State of the Church – 2010
Matthew 22:34-40
* Each year at this time my thoughts return to the words of Peter Drucker, the business guru, who always asked business owners 2 questions: “What business are you in?” and “How’s Business?” This is a great pair of questions for the church today. As I stated last week, it is super easy to get distracted and even deceived about the mission and mandate to which God has called us. From time to time we need to be reminded.
* This reminds me of a story told about the great Green Bay Packers coach, Vince Lombardi. It is told that every year at the beginning of training camp that the great coach sat his players down for an opening speech and each year he began his speech at the same place. Holding a football up for all to see, he said, “Gentlemen, this is a football.” The intriguing part of him doing this is that he was talking to the crème of the crop, the best of the best, and men who had been playing this game for many years. Yet, Vince Lombardi was a great coach because he understood the principle of fundamentals. To win football games, you must execute as a fundamental level.
* To win at the game of life and, more to the point, in the building of the Kingdom, we may think we understand the fundamental just like those pro football players did, but it is easy to lose sight of what it means to execute God’s plan for us.
* I begin our time by saying that unequivocally, it is my belief that God has brought this church body to a crossroad in 2010. During this year, decisions may well be made which determine whether HBC will be God’s church in this community and thus, become a flagship church OR whether we will be seen as just another of brick building on the side of the road. You know, one of those structures people pass by every day on their way to work, school, or the like, and they never notice. Why do I say this? It’s because of some language I keep hearing from the teams who are diligently working and praying to discover God’s will. In the last 12 months, I have heard more people say, “We have to do what is best for this church, for God’s church, and/or for God’s people.” And that attitude is contagious and is catching on. Last week I was handed a piece of paper which informed me of the neat things going on among our ladies who have lost their husbands. Additionally, since our Pastoral Ministries director is stepping aside, I have begun to hear that some people believe God is leading them to step up and perform ministry in this way. We are seeing people, not staff, become the leaders of these types of ministries – and it is exciting!
* Some may ask, “Why is this exciting?” The reason this is exciting is because it reflects the image of the first century church. People doing ministry is what a church body is all about. As we simplify and clarify what we are placed here by God to do, we could see God’s hand perform some acts among us that will blow our minds. For some reason, He expects & requires us to participate, so we are back to those questions.
* Now what is the state of this church? It seems to me that it is pretty good and getting better. No, our numbers are not getting better, but this brings up 2 important thoughts. Attendance is not the only “barometer we should watch” AND always a little pruning is required to make way for new growth. It is my simple belief, that as we pray, evaluate, update, and understand our divine task; the Holy Spirit of God will give us the empowerment we need to reach this community.
* Perhaps one of the things which have dwarfed our growth is ‘confusion.’ Listen, I stand before you to say that “I’m sorry; perhaps I’ve been a culprit in causing confusion about our task.” Personally, my motivation is peaked by knowing what God wants, putting it in some kind of written or verbal form which I can sink my teeth into, and them attempt to implement. I’m not much of a politician and wouldn’t work well in Montgomery or Washington. Sitting around discussion a subject to death is not my idea of ‘getting it done.’ BUT, in all honesty consider with me the confusion someone could have as a member of this body.
* (Turn your attention to the screens and watch) We begin with the Old slogan and the slogan I have suggested. Add to this the mission statement and the purpose statement. Add to this the core beliefs. Honestly, can anyone give all of those to me without being prompted?
* Today, I want to offer us a suggestion to simplify and focus. This call will only appeal to those who have an earnest desire to see God do something extraordinary for, in, and through this body. Sadly for some, this will have little appeal. Yet, I want to cast a vision which everyone can embrace, a simple vision, and a spiritual vision.
* I am suggesting that we discard every statement and slogan which we have in place. Admittedly, I call us to hold on to and embrace our core beliefs as they define who we are. My call for 2010 and for the years ahead is twofold: 1) Love God and 2) Live like we Love God. While this may seem overly simplistic to some, let me run around what coveting with, committing to, and honoring these two calls would entail. Let’s take a look at exactly what this would mean for us.
1. Love God – Psalms 34:8 says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” How many of us have witnessed a child saying when speaking of a new food, “I don’t like that” only to hear the parent say, “You don’t know whether you like it until you try it.” I submit that many people don’t know about our Lord because they’ve never really tasted Him. I believe that to taste Him is to love Him, so let’s use “taste” as an acrostic to describe this.
Trust – Proverbs 3 tells us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Were I to ask, “Who really and truly trusts God” most people would raise their hands. So consider with me what it actually means to “trust God?” For most we have no problem trusting God to get us into eternity, but view it differently when it deals with today. For instance, will I trust God with my children, my spouse, my money, my schedule, even my job? Think about it; when you receive your paycheck, most of us deposit the bulk of our pay in a band because we trust our bank. We go home at night and trust that when we pull out the debit card the next day or write a check that the bank will honor it. While our bank has our money, we go home and sleep, not staying up all night worrying about our money. When we trust God at this level, we can take our needs, issues, & our struggles to Him & leave them there.
Accept – To love God means we must accept many things from Him just because of who He is. If we trust Him, we take Him at His word & KNOW that He desires the best for us. He attempts to help us understand who and what we are. Because of the arrogance of our culture, many have difficulty believing they are sinners. The attitude is, “I make mistakes” or “I slip up” or “I as good as the next person.” But God’s word teaches us that no one is righteous and that all are sinners. To love God means we accept His evaluation of us. Remember the reason He lets us in on this truth is to cure us not condemn us. He follows this truth with Romans 10 show us the offer of His salvation by saying “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” God provided Jesus for our salvation, to reject Jesus is to reject God. To accept Jesus is to love God.
Seek- In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught us to “Seek first the Kingdom of God & His righteousness.” This piggy-backs the teaching in the Old Testament of Isaiah 55 (Seek the Lord while He may be found) and Jeremiah 29 (You will seek and find the Lord when you seek Him with all your heart). Do we really seek the Lord as much as we seek our pleasure, our families, our sports, our hobbies, even our vacations? To seek something means you go after it with all that you are. If you sought your mate with the same passion you seek God, what would happen?
Train – To love God is to prepare yourself for Him so that He can use you. 1 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us the word of God is authoritative, inspired, & is totally complete to teach us how to be ready to perform His work. I watch some of the generational families in this church seeing adult sons working alongside their dads to complete projects. Have you ever wondered why? It’s because of the love & admiration for dad. Dad provided the training and now the payoff is to help him in his projects.
Express your love for Him often – This may be one of the most neglected needs in the lives of believers and the church today. Think about it this way; when you were dating, you expressed your feelings of love very often, and you did this to evoke a loving response as well as affirm your own feelings of affections. James 4:8 gives us the hint of why it is important for us to express our love for Him, our action & His response.
* To love God is more than just saying, “I love God,” it involves all of you.
2. Live Like you Love God – How about just two simple thoughts? When someone asks you, “What are you guys at HBC about?” Hopefully, we can simply say, “We seek to love God and to live like we love God.” I want to pause for a seconds and give some perspective as to why this is so important. Churches in America have very interesting reputations. Some are known to be very legalistic, while others are known to be very liberal. Some are known for their music ministry while others are known for their mission projects. Some are known for their pulpit ministry while others are known for their problems. Isn’t it time for a church (and thus her people) become known for how much they love God and how much they live like they love God? I think so. But how is this done? I submit it is done by following the example of the life of Christ. His life gives life.
Let the Bible be your guide – This is also our #1 core belief and some will say, “How simple.” It is simple to say the Bible is our guide, but it is another thing entirely to live life according to the Bible. It goes back to trusting God and His word. When the Bible is your guide, it becomes a GPS for life. We are looking at a new year; this is “Undiscovered territory.” You and I would not attempt to go to uncharted ground without a map or GPS system. When the Bible is your guide, you consult it for the most menial decisions.
Invest in others – Candidly speaking, one of the most consistent attributes of us humans is selfishness. We take care of our own. Yet, in the life of Jesus we find Him investing all that He has or is in others. He never forsook others to take care of Himself; He always forsook Himself to take care of others. His life can be summed up by seeing the crowds.
To live like we love Go d means that we, like Jesus, find a way to invest in others. (Illustrate with community missions). Here’s the truth, there are a multitude of ways to invest in others, but it will require taking one’s eyes off of one’s self for a time. It will require the embracing of what Paul calls ‘thinking more highly of others than self.’ If this community knew that we were people who lived like Jesus and would help like Jesus, do you think we might be the people to whom this community would run when help was needed? Now, let’s give ourselves a checkup as to how much we are like Christ. What was my first thought when I heard this question? Did I think, “What have they done for me?” or “If they called on us, is this something else I’ve have to do?” or maybe, “I don’t have the time.” Consider where we would be if Jesus had our mindset.
Forgive quickly – It is my personal belief that more than anything else the problem of unforgiveness destroys more people than anything else. Something bad happens to us and instead of coming to the place of forgiveness; we harbor it, hang on it, and allow it to grow thinking we are getting back at them when, in truth, it eats us alive. Unforgiveness never rest quietly, it never lays dormant, and never stops growing. This is like a cancerous tumor. You either deal with it or it kills you. Unforgiveness grows into bitterness which grows into resentment which attaches itself to the vital organ of your spirit. Resentment in your spirit is like cancer of the liver, it may be treated but it is difficult to get a handle on. The sooner we forgive, the sooner we become like our Lord Jesus.
Engage in your ministry – First, I know that all ministries are HIS ministry. But to every person who knows Christ, God has given gifts to be used. When we discover our gifts and deploy them in ministry, we find joy, full life, meaning, & fulfillment. On the other hand, when we are attempting to perform ministry that God has not equipped us for, we become tired, irritable, & even frustrated without understanding why. Here is the payoff question for you: Were I to go to each person in this room with a microphone and ask you to share with the congregation what your spiritual gift is and how you are using it in ministry, what would you say?
What is the state of this family of faith? From observations, it seems that the spiritual temperature is rising. It seems that many are taking their commitment to Christ and His Kingdom more seriously each day. Here’s the truth for me. I imagine God asking me the questions of Peter Drucker; “What business are you in?” and “how’s Business?” My prayer is that when I answer, He’ll say, “WELL DONE.”
