for charity? Committee work? The joy of attending meetings? Is it sitting in hardwood pews .... or a deep, urgent need to listen to organ music? Is it the perpetuation of a heritage? The repetition of a tradition? The survival of an institution?

Is it a craving for great coffee? No, the public can go to Starbuck’s.
Is it a yearning for friendly conversation? No, the public can find that on the golf course.
Is it an opportunity to build relationships? No, the public can join the softball league.
Is it the chance to do charitable deeds of service? No, the public can join the Rotary.
Is it the desire to stand beside each other in the trials of life? No, the public can join a 12 step program.

What is it about your church that is "to die for?" People in growing churches have a deep, shared under-standing that something about their church involvement is as important to them as eating, sleeping, and working. Something about their church involvement is as essential for life as vitamins. Something about their church experience leads them to prioritize it among the top three activities of their week .... right up there with sex, changing diapers, and Alcoholics Anonymous. It is "to die for". It is essential. It is the purpose of life.

The motivating vision of a congregation may vary one from another, but the one Great, Big, Hairy Audacious Goal always remains the same. It is the experience of Christ, for Christ’s sake!. "I want to know Christ," Paul says, "and to share in his sufferings, and to know the power of his resurrection."

"You come like songs at morn, that fill the earth with joy,
till we, in Christ new born, new strength in praise employ.
You come to rouse the heart from drifting to despair,
through high hopes to impart life with an ampler air."

There is a group out there that can meet every one of our most important physical, emotional, intellectual, and, yes, even spiritual needs ..... except one. Only the church can help me experience Christ. Only the church can make my most meaningless sufferings matter for eternity. Only the church can help me be truly victorious over addiction and death.

Churches today have a tremendous opportunity for ministry. But hear a word of caution. Lot’s of churches have strategic plans. And most of them are dying. Lot’s of churches have a mission statement ..... but nobody can remember it. They all have ambitious budgets which cannot be met, and dreams of world peace which cannot be achieved, and creative programs that never get implemented. Why? Because they never really identified the purpose of the Lord. God never called them to be strategic planners! God called them to uncover the one purpose in life that was "to die for", and then proceed to risk their lives for it.

The one question you need to answer to prepare yourself for the 21st century is this: What is it about your experience with Jesus, that this community cannot live without? How many people here know right now what it is about this church that is "to die for"? Usually it requires a good deal of prayer and thought. Most churches find it helpful to follow a process of discernment. The processes will vary from place to place, but they will always:

  
• take time and require prayer;
• involve church insiders, marginal members, and the unchurched public;
• simultaneously involve personal reflection, small groups, and large gatherings all     designed to maximize conversation among the most people possible.

First, people need clarity and consensus about their core values. A core value is the choice or preference you make spontaneously in daily living. When you honk your horn and shake your fist at a commuter who cut you off on the highway, you reveal your core values .... no matter what you profess in church on Sunday about caring for humanity. And when you readily abandon your expensive groceries to run to the aid of someone who has slipped on the ice, you reveal your core values ..... no matter how penny-pinching you may seem on the Finance Committee. The congregation needs to recognize and celebrate the core values that bind them together in positive relationship.

Next, people need clarity and consensus about their bedrock beliefs. A bedrock belief is the principle, symbol, or truth to which you habitually return in times of stress or confusion. When you buy a lottery ticket the day after losing your job, you reveal your bedrock beliefs .... no matter how much you talk about grace in church. And when you enter surgery babbling over and over again "The Lord is my Shepherd ..... The Lord is My Shepherd ...", you reveal your bedrock beliefs ..... no matter how forgetful you are about the Christian Year. The congregation needs to recognize and celebrate the bedrock beliefs which give them strength in times of stress.

Now you have created a climate for revelation to happen. You see God has never asked you to share your visions ..... but rather to listen for God's vision for your church.

Only now can people expect to receive authentic, Biblical visions. A vision is the "song in the heart" that will motivate your every moment of living. It is the nugget of hope, the pearl of great worth, that revitalizes you the instant it is brought back to consciousness. When the first thing you do after a long day’s work is reach for the Scotch and soda, you reveal your vision ..... no matter what the mission statement of your church might say. And when the first thing you do is hug your spouse or your children, you reveal your vision ...... no matter how big an argument you had the night before. Congregations need to be "grasped" by a vision, and "carried away" by the purposes of God.

 

Now you are ready to identify the great BHAG of your life. You can finally perceive what it is about your church that is "to die for". You can have a ready answer to the key question of discipleship: "What is it about my experience with Jesus that this community cannot live without?" And you can share this answer spontaneously and readily with friends, neighbors, family members, work associates, and even perfect strangers they meet in the mini-mart.

I know a congregation that was on the brink of death in the middle of the exploding population base. Thirty people ... ready to receive a Biblical vision. They set aside all entanglements ... they surrendered everything that was merely secondary .... they clarified their core values and bedrock beliefs .... and then God revealed God’s vision. They were simply to breathe and elicit health. Their whole lifestyle aimed to connect Christ to the spiritually hungry. Every adult is committed to a spiritual discipline, and the entrepreneurial ministries are bearing lush fruit in unexpected places. People say, "If you want to be really alive, go there!" They advertise on the entertainment pages of the newspapers. They are known as the "Summer in the Soul" churches. And everything you need to know about these churches is summarized in this song:

"You breathe and there is health, you move and there is power,
You whisper, there is wealth of love, your richest dower.
Your presence is to us like SUMMER IN THE SOUL,
Your joy shines forth and then life blossoms to its goal."