Deut. 31:27-32:6; 1
Cor. 3:5-9
At the start of last Monday’s
meeting of your Session, I shared a word of witness from the streets of Rio de
Janeiro. It’s a word about some of the
twenty-five million street children in this second largest city of Brazil. A group of these kids regularly got together
in one spot to share their fear and anger.
They were hosted by a group of Christian adults -- a Presbyterian, a Methodist,
a Lutheran pastor, and a Catholic priest.
Also present was a non-Christian priest of the Umbanda faith.
One day, one of the boys declared,
“I want to be baptized.” “In which
church, then?” asked one of the Christians.
The boy looked around the street and at his congregation gathered in the
usual spot. Then he replied, “Which
church?” Another of the Christians
turned to him and asked the question with more clarification. “You’ll need to choose a church building in
which to be baptized. Which one would
you like to go to?” Understanding but
protesting, the boy said, “Building? No,
I want to be baptized here among us on the street.”
The church representatives looked at
one another. Next, one bluntly remarked
that he wouldn’t be able to issue any kind of official baptismal certificate. Another commented that it would be
problematic to perform the sacrament with the help of the Umbanda priest. The boy again firmly expressed his faithful
desire. Finally, the Protestant pastor reached
for an old wooden board, laid it atop two plastic milk crates, and filled an
old boot with water. The young man was
then ritually welcomed into the Christian family.
By the grace of God, growth in the
Body of Christ happens wherever and whenever vulnerable seeds are gathered and
sown in one spot. It happens when they
are then watered by faithful acceptance and compassion. It happens as healthy green shoots break
through the asphalt coverings in Christ’s kingdom -- coverings chiefly loyal to
humanly constructed buildings and institutional rules than to the Creator of
all.
The Apostle Paul wants to know who
you belong to as a Christian. If your
answer is something like “the Presbyterians” or if you are inclined to name one
particular Christian leader or another … then be prepared to hear a word of
faithful reproof. If you find yourself
thinking about Jesus Christ first in terms of the differences found in denominational
boxes and believing church is what happens chiefly within institutional buildings
… then be prepared to be called spiritually immature, a mere infant in this
faith.
My goodness, I remember how in my
younger days I’d occasionally hear the words, “Oh, don’t be a baby.” This chiding was a common but less than empowering
way of pointing out that I was acting immaturely for my age … that I’d managed
to fail the expectations of some older “authority.” I
never liked this one bit. I remember
feeling embarrassed and ashamed.
So when I read the Apostle Paul
telling the Christians of ancient Corinth that they are behaving like babies …
I get a bit defensive. But then I read
about the immature behaviors their founding pastor was calling them out on. Jealousy was jumping all over the place. Quarreling created conflict across the
congregation. Boasting about loyalty to
different church leaders fenced in factions.
These were not behaviors that reflected, honored and helped spread the loving,
accepting, egalitarian spiritual teachings of Jesus. These were not the behaviors of those who had
matured in knowing that they belong to God alone and in God they all belong to
one another. These were not the
behaviors of those living as humble, faithful servants relying on the grace of
God for their personal and congregational growth.
So Paul pulled no punches. He held them accountable just as honestly
and powerfully as Moses had done to the stubborn, rebellious ancient Israelites
he had led. Then Paul told them in a
couple different, easily identifiable ways what it means to be spiritually
mature in Christ together. It meant
eating and sharing the solid food of selflessness, not the pablum of
self-serving pride. It meant being the
spiritual building God was building them to be. It meant being equal
co-laborers with distinct tasks working in the field of faith where God alone
was bringing about growth. The infants
in faith clearly took these words of Paul to heart, for that early church
didn’t fall down and go boom.
God keeps growing the Body of Christ
throughout this world. Do we trust that
God is graciously, steadily, and perhaps surprisingly growing the Body of
Christ through FPC?
Here in 2014 in this corner of
American culture, we know well the limitations and frustrations of first and
foremost trusting the traditional ways of institutional expansion an social
influence. We can’t just put a new sign
outside identifying our denominational affiliation and expect potential new
members to show up every Sunday. We
can’t fully expect folks to come here first to learn about Jesus when there are
many wonderfully inspired and solidly academic insights about Christianity from
all over the world being instantly communicated through devices most people have
in their pockets. And for many years
the main model for church was believing,
belonging and serving. People
gathered around the doctrinal beliefs defined through institutional belonging and
then went out into the world to serve.
But nowadays, more church growth happens through serving, belonging and believing. As people serve the needs of others in many organized ways, they
gain a sense of belonging to a community that truly cares, which then may lead
to new or deepening belief in God.
We know well the impact of well over
a decade of denominational decline. And
we know how much our church family is grieving our congregational losses due to
long-time members passing on to glory, moving on to live in other places, or
just not being around so much due to other life changes. It all can weigh so heavily on our hearts
and minds. This is all the more reason
to keep renewing our trust that God is always blessing us with growth. It can’t be precisely measured by human
statistics. But it can and should be
measured by our words of witness, by sharing the stories of how Jesus’ love has
touched us through the ways we support one another, worship together, are
called and equipped to co-labor for Christ near and far. This spiritual growth is happening as we
carry on and support long-standing ways of being FPC as well as let some go in
order to initiate and establish new ones.
So maybe there is a new Bible study
God wants us to lead over in that new private conference room soon to be available
at the Starbucks in Chester. Perhaps
the number of youth and adults going on the Appalachia Service Project through
our partnership with the Big Youth Group will continue to blossom as it did
this year. I personally feel a holy call to cultivate
some needed growth in addressing real and tough social issues impacting our local
families, such as how prescription pill sharing is leading to hardcore drug use
and criminal records. I also see some
growth happening as we work with sister churches in our community to honor and
support veterans, as we did this past Veteran’s Day. And
just as God has created new growth across our denomination through new kinds of
worshipping communities and a new form of government that allows more freedom
and flexibility on our local level, I can hope the FPC bylaws and handbook
currently being revised will make us more organizational vibrant and creative.
The Body of Christ here and
everywhere is being grown by God alone.
Let’s endure any and all growing pains, trusting we’re being made
stronger … that we are always growing up into a fuller stature in and for our
Savior. Amen.
