Isaiah 61:1-4
“It’s Not About Me”
There can be no doubt that we are living in a consumer culture.
If we don’t like the service at a certain restaurant—we go to another one…
…or if they change their menu we might move on.
We don’t shop at a certain store if they don’t carry our specific brand of deodorant.
And I could go on and on and on…
…but you get it.
And there is nothing wrong with this.
The problem comes when this “consumer culture” creeps into the Church of Jesus Christ.
A well-known phrase in this day and age is something called, “church shopping.”
It’s kind of like, “as soon as there is something I don’t like that happens at this church, I’m gonna leave.”
Perhaps it has to do with the music.
Do we sing out of the hymnals or read the words on the screen?
Do we sing the old hymns or newer songs?
Do we use drums and guitars or do we just use the organ?
In recent decades churches have split over these kinds of things, and thus great ministries have been knocked down and left for dead because of music preferences.
Or, perhaps, someone decides that they don’t like the way the children’s ministry is being done, or the Youth ministry.
Or maybe the pastor didn’t come visit enough when someone was in the hospital.
Or maybe someone doesn’t like the color of the carpet…
…or the way we do Communion…
…or the kind of people who are joining the church…
…or there are too many children…
…or there are not enough children…
…whatever it is: that kind of stuff is allowing the Consumer Culture to enter the Church!!!
But Jesus calls us not to a “consumer mentality” but to a “it’s not about me” mentality.
Last week I went to an Evangelism Conference which featured the pastor of Ft. McKinley United Methodist Church in Dayton, Ohio.
A number of years ago, Ft. McKinley had been a “happening” church.
They had thrived and many of the folks who lived in their neighborhood were the people who came to their church.
But, over time, the neighborhood changed…
…and Fort McKinley United Methodist Church did not reach out to the new people who had taken up residence in the homes around the church.
By 2008, about 40 people were worshipping at Fort McKinley United Methodist Church on any given Sunday…
…and they were all older folks driving in from another part of town.
But, over the past 4 years Ft. McKinley United Methodist Church has gone from worshipping 40 people to 450 people!!!
And the key is that they have made a connection with the local community.
They made a decision that if their traditions or old ways of doing things were keeping them from doing God’s will—they would no longer do them!
They made the decision to embrace a “It’s not about me” mentality.
And a great example of living that mentality out is a man named Hugh Hess.
Ft. McKinley United Methodist Church is the only church Hugh has ever known.
He has been a member there for years and years and years.
And that Church is his life.
At the conference, his pastor said, “Every time you walk through the door of the church building you will find Hugh Hess up to his elbows in soap bubbles.”
The pastor also said that Hugh Hess is one of his heroes.
And this is because Hugh is such a great Christian man.
He sees the big picture.
Does Hugh like the new music that they are now playing at the church?
No.
Hugh doesn’t like it.
But Hugh has stayed at the church and there is hardly anyone more excited about what is going on there.
Hugh would rather hear the organ and sing the old hymns.
But Hugh stays.
And if you were to ask Hugh why he keeps going to a church where he doesn’t like the music he will tell you, “It’s not about me. I see how this church is changing lives, and if different music is part of what it takes to do this…
…if, in order for us to reach this neighborhood for Christ I have to be a little uncomfortable—I’ll be a little uncomfortable!!!”
Sometimes the pastor will call Hugh up on stage during a worship service in order to use him as an example.
He’ll put his arm around Hugh and ask, “Hugh, do you like the music in this church?”
Hugh will always answer, “No. I hate the music in this church.”
Then the pastor will ask Hugh why he stays at a church where he ‘hates’ the music.
And Hugh’s answer?
“It’s not about me.”
That is what the church is to be about.
That is the call of Jesus on all of our lives.
“To look out for the interests of others above our own.”
I’m not trying to say we need to change the music here at East Ridge United Methodist Church, but what do we need to change?
Is there anything about our attitudes or traditions that get in the way of others coming to know Jesus Christ?
Our Scripture Lesson from Isaiah Chapter 61 is probably one of the best and most accurate pictures of what the Church of Jesus Christ ought to look like.
It’s basically the definition of a Church.
You may remember that in Luke Chapter 4, this is the same passage that Jesus read at the beginning of His ministry when He walked into the synagogue in Nazareth.
“He unrolled the scroll and found the place where” Isaiah 61 is written.
He read it and then, “He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the synagogue assistant, and sat down…”
Then, “He began to explain… ‘Today, this scripture has been fulfilled just as you heard it.’”
So what is the Church of Jesus Christ to look like?
We are to “bring good news to the poor…bind up the brokenhearted…proclaim release for the captives, and liberation for prisoners…to comfort all who mourn…”
…we are to replace sadness with “joy” and “discouragement” with “praise.”
We are to be called “Oaks of righteousness, planted by the Lord to glorify himself.”
Notice how that is all “exteriorly focused” stuff.
It’s focused on other people: “proclaiming, releasing, bringing, comforting.”
And when we do those things for other people, we are ultimately bringing glory to God!!!
And we are recognized by others as those who were “planted” in this spot by God Himself in order to do God’s work and will!!!
Do people in our neighborhood think of this church as an “Oak of Righteousness planted by the Lord”?
There can be no doubt that the local church is the hope of the world.
The local church is the best vehicle to bring the power of the Gospel to people.
That’s why we are here.
It’s not about being comfortable.
It’s not about us.
The local church is to be “Incarnational.”
And by that I mean we are to be a “picture of the Kingdom of God here on earth.”
So how do we get there?
What does it take?
I think that the answer or the outline of the answer to that question can be found in verse 4 of our Scripture Lesson for this morning.
Isaiah says, “They will rebuild the ancient ruins; they will restore formerly deserted places; they will renew ruined cities, places deserted in generations past.”
Notice the three “r’s” in this verse: “Rebuild, Restore, Renew.”
This is how we live into the definition of the Church in verses 1-3.
We might not be able and are probably not called to save the entire city of Chattanooga.
Chattanooga is too big for us to do that on our own.
But this church is surrounded by houses, by neighborhoods…
…and if we get really serious about loving our neighbors we could definitely make a marked difference in this little corner of East Ridge and North Georgia.
And I think we are on our way.
The local church is to be “the empowering and transforming center of its community,” and if what we are doing does not fit that description then we ought better not do it.
This Saturday, we are going to walk the streets of our neighborhood.
We are going to be praying for the people in the homes.
We are going to take the new pamphlets with us made by the company that created our new directory.
And we are going to ask people in our neighborhood three questions:
“What are your greatest needs?”
“What are the greatest assets of a church?”
And, “What does a great church in your neighborhood look like?”
And then we will come back to the church and talk about the answers we got.
Ft. McKinley United Methodist Church in Dayton Ohio did this.
And what they kept hearing from the people in their neighborhood was “We are hungry.”
Not spiritually hungry, but plain hungry!!!
So they started a breakfast ministry…
…something we have talked about doing here…
…where they serve free breakfast once a week.
I understand it started out with just a few church members making breakfast for a few people, and now they serve over 300 people a week.
And they don’t just set out some stale donuts and coffee.
What they have are 6 omelet stations where they will make you an omelet anyway you like it.
Why in the world do they go through all that trouble?
That takes time and energy.
Wouldn’t it be easier just to scramble up some eggs?
Sure it would be easier.
But you know what the church members get to do while they are making omelets for people?
They get to talk to them.
They get to build relationships with them.
They are able to get to know their neighbors.
So, it’s not so much about breakfast as it is about building relationships…
…as it is about “rebuilding, restoring and renewing.”
And they have prayer walks as well.
And one of the things they do as they walk and pray is they bring trash bags and pick up the trash in the neighborhood.
And when people ask them why they do these things their answer is: “We’re your neighbors, and Jesus told us to love our neighbors.”
And the more things we do like this, the more we do for our neighbors, the more we become like Jesus…
…and the less we become concerned with me, me, me.
And the better we get to know those people who live around us, but don’t have a church home the more we come to understand that East Ridge United Methodist Church is “not about me.”
It’s about…
Bringing good news to the poor…
…binding up the brokenhearted…
…proclaiming release for the captives…
…comforting those who are depressed…
…bringing joy to places of despair…
…and praise to places of discouragement.
And ultimately, it’s about bringing glory to God!!!
Let it be.
May it be so.
Amen.
