“Are We Really Who We Say We Are?”
Luke 17:5-10 and I Corinthians 9:18-22
For the Celebration of Bud Buchner’s Ministry
Sunday, August 1, 2004 at the First Presbyterian Church in Schoolcraft, Michigan
Purpose: To be the Christian we call ourselves to be, we “do what is our duty to do” (Luke 17:5-10) and “we be whatever/wherever we need to be” (I Corinthians 9:18-22). Bud Buchner exemplified these ideals of doing and being in his ministry.
Introduction
Good morning !!!
Before we get started with the message this morning, I need to take just a few moments in order to say thanks…
I’m thankful, first and foremost, that I am able, by God’s grace, to be with you today to share
God’s Word with you this morning. One of I was first told of this celebration, I remember telling
Pastor Paula that due to the timing, my involvement might be limited. So, if you have any problems with this, my first Presbyterian sermon, please leave your critiques with Pastor Paula.
Second, I’m grateful for this congregation. While your pastor has told me numerous times that you are blessed by my father’s participation, we, as his family, are also blessed, knowing that there is a welcoming part of body of Christ who not only opened their doors, but showed the hospitality to a stranger as if he was a long-time member of this family. On behalf of our family, thank you for accepting one of our own as one of your own.
Third, as a person of faith, I need to give thanks to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Who took this food retail manager through seven years of learning about people and developing management skills in the Meijers and D&W Food Centers of this world, and gave me the call to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. I am nothing special. I am a sinner. I struggle each day with temptation, and I am often confused over what God’s Will is and will be for my future.
But, praise be to God, I am a sinner saved by grace. And no matter how confused I may be, or how many struggles I face, or how many times I fail to be what God has created me to be, I know beyond all shadows of all doubt, that my God loves me, and through the acts of his Son, Jesus Christ and my statement of faith, I am assured of my salvation.
If you hear nothing else today, please hear this. The good news is that Jesus Christ died for each one of us before we even had the opportunity to know him, while we were yet sinners. This proves his love for us.
In the name of Jesus Christ, we who have accepted him, live in his forgiveness and in the guidance of the Holy Spirit, as we continue to do ministry and be in ministry to those who need that same forgiveness and guidance, wherever that may take us.
Well, you’re probably thinking, was does all this have to do with Bud. It’s simply this…I am my father’s son. Much of how I think about God and how that affects the way I do ministry, comes directly from my father’s teaching. After 18 years of sermons, I think a little bit of it sunk in.
And today, we come here to recognize that maybe just a little bit, if not a whole lot more of this man’s ministry, has sunk into each of us.
Let me be clear, I don’t plan on putting my father on any pedestal. I don’t preach Bud Buchner. I preach Jesus Christ. My father has made a slew of mistakes, he is not perfect, but he does follow the One who is.
What I hope to communicate, however, will be a clear, Biblical, Christ-centered message that talks about the doing and being of the personal ministries that Christ has called each Christian to.
We will examine the Scriptures together. I will share with you some of the stories from my father’s ministry, and how Dad did and still doing and being what he believes God is calling him to do and be. In a way, he has always tried to be what he says he is. The same should be said of us. Hence our title this morning…are we really who we say we are?
Opening Prayer
Will you join me in prayer?
Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of each and every heart here in this very moment, be found acceptable in your sight. May my words be yours. And if any of mine happen to sneak through, may those words fall on deaf ears. Let the words of your Spirit and only your Spirit be heard as we proceed in examining your Word together.
You are the Rock, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. You are the Most High God, all-knowing, all-seeing, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Through your Son, Jesus Christ, through is life, death, and resurrection, we now have the opportunity to hear what you would have to say to your people. Help us to hear. Help us to be drawn closer to you and to your will for our lives. Help us to be exactly who we claim to be. In the name of Christ, we pray…Amen.
I. Doing – Luke 17:5-10
Our gospel message this morning comes from one of those times when the disciples looked for an easy answer only to find none. Instead of giving in to their request for more faith, for an ability to do more, Jesus shared a story.
The story is of a servant…a servant who does what is expected…a servant who looks for no external gratitude from anyone…a servant who gets the job done, and moves forward not expecting anything in return. You see, this servant didn’t look for more faith, or more ability, to do what was required, but understood that the ability, the faith, was already there.
In The Message translation, Jesus’ first reply to the disciples request is recorded simply as, “You don’t need more faith! There is no “more” or “less” where faith is concerned.”
I can remember when we first arrived as the pastor’s family at Ravenna, there was only a handful of people. In fact, within the first couple weeks it became evident that the Ravenna congregation couldn’t even pay the pastor’s salary.
But instead of crying to the conference for help or making the congregation feel even more guilt than they already had, Dad, in consultation with mom, decided to not take a salary for our first month at this new church.
Long after the fact, Dad will tell you that he remembers this as a time to test the faith, not only of our family, but also of the church. To be honest, we never ate any better. The congregation at Ravenna filled the freezer full, plucked plenty of vegetables from their gardens, and opened their doors to the pastor’s family. We never had it so good.
But it was in those moments, I learned that everything we do represents ministry. That when we say we trust in God, there are people who are watching to see if we really do. Jesus told the disciples and us that we already have the faith to do that ministry which we’ve been called. Our job is to simply get the job done.
If we say that we are Christian, then we have to do what is our duty to do.
II. Being – I Corinthians 9:18-22
Our other passage of Scripture comes from Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth. In the midst of this harsh letter to a church that couldn’t seem to get it right, Paul adds this descriptive portion about how to not only do Christianity, but also how to “be” Christian.
In every way and in every place, we are called to “be” so that we may possibly win some.
I can remember another time when Dad and I went to lunch at Wimpy’s. Wimpy’s was one of those hole in the wall kind of establishments that served the basic hot dogs and hamburgers. It was found on the south side of Lansing in a predominately African-American neighborhood.
When we entered this one particular day, the first thing I noticed was that we were the only white folk there. No one stared or probably even noticed, but I was uncomfortable.
After we got back in the car, I asked Dad if he had noticed we were the only white folk present. He answered with the question, “Did that make you feel uncomfortable?”
Pausing for a just moment, I decided to answer honestly, “yes, in a way, I guess it did.”
“That’s prejudice son. No one in there was going to harm you. There was no reason for you to feel fear in any way. If you’re going to be like Christ, then you’ll need to get over that stuff and allow God to work through you even in the midst of the uncomfortable times.”
It was in that moment, I learned that being Christian was much more than just doing Christianity.
If we say that we are Christian, then we not only “do” ministry, but we also “belong” to ministry. Paul said, “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” (Why?) “Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, so that I may be partaker of the gospel with you.”
The world’s standards are not our standards. We’re not talking about membership in the local lodge, book club, or knitting group here. Belonging to the church, the family of Christ, should be the greatest priority that Presbyterians, United Methodists, Baptists, Catholics, independent congregations, and all people who call themselves Christian, offer to the ones who are searching for Jesus Christ in the neighborhoods in which we are called to serve.
We belong not because what we’ve done, or what we claim to do, but because of what Christ has done. And because of the life, death, and ministry of Jesus Christ, our family, to which we belong, is made up of many different races, nationalities, denominations and affiliations…it is made up of those who believe that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life – they turn to Christ for forgiveness – they look forward to the Spirit’s guidance in their lives…they belong.
And when we belong, our doing changes…and the Spirit begins to work God’s Will in our lives as our doing and being come together.
Conclusion – “Are We Really Who We Say We Are?”
Let me leave you with one last story…it’s one that Dad often used in his stump speeches as he traveled from congregation to congregation, sharing about the ministry of the Harvest House…
It was a typical night on the streets of Lansing. As the bars began to open and the nightlife found its pulse again, the little storefront building, which held The Lansing Street Ministry – The Harvest House, was just beginning its evening ministry.
The volunteers were getting ready to walk the streets as they had done many times, befriending prostitutes and drug dealers and people who found themselves without a home. This night, however, a new face was walking the streets, and a couple volunteers went to meet this person.
However, once she found out that these people were not paying customers but street ministers, she shrugged them off and said that she didn’t need any help. She was just downtown for the night to make some quick money. She had no intentions of staying any longer than she had too.
So the volunteers went on about their way, checking in with everyone they knew, as they walked the streets. And about 1 a.m., when the small, storefront, office was ready to be locked up for the night, the young lady, that seemed to have it all together only hours before, was now stumbling down Michigan Avenue, just blocks from the Capitol, with a posse of so-called, “managers” coming upon her to pick her up and made her theirs.
Dad was there. And with a couple of volunteers, they ran out and positioned themselves between these managers and one very scared, very confused, very hurt, young lady. Amidst the manager’s taunting, insults, threats, and profanities, Dad guided this young lady’s head so that he stared straight into her bloodshot, drug-induced, tear-filled eyes and told the woman that they were the same people that wanted to help her earlier.
She looked up, and in her all confusion, in all of her pain, in all of her despair and humiliation, she came to one question, “Are you really who you say you are?” Choking back his own emotions, Dad replied, “We are…and we can help.”
Invitation to Discipleship
Are we really who we say we are?
If we say that we are Christians, then we are called to “do” the job.
If we say that we are Christians, then we need to provide that place to “belong”…that place to
“be” not only for ourselves but also for others.
It is up to us - to do everything that is expected of us, so that we can honestly say that what we were sent to do we did.
It is up to us - to be every sort of servant there is, in our attempt to lead those we meet into a God -saved life of belonging.
Let’s not just want to talk about it; let’s do it.
Let’s not just talk about it; let’s want to be in on it.
Dad, on behalf of those gathered here, as well as those who have served in ministry, I thank you for giving us the example.
I am my father’s son.
Closing Prayer
Will you join me in prayer?
Gracious God, Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of all things…thank you.
We thank you for the life and ministry of Bud, and for your continued direction in his life.
We thank you for the opportunity to be whom we claim to be, knowing that those times when we fall short of such a strenuous goal, your grace, mercy,
and forgiveness are available to us.
We thank you that you have given to us all that we need to be faithful servants in ministry to the
world around us. Help us to take the ministry seriously, so that the world may know of the saving grace, the ultimate good news, of your Son Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray…Amen.
