No Fear In Love
Notes
Transcript
How do we grow Grace? What is the key? What is the strategy?
At our board meeting this past week, Bob, our chair of finance, shared the good news that our first quarter giving has exceeded our budget by 14% and that we have had the strongest first quarter in at least a decade.
That is good news. It tells us that you believe in what we are doing as a church and affirms what we already know - that the Lord is doing a new thing here.
There is also the acknowledgment among the leadership here that the Lord is entrusting us with resources that are to be used for His purposes. He is providing us with what we need to build His Kingdom here in Cambridge.
How do we do it? What are we to do that will reach this current generation - many of whom who have given up on church? How can we attract new people? How do we win over people of all generations? What is the key?
There are quite a few experts out there in the Church world who have combed through the data and offer answers:
Such as:
Focus on the experience of your guests. Thom Rainer, the CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources, instructs churches to “create a culture of inviting” because data shows that “nearly eight of ten unchurched persons would come to church if we invited them and accompanied them to the worship services.” And we need to be prepared to receive guests, make a good first impression, get their contact information and follow up quickly.
I would agree that It is important to listen to solid advice and to self examine and find ways to become more hospitable. But is this the key?
Often, I hear that to reach more people, you should change your worship style. A common criticism is that people today want to hear more modern, upbeat songs led by a praise band. If you are trying to reach young people, you need to create right worship atmosphere with guitar, drums, and vocals. Music has the power to help us connect with God and feel his presence.
Others would just as strongly argue that it is the traditional style that has stood the test of time and that hymns communicate deep theological truths lacking in many modern worship songs. Worship is not about being entertained - it is about giving God praise and receiving biblical truth.
The reality is that there is no one right worship style - we must look at how do we meaningfully engage our congregation. What works here? When it comes to music, what is the right blend of traditional and modern that fits who we are, aligns with our church culture, and draws us closer to God. There is room for improvement in this area - but is this the key?
Others would say that say that it is our engagement in the community that will win over new people. When we excel in our service to others, when we are being the hands and feet of Christ to the people of Cambridge - for example - serving our neighbors through One Mission Cambridge or collecting needed items for the Wings group to give out to the community - then we are going to grow. The work of ministry to others is extremely important - but is it the key?
What does God’s Word show us? What is the key to our witness, to our strength as a people, to our ability to stand out and apart from what the world offers? What makes the Christian faith attractive, what invites others in?
The apostle John tells us that the key is Love.
It is not something we can create on our own and employ as a church growth strategy. Loves comes from God and it is the receiving of love from God that allows us to then to share that love with others.
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
John makes it clear that there is an expected requirement of the community of believers - a requirement revealed in very God’s character - we are to love one another.
It is our love that sets us apart from all others - because only one who believes that Jesus is God and that he came to die in order that we may live will truly know love and, in turn, share that love.
My son called me Friday night to share something he experienced that afternoon. He had been on a flight that had just landed at its destination. Apparently, when he boarded the flight, he noticed two unrelated people who appeared agitated. One was a middle aged woman who did not want to sit in the middle seat. The other was a young man who was the last to board and discovered that he had to sit next to some children - which he did not want to do. He communicated his displeasure out loud. The woman, who was sitting in front of him, turned around and smacked him with her phone and told him that he should switch with her. This set him off on an ugly profanity laden tirade as she rolled her eyes. When told by others to watch his language - his response was “why? they are not my children.” As they taxied on the runway, the situation continued to escalate until finally the crew was forced to return the plane to the gate and remove both of them.
Why would two people make such a scene? Why would they risk getting thrown off the plane and possibly arrested? Why is this behavior increasingly becoming more common place on flights?
Which leads to the bigger societal question - why are people increasingly becoming more rude? Even within some churches we can find bad behavior.
I would argue that we are seeing what Jesus warned about in Matthew’s gospel as a sign of the end times.
And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Now if that is reflective of the world in which we live…how bright will we shine as a Church when we truly love one another?
In his commentary titled “Jo-han-nine Epistles” Charles Dodd states the following regarding today’s passage:
John adds the supreme statement “God is Love.” Love so conceived is not to be understood as one of God’s many activities but rather that “all His activity is loving activity. If He creates, He creates in love; if He rules, He rules in love; if He judges, He judges in love. All that He does is the expression of His nature, - is to Love.”
Which means that if God is Love, and He abides in us who believe in Him, then all our activity must be done as a loving activity. As a professing member of this body of brothers and sisters in Christ, my words spoken to you or about you must be said in love. All that I do for you must be done in love. Any exhorting I do, that is to say anything I strongly urge you to do or correction that must be made, must be done in love. My thoughts toward you must be loving thoughts. Because this is how God loves me.
Do you see that challenge that creates? If it depended on a love that we had to conjure up on our own I would say this would be impossible. But if God is in us, abiding, ever present, and we are mindful of that, then He can and will help us to love one another.
That was Jesus’ prayer to His Father for us found in the John 17:20-23
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
How does the world know God sent His Son Jesus? When his Church is unified in perfect love.
This past Friday, the daily devotion Wake Up Call from Seedbed was focused on Paul’s writing in Roman 12 vv. 5 and 10.
So in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. . . . Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
The writer of the devotion, Dan Wilt, provided this reflection…
Paul, seeing Christ as the head of the body—a metaphor he found quite useful—affirmed Jesus as the leader of our family (Eph. 4:15). Just as my children are in me as their father, and I am in them as my children, in a similar way we as the church are in Christ—and he is in us.
And that is where union with Christ meets real-world application. The bond of love between family members has primacy in all our relational interactions. As a friend once put it, “We fight for love.”
Therefore if my sister or brother is in pain, then I am in pain. We fight for love.
It’s a family thing.
If a family member of another political perspective or ethnic background is in pain, then I am in pain. We fight for love.
It’s a family thing.
It is only in this identifying with, and honoring of, our family members that real healing can occur in churches or society. Family is the paradigm that will bring the healing in the body of Christ that we all desire.
I simply cannot allow my disagreement with a family member to compromise my love for them or stop me from taking actions that serve and honor them even in the midst of disagreement or misalignment. We can be truthful and loving, at the same time. In fact, we must. We are in Christ, together.
It’s a family thing.
Here we must take a deep breath, and, quite honestly, grow up in Christ. It’s not easy, but it’s necessary. Jesus in you, and Jesus in me, means we do not abruptly leave those with whom we disagree without pursuing reconciliation (though we are honest in the process). Jesus in you, and Jesus in me, means we do not talk behind backs, dehumanize people in response to a newscast or social media post, or laugh when someone falls hard.
We belong to Jesus, and we belong to one another. Union with Christ reminds us of this irrepressible truth. Family love can be costly, but it is the welcome cost that comes with union with Christ and union with his people.
This is an exciting time to be a part of this church family. Whether you are a long time member or recently connected with us - we are family. Over the course of the next few weeks, there is going to be opportunity for identifying and clarifying our vision as a Church - to dream together about what we discern God is calling us to do. We will do this together.
God is already providing all that we need to live into what He desires. The key to our future is simple - let us love each other well. While it is important for us to make plans together, examine and improve our first impressions, develop an inviting culture, worship with excellence, strengthen our ministry offerings - only one thing will result in a vibrant and flourishing Church - the way we love one another. May it reflect God’s love for us.
Amen.