A Future-Focused Church
7/10-11/04
A FUTURE-FOCUSED CHURCH
There is a story about a very old church that has been typical of too many churches for too many years. It seems that a guest preacher met one of the oldest members of that congregation. The preacher asked the man how long he had been a member of the church. The man replied, “Seventy-five years.” “Well,” the preacher said, “that’s a mighty long time. I suppose you have witnessed quite a lot of changes in that period of time.” “Yep,” he said, “and I been agin’ ever one of ‘em.” Too often the church has been perceived to have been against progress. From the condemnation of Copernicus to the denunciation of Burbank’s hybridization of plants to the blocking of human dissection, religious leaders have been in the forefront of opposing many scientific and technological advances. But this has not always been so. A couple of decades ago Christian philosopher Francis Schaeffer correctly identified the basis for all of modern science as the worldview presented in the Bible. The first modern scientists were all Christians and without the philosophical foundation they received from the Bible modern scientific research could never have started. It was the Christian church that preserved human knowledge and scholarship through the period of history sometimes called the Dark Ages. At one point in history Christians were the educated and informed people while the non-Christians were the uneducated and uninformed people. Non-Christian people were called ‘pagans’ which literally means ‘country dwellers.’ The non-Christians were the hicks and now it too often seems the other way around.
In his book, Carpe Manana, Leonard Sweet says to us the church today:
“...the world is going so fast that if you Carpe Diem, you will end up seizing air. Only those who Carpe Manana will end up with anything in their hands. Just as in skeet shooting, you have to lead the target. If you aim your gun at the target, by the time your bullet gets there, the target has moved. Aim at today, and you will be caught up in the daily and miss the mission. Aim at tomorrow, and you will hit the mark of God’s high calling.”
God wants us to reach our world with a future-focused faith. It has always been this way. The church like every other successful organization has unfortunately suffered from its own past success. Every organization committed to mission knows that no matter what has taken place in the past, the best days always lay ahead if we’re going to be effective. God wants us to not just face the future. God wants us to shape the future. We have a message to send to the future, and a legacy to provide for the generation to come. In order to reach our world we must...
Look Forward to the Future
I just want to begin by giving you a little Biblical foundation for the attitude we need to have regarding the future. Too many Christians and churches are doing something other than looking forward to the future. Some wring their hands and raise their voices saying: “The world is going to hell in a handbasket. Ain’t it awful. Ain’t it awful.” Others have responded with denial and escape--trying to avoid as much as possible being affected by what might happen. They live in Christian bubbles or Christian ghettos. Some Christians and churches have idealized and officialized the customs of worship, style and dress of a certain period of time in history that seemed successfully Christian in the past--whether it’s the conservative style of the 50’s, the Mennonites’ primitive lifestyle of the 19th century or the Roman ceremonialism of a thousand years ago. Christians and churches who act like this make Jesus savior from the world rather than the Savior of the world. Remember Jesus said...
“God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” [John 3:17]
There is a saying: It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. Jesus brought the light not a whip. Christians have the light of Jesus to light the way of the future. We don’t have to be afraid of the future. We know who holds the future and Christians are those who trust Him. Jesus is our model. The Bible reminds us to...
“Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God...” [Hebrews 12:2, the Message]
Jesus wasn’t stuck in the past and He wasn’t afraid of the future. He “never lost sight of where he was headed.” All His life on earth He was always looking forward to the future, and He’s still doing it now. Remember, history is His Story and it has a goal. All of time and all of creation is headed to fulfilling God’s purposes.
“Everything God made is waiting with excitement for God to show his children’s glory completely...We were saved, and we have this hope...” [Romans 8:19, 24, New Century Version]
There is a joyful expectation about the future expressed in those verses. God built this expectation into all of creation and it has been made available to us by His re-creating work when He saves us.
The apostle Paul expressed this same foward look of faith regarding the future.
“I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.” [Philippians 3:13-14, New Living Translation]
We must not fall in the temptation to idealize the past, and condemn, escape, or deny the future. We need to walk with Jesus through the future--even if it’s tough. This is what people of faith in God have always done.
“Each one of these people of faith died not yet having in hand what was promised, but still believing. How did they do it? They saw it way off in the distance, waved their greeting, and accepted the fact that they were transients in this world. People who live this way make it plain that they are looking for their true home.” [Hebrews 11:13-14, The Message]
Looking forward to the future doesn’t mean everything will always be perfect and trouble free. The people referred to in these verses didn’t get everything that was promised for God’s people in the future. Others who came after them did receive the fulfillment of God’s promises. We’re part of the group that came later and got them. But faith in God for them and for us doesn’t camp out at any spot and say, “this is it.” God’s people understand that they are transients. “This world is not my home,” and we keep looking forward to the future. God’s plan for us is not “back there” somewhere in history, but up there in front of us. We keep looking forward to the future.
While we navigate the mine fields of the future, God is still with us reassuring us and encouraging us.
“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” [Jeremiah 29:11]
So...
“You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming...But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth,” [2 Peter 3:11-13]
God wants us to reach our world by looking forward to the future, and the only way anyone in the future will have faith in God is for us to...
Pass the Message On
The Gospel of Luke records a very disturbing question Jesus posed to His disciples. Jesus taught His disciples to be persistent in praying. He illustrated His point with a story about a widow who brought her case to a judge who did not care about her at all. But, because she was persistent with this judge, he settled her claim just to stop her bothering him. Jesus wanted His disciples to realize that plain persistence pays off between humans. And He wanted them to understand that God, the Father, is much more interested in answering the prayers of His people than a mere human judge, so they should always pray and not give up. At the conclusion of this story Jesus asked...
“... when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” [Luke 18:8]
Jesus knew that people would become complacent about praying. Even though God lovingly answers prayers and people can access the power of God for their lives by praying, some people will still eventually give up in their faith and not continue to pray. Jesus indicated that it is at least possible for this to happen to such an extent that faith could become extinct. That is a scary prospect.
So Jesus also charged His disciples with this mandate...
“I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.” [John 15:16]
The only way Jesus will find faith on the earth in the future when He comes is that it is passed on from someone who has it to someone else. Just as with disease, the only way anyone will catch the infectious life of faith is from someone who already has it. So far, sorta good.
There’s an old fable that suggests when Jesus returned to heaven after His ascension that the angels asked Him how His mission went. Jesus told them about His teaching and healing and sacrificial death. “Did they believe?” the angels asked. “Some of them did,” Jesus replied. Then the angels asked him, “Are you going to go back to tell the others?” “No,” Jesus said. “Then how are they going to know about God’s love and how they can have eternal life?” Jesus told them, “I gave the mission to the people who believed me.” Then the angels anxiously asked Jesus, “What if they don’t do it? What other plans do you have to tell the rest of the people?” And He said, “I have no other plan.”
God has chosen to have no other method than people telling people about Him. It has been said that God has no grandchildren. Everyone who establishes a personal relationship with God becomes His very own child and He becomes their very own Father. Every generation of faith is a first generation. There are no coattail relationships with God. Our mission is not just to tell people about Jesus, but to...
“Teach them to do everything I have commanded you.” [Matthew 28:20, God’s Word]
This includes a discipling method of passing on Jesus’ Word to others who will pass it on to others.
“Take the teachings that you heard me proclaim in the presence of many witnesses, and entrust them to reliable people, who will be able to teach others also.” [2 Timothy 2:2, Good News Bible]
This is a completely feasible plan for reaching the world. If every year each Christian would simply tell one other person who would the next year tell one other person about God--one every year--the entire world’s population would be covered in one generation’s time--less than 40 years. The church that reaches the world is the church that is passionate about passing God’s message on.
Coaches and athletes who participate in track relay events will tell you that the race is always won or lost not necessarily by the fastest four runners assembled in a team, but by those most successful in passing the baton. In order to assure the fairness of the race for all competitors so that someone does not take off too soon before the previous leg of the race is finished, a runner must receive the baton from the previous runner before taking off. There is a designated space on the track within which this transfer must take place. The runners must be careful to insure that the baton is not dropped. The athletes who are best at making a smooth, uninterrupted handoff from one team member to another are the ones who are going to win the relay race. The race is won or lost in the passing of the baton. The church has the same challenge to transfer faith from the present to the future.
“God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives.” [Matthew 5:14-16, the Message]
God wants us to face the future fully aware that the only way anyone will know Him is by us passing His message on. God wants us to reach our world with a view to not just what’s going on now, but preparing for the future, so we must...
Provide for the Next Generation
This is something that most churches have understood for a long time. The very first Sunday School was established in England in the late 18th century in order to teach poor children who were forced into work the other days of the week. Most every church now has Sunday School classes for children. As a congregation we have staffed for Children’s Ministries and for Student Ministries. Just a couple of weeks ago we completed a very successful annual Vacation Bible School, and we attempt to provide this same kind of quality experience every Sunday for children. Our children go to summer camps and our students attend conferences and retreats throughout the year. Even with all these opportunities and outreaches it’s not enough. There are still more youth in our community not being introduced to Jesus than there are those who know about Him. Just a small percentage of people ever come to faith after their youth. Children are more responsive to the Spirit of God in their lives and the investment in ministry to them is the most effective in terms of the percentage who become Christians. The world aggressively pursues youth with its godless agenda. Reaching students and youth is a top priority for the church focused on the future.
We are probably very familiar with these words of Jesus about Him and children.
“Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’” [Matthew 19:14]
Jesus’ disciples thought that bringing children to Jesus for Him to touch and pray for was disruptive and distracting from what they thought was Jesus’ important ministry to the adults. Jesus let them know that He is in the ministry to children as well. The disciples had been attempting to keep the children away from Jesus. Just because we have Sunday School, Children and Student Ministries doesn’t mean we might not still be hindering children. We hinder young people when we expect them to act in ways beyond their experience. We can hinder them when we expect only a certain way for worship to be conducted. Jesus spoke about the seriousness of putting anything in the way to discourage youth from putting their faith in Him.
“If a man is a cause of stumbling to one of these little ones who have faith in me, it would be better for him to have a millstone hung round his neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.” [Matthew 18:6, New English Bible]
The church that reaches the world always has to become more youthful or it will cease to exist. In my lifetime I have observed a number of churches that have become older and older and consequently smaller and smaller as people have died and then eventually the church became almost nothing or literally closed its doors. The only way to keep that from happening is to continually share God’s Good News with newer and younger people. Almost without exception the most effective, fastest growing and largest churches are the churches reaching young people for the Lord. These churches always have a significantly lower average age than churches that are plateaued and not growing. Does this mean that older people are not important and the church doesn’t care about them? Of course not. In fact the older people are the ones who make it possible. They provide the opportunity, the blessing and much of the resources that make it happen. If older people block things from happening, stand in the way and complain, there will be no blessing from God that brings growth and new life. It can’t be done without the mature, experienced people of God, but the challenge is that most of what happens won’t be specifically for them either.
There’s a principle stated in the Bible that speaks to this issue.
“Children should not have to provide for their parents, but parents should provide for their children.” [2 Corinthians 12:14, Good News Bible]
It’s true for all good parents. While our children were growing up I did a lot of things I didn’t particularly care about. I remember wearing a little pointy party hat with a rubber band around my neck for birthday parties. I didn’t particularly care for that. The rubber band always pinched my neck and I felt very silly. But I did it because I wanted to be part of making a big deal out of the birthdays of my children. I know I rode a lot of rides at parks, swung swings, sat on the sidelines at a lot of ballgames, and went to school plays and band concerts where the noise was hardly bearable--not because I particularly cared for all that, but because my children were involved and that’s what pleased them. I know I shelled out a lot of money for clothes that got torn up and quickly outgrown. I spent money on toys I never got to play with. I read stories with a funny voice and I ate a lot of macaroni and cheese --not because these were my favorite things to do, but because these were things that my children wanted. I did a lot of things I didn’t get much out of, except for the joy of just being with my kids and seeing them happy. This is the natural way of life in a good family. Why would it not be the same in God’s family?
In the family of the church there are older people and there are younger people. There are also those who have been around a long time and there are people who are new to the church. The result is that there are at least these four groups: older people who have been around a long time, younger people who have been around a long time, older people who are new to the church and younger people who are new to the church. The older people who have been around a long time have almost all the positions and the money in the church. The young people who are new to the church have the least positions and money. The church that successfully reaches the world is the church that successfully passes that baton of position and money from the older, long time members to the younger, new members. It is not easy. It requires a great deal of maturity, generosity and without question the Spirit of Jesus or it will never happen. FCCHH has been and will continue to be this kind of church that God continues to bless with His presence and His power, because we are a church whose faith is focused in the God who holds the future.
This means that we will continue to work at being youthful. I know this is a challenge for some people who have been around a long time. I know there are people who don’t particularly care for some of the things we do in our assembly here on the weekends. There are people who don’t particularly like all the music we have. I want to appeal again today to those who have been around the church for a long time and who find all the changes to be challenging. I appeal to you to help make the future possible. I encourage you to be part of celebrating youthfulness. I ask you to help make the church a place where your grandchildren will be excited about being a part. I urge you to thank God for the vitality and enthusiasm that comes from a youthful church. If you will put up with the challenges of all of it for just one hour, you will enjoy the energy that only a youthful church can bring into your life.
I got to spend a few days a couple of weeks ago with our third grandson who is now 2 months old. Of course, he’s wonderful, but with every newborn there are challenges. His schedule doesn’t fit everyone else’s in the family. He requires a whole lot more time and attention than any of the rest of the members of the family and he cannot contribute anything but his presence. But I’ll tell you what. I’ll take all that with him over a predictable schedule and all the free time in the world without him. A youthful church will always have some special challenges, but I hope to enjoy the reason for these challenges for a long time to come.
You know, as time goes along, you can either say, “The past was better.” You can stick with enjoying the memories of good old days and bemoan the passing of them, or you can make something more of the ones to come.
This past week I had the privilege of visiting my brother in law who is in the hospital still battling cancer after a year and a half.
Before we left we had a great time of prayer and my brother in law did not pray for a bigger house, a newer car, better clothes or good looks. He asked God to be able to preach His Word, care for his wife and raise his kids.
I know that in my life there are more days behind me than there are ahead of me and I want to do everything I can in light of eternity. I am praying a prayer written in the Psalms.
“Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.” [Psalm 71:18]