In This Together
Scripture: Malachi 3:6-12; Acts 2:37-47
Rev. Richard H. Thompson, April 18, 2010
We've been talking about the "state of the church". But I wonder if this business of money and financial support really describes the "state of the church". It's certainly evidence of it, but I suspect it's not the thing itself. How do you really get at the "state of the church"? Maybe we could compare WPC with other churches and see how we "stack up". But then we'd still just be looking at numbers. The thing is we're all different. There are probably at least a hundred Westminster Presbyterian Churches around the country - there is one in Burbank - but we are same in name only. We could take a survey of our members and friends-which we did two summers ago. People seemed pretty happy with their church. But still, does a survey really get at the "state of the church"?
So I propose we do this another way. It requires us to remember who we are, and how and why we got here, and therefore, where we are headed. To do this we need to read from our ancient, founding document of how this all began.
It all began with Jesus rising on the Third Day. He showed his hands and his feet to his friends, scars and all. He ate broiled fish with them. All to say, "I'm here. And we have work to do..." He told them to wait for what he called the "promise of the Father," that it would be like being "clothed with power from on high".
There was that first day we call "Pentecost"-a rushing sound of wind, and something like tongues of flames, and the believers sudden ability to speak in languages and dialects about God's "deeds of power". People wondered what it meant.
Peter explained what it meant. That the Spirit of God would be poured out on all people, that there would be signs and wonders like this before the "Day of the Lord". He told them about Jesus raised up from death, and the power of the Spirit of God loose, and that now was a good time to start over.
It's here that we get help with this question of the "state of the church". Here's what happened next (Acts 2:37-41):
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, "Brothers, what should we do?" Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him." And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.
At heart the Christian faith is not a religion. It's a movement. If that's close to right, this means getting a sense of the state of the church is like trying to snap a picture of a river. All you have is a moment frozen digitally that you can study all you want. But you know only a little about the force, or the direction of that moment, or what explains its speed, or depth, or destination.
So with a great deal of respect for our very diligent elders, and the hours of work they and members of our staff have put in to get this "picture", it's all we have - a picture. And they would completely agree, this picture doesn't tell us about the power at work here at WPC.
Or the movement of the Holy Spirit in its history. It doesn't tell us what caused this church to come into existence in the first place. Or who called a young Rev. Bos along with is wife Carole and two kids, Karen and Steve, to come to this town that mainly existed on blue prints. Or why that young pastor rode his bike through brand new neighborhoods knocking on doors to invite families to come and see this gathering place that started in a school, and then moved to the corner of Lakeview Canyon and Watergate Road, and to help make a church happen.
It doesn't tell us our story of how we got here, the way those first thousands gathered that first day of Pentecost. It doesn't tell about the movement of the Holy Spirit in our lives, in our crises, in our feeling at times of complete defeat, and in other times of vindication and victory, or of our times of deep repentance, and forgiveness, and the help we've gotten to face down our fears, and rise to our challenges, just the way those first believers had to in order for there to be a WPC on this corner, in the middle of this valley where it is still the case that the vast majority have no place like this that they can call their spiritual home.
In truth, the "state of the church" is really a state of the heart of the people who call this church, their spiritual home, isn't it? To those that know me it's no surprise that I love words. I love that the root word for "heart" is also the root for the word, "courage". You get a sense of the state of the heart when times are tough.
We've just returned from a short visit with our friends in Haiti. I could tell you some stories about "heart". The devastation is everywhere. The village where we work has lost its church, the school, the guest house and several other facilities that took years to pay for and build. It's clear to me from my time there this past week that the most important "state" any of us has to be concerned with is the state of our own hearts. Because if there is no "heart" the need would overwhelm anyone. But our Haitian friends have been teaching me about "heart" for a long time.
It's true.
Wednesday at lunch we sat with our old friend "Deso", the man who helped start Floresta in Haiti thirteen years ago. He's a very talented, very determined leader. He has a strong heart. He wanted us to understand what's been accomplished. That today there are 80 communities providing food for thousands of Haitians. That Plant With Purpose delivered 42 tons of seed immediately after the earthquake to over 3,000 farmers. That since the earthquake 1,800 people have been put to work to help expand food production as villages and farms see 40 to 50% increases in population.
The year we were first organizing the farmers' cooperatives. I remember one farmer thinking out loud to about 50 others in a meeting at a local church (made of slats and corrugated metal) that to practice these new ways of helping each other, getting a tree nursery going that could produce fruit, and crops that would bring bigger yields, would take at least two to three years. But who would feed his family tomorrow? And besides, the man pointed out, the rains had failed to come. You could feel the air go out of that room - sort of like the opposite of Pentecost - it all seemed impossible. But then a chaplain stood and said some things in Creole that I could not completely understand. Whatever it was he said I could tell he had fire in his belly. Then he took his Creole Bible and turned to I Corinthians 15, the chapter about the hope of the Resurrection. He read this, "Be steadfast and immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."
Here's what I'm getting from spending time with our friends in Haiti - that you get a sense of the "state of the church" when you look at how it responds in adversity. You see it in the not giving up. You see it in people serving on boards, helping with food and blood drives, sleeping overnight in the shelter, helping with the Westminster Free Clinic, Habitat for Humanity, Action, in downtown L.A. and Makobe, Kenya, and encouraging families in Turkey with severely disabled children.
Here's what happens (Acts 2:42-47):
They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
There is a Greek word here that helps to describe the state of the church. It's koinonia - literally, "things held in common". This does not mean there was no private property. You can see people did not sell their homes because that's where the community of believers met most of the time. It's more that they saw their possessions as useful to their common purpose, and they used them to take care of their community and its mission.
Luke tells us they gave "as any had need". This means they talked about the needs. It means the community knew about what the needs were. It means they had to be very practical about those needs.
It means they talked about the "state of the church". Just the way our elders have done today.
We first became involved in Haiti by invitation from a Haitian Episcopal priest who quickly became a dear friend. If I have ever met anyone I would consider worthy to become a saint, it would be Pere (Father) Albert. It was my great privilege to lead worship with him many times - often he would ask me to preach. I remember one Sunday in the middle of the afternoon we were hiking up a steep trail to be with a little gathering of believers. Father Albert was about 30 feet ahead of me on the trail, and without breaking stride, sweat pouring down his face, he turned to me and said, "We will be there in half an hour," and then he added, "you are preaching..." He could do that. The rest of the way up that trail my mind was racing on what text to use, what to say, and how. I remember I began by saying, "The Christian life is hard, like hiking up a steep trail..." Father Albert was good at getting people to trust in the Holy Spirit. One thing he always carefully reminded us, that God was good. And then he would look us in the eye very seriously and lovingly say, "I think you can do more..."
After the sermon, the celebration of the Eucharist, and the final hymn Father Albert would often step out from behind the Table to speak about practical matters. It was a kind of "state of the church" sort of thing. One time it was about getting the tuition paid, to not neglect the education of the children, even if the harvest was bad. To think long term. To come and see him if they needed help. "Keep your children in school," he'd say.
I wonder what he would say if he were here today. I think I know. He would say that God is good, and "I think you can do more."
Our elders have very carefully laid before us the need.
These are tough times. Some have been laid off from their jobs. There are cut backs. "Job security" is now an oxymoron right up there with "self-service" and "gated communities". Still, no matter our situation or capacity, we all matter. What matters is that we are all in this together.
Whatever we can do, we need to do.
Because we have important work to do here. In the educating of our children in the Christian faith. In our worship life. In our mission near and far. In how we use this place on this corner to bear witness to our hope in the Risen Christ seven days and nights a week.
If you consider WPC your spiritual home, I'm asking you to do three things. Because these three things are very important. This is not something to put off. This is not something to leave to others, or assume will get handled without you. We are like those first Christians in Acts 2. We are in this together.
It's time.
First. STUDY the Guide for How To Have a Generous Life. I wrote this some years ago.
Second, to those who have not made a financial commitment in writing to support your church, START! We are about 750 families. But only some have made a written commitment to support their church. The thing is when we make this commitment explicit we encourage one another. We energize boldness. (Pledge On-line!)
Why do this? It's good for your soul. It has been good for Suzanne's and my soul. This is a spiritual discipline that teaches us about trusting the Lord with our material possessions. It's good for WPC too, especially now. Because we want to be wise. We want to be faithful. We have work to do.
Third, to those who have already made a written commitment, STEP up your commitment in two ways. First, if you can, increase the amount you give. Second, give sooner in the year, before the summer. Some of us can do both.
Study, Start, Step. That's it.
I've asked our elders to keep you well informed about our response.
Because I believe there is a fire burning in our collective belly. I believe the heart of this church is bold and strong. I believe God is good. And by God's grace I believe we can do much more because we are in this together.
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