Chris Carpenter's Installation Message| 1 Corinthians 2:1–16

Introduction

70% of churches in the United States are either declining or plateaued, according to Thom Rainer. This number increases to 80% of churches when you only look at churches that have an attendance of 50 or less. Now let’s stop for a second and think about that. (Slowly) 80% of all churches in the United States, (emphasize) today, that has an average attendance of less than 50 each Sunday are either declining or stagnant. When a church calls a new pastor, there’s excitement in the air. It’s what is called the honeymoon phase. At Lake Wobegon, “all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.” In the honeymoon phase, every meeting ends with a smile, church members we haven’t seen in 20 years show up, and above all, grace abounds. Then it changes. The pastor is revealed to not be Jesus walking on water. Meanwhile, the church no longer has all their metrics up and to the right. The couple from 20 years ago stays for two Sundays, and laity blame the pastor while the pastor blames the laity. As soon as the honeymoon phase started, it is gone. Looking back to the Thom Rainer numbers, statistically, the average pastor serving in gospel ministry today will leave his church numerically smaller than when he arrived. So what does gospel ministry look like if it isn’t about turning a current church into a bigger church. I believe Paul is giving us guidance here.

Paul proclaimed the gospel of Christ, not for popularity or money like other speakers. Roy Ciampa said it like this, “For Paul, Christ crucified is more than just the means of forgiveness and salvation; rather, it informs his total vision of the Christian life and ministry.” Our faith and our hope is in Christ and him crucified. But today, I’m going to go out on a limb. Being a Bible-believing, Christ-centered church in an Bible-believing, Christ-centered denomination, we’ve probably heard this message before. Right? Well, there’s more to it than simply declaring that we will keep Christ at the center. There’s a difference between declaring and actually doing. There’s a difference between profession and purpose. So how does Paul encourage us to approach ministry? He gives one, and only one way to do it.

Not from rhetoric or lofty wisdom

Paul says in verse 1, “and I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.” This might sound a little obvious, a little basis. Of course a church shouldn’t look to secular wisdom or flashy rhetoric. We’ve heard of other churches that turn faith into therapy and the gospel message into social justice. For Paul though, he was looking at groups around the Corinthians. For example, a group called the sophists. they turned debating others and giving flashy speeches into a science and an art. It became a polished skill that required sharp wit, deep knowledge, impeccable logic, stylish use of words, and fiery passion. They could spin a phrase about politics, law, religion, or business. The most successful rhetoricians had devoted followers, loyal students who would pay handsomely in exchange for “discipleship”. Thus, the more convincing one’s rhetoric, the more students the teacher would would have. The more students they had, the more money they made. But Paul is setting himself apart from the other teachers of the day. In contrast to the orators who wowed the citizens of Corinth, “Paul repudiated the sophistic method of ‘presenting himself’ when he came to Corinth.” In short, he was concerned not with “projecting an image of himself,” but rather of Jesus Christ. The sophists would use their skill to get more students and hence, make more money. But Paul was there more something different. He didn’t point to himself like the sophists. He didn’t come with amazing charisma. He came in weakness, fear, and trembling.

In a demonstration of Spirit and power that rests on the power of God

Then in verses 3-5, Paul says that “I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” One author has said that when it comes to “self-confidence, if it rests on arrogance concerning one’s own strength, it reflects a desire to be independent from God.” After all, if we have the charm and charisma, God can get left out of the equation. But in ministry, God will point out the places where we are weak. Those places where we are afraid. Those places where anxiety can take root. Those are the places where there is a rich opportunity for the Spirit to work, and for the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to shine through and for God to be glorified.

Many years ago, a friend of mine preached for his Sunday morning worship service. He finished the service and was greeting people on their way out the door when an elder walked up to him. The elder said, “Great sermon today pastor.” Wanting to be humble, the pastor replied, “Thank you, but it wasn’t me. It was the Lord that did it.” To which the elder responded, “no, it wasn’t that good.” In ministry, the Holy Spirit takes our best efforts and multiples them. However, the way that we are following this teaching from Paul is revealed when things go south. Being centered on Christ is revealed when conflict hits, attendance drops, financials take a dive, our outreach sags, or when disappointment abounds. It is in those moments that we are tempted to go all in with ministry. Jesus told Peter in Matthew 16 that “upon this rock I will build my church.” When things get tough, we tend to set these words of Jesus aside and try to build the church for him by our own seat and hard work. This leads to temporary success, but ultimately it leads to burnout, disappointment, and hard feelings. Instead of looking to Christ is moments of difficulty, it’s easy to look to ourselves. This is when we need to remember the words of Paul here in verse 2. “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

Conclusion

Barna says that 38% of pastors have seriously considered quitting in the past few years. Ironically, this statistic doesn’t include the pastors who actually Did quit. In other words, that 38% number is actually worse because when pastors are surveyed the pastors who dropped out aren’t there to survey anymore. When the honeymoon phase is over, we find out how deep our faith truly is and how centered on Christ we are. When your time together as pastor and church ends, whether it be 5 years, 10 years, or retirement, make the words of Paul in verse 2 your goal. “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” After all, our faith, our hope, and our future is found in nothing other than Jesus Christ.