July 17, 2005
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| Lessons
Learned on Leave: Today’s sermon is the third of four lessons I learned again while I was on sabbatical leave. The first was that, as I studied and talked with people in transforming congregations, I learned again that those churches let Jesus Christ be praised. The second is that they are filled with passionate, joy-filled people. Today I want to share with you that I learned again that transforming congregations are filled with people who have positive, faithful attitudes. It is attitude, the feelings and emotions we bring to a task that helps to determine how we cope. That is especially true in confusing times. Most of us probably wrote a book report on Charles Dickens' novel A Tale of Two Cities. We still remember the beginning: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way…” We say, we have room to grow, we are declining. We move between hope and despair, we are betwixt and between. It’s all true, and it is our attitude that determines what we do with the truth we see all around us. I am taking on an attitude that says, we have room and we have the desire to grow, and we will do what we have to do to achieve our goals. I believe it is Archie Griffith who is often quoted as saying, “it’s not the dog in the fight, it’s the fight in the dog”. In other words, what matters most is not just the circumstance in which we find ourselves, it is what we bring to the circumstance that makes the difference. When Marsha Mueller from Karl Road Christian Church came to talk with the board last year, she brought a paper weight that says simply, “Attitude Is Everything”. That is Paul’s point as the writes to the Corinthians. Using his experience to help the church find meaning in their own lives and in their own church, Paul talks to them and he teaches us what it means for us to be reconciled to Christ, and what it means for us to take on the attitude of being ambassadors for Christ. In other words, we are Christ’s representatives in the world and the question is how will we represent Christ in the world. We represent Christ through meaningful worship that draws people to God, that gives us a voice to say yes to justice, and no to injustice, that helps us make sense of our lives, that gets us from one week to the next with hope. It helps us to see that with God new beginnings are always possible. A congregation decides that it will not die, but instead it will live as long as God gives it strength to gather and to dream. A pastor begins to offer ministry to a woman with AIDS and as he works with her, he discovers unmet health needs in his community, and he begins to meet them and to offer hope to the community. A parish nurse works not only in her congregation, and she helps the church form a health partnership with a local school and she helps the church understand healthy food is not always randomly donated canned goods, but also puts together complete nutritious meals for families in need; I have suggested menus I can share. These are communities reconciled to God, representing Christ, and they do it all with an attitude of thanksgiving for all God has done for them. They know that if they are reconciled to God, their lives must show it, and so they have an attitude of thanksgiving that will not let them take all that God has given them for granted. We have been blessed, too. We have this building, we have a heritage here of diversity and inclusiveness, there are no tokens here. We have been blessed with dedicated leaders and we are in turn blessed to continue their development as we train and mentor them as we add to the leaders among us. We are blessed and we will not forget that as we do we will be ambassadors for Christ, who is the source of our salvation, and who day by day, strengthens our faith. We offer the ministries of this church and we receive the ministries of this church because it is what God would have us do. God through Jesus Christ has showered us with love beyond measure, and we share that love as we give it away in ministry. We are called to love God in all circumstances, and it the sense of gratitude that helps us to keep going when life gets difficult. So we develop an attitude of perseverance. We may not all know what Paul is talking about when he writes about enduring beatings and imprisonment, working hard to support himself, about whether he will have a safe place to sleep at night, and healthful food to eat. We do know how hard it is when we have one more loss to bear, when we have one less dollar to spend on food, or medicine, or rent, when we have no more reserves stored up and it can seem as if we are barely holding on. Reality can be harsh, and too many of the people we encounter, including some in this very room know what it is to live with struggle and abuse. We see people everyday who seem defeated by hardship, they are lost in additions, trapped in poverty, bound up in hopelessness. We see them and we may say to ourselves that they have given up on life. But it just may be the case that someone sometime ago gave up on them, left them, violated their trust, shredded their dignity, told them they were worthless, and in the absence of a voice to the contrary, they began to believe that their lives were wasted and hopeless. Sometimes they look to the church to say it is not so. They look to us for a word of hope, every now and then they come to our doors, no doubt some are playing games and taking advantage of us. But I believe others come because someone said to them, “if you are ever in trouble, you can find help and respect at the church. There are caring people there, who will help you if you can.” So we do little things here, we have given peanut butter and bread because Jesus said “I was hungry and you fed me” (Matthew 25.35); we give bus passes when we can so that people can get to jobs and doctors and wherever else they need to be; we open these doors three nights a week so that men and women working to stay sober one day at a time can be in a community that is supportive and that holds them accountable. And we open our doors on Sunday morning, to ourselves and whoever finds their way here, so that people wanting to worship the God of us all, in a community that looks like ours does can join us here. Thanks be to God, we can do the little things that tell this big truth, God has made us all, beautiful and special and in God’s own image, the apple of God’s eye, more precious than gold and loved eternally and unconditionally. Life can be difficult, but praise God, we are more than the hardships we bear. God has put into our being the possibility of good things – good motives, knowledge and a desire to learn, kindness, and the means to live and show kindness, the ability to love and speak truthfully and lovingly to each other. We have in us, when we don’t give up on ourselves, each other, or the church, we have the very power of God. That is why we can say Amen to Paul when he declares to another church: “I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him, through Jesus Christ, who strengthens me” (Philippians 4. 12-13). Paul has his list of what he has gone through and who he has become; it is a list that responds to charges that he is not who he says he is. He and his companions have been accused of being insincere, of being nobodies, of being the last believers in a dead Messiah. They were persecuted, sad, poor, they had nothing and nothing to offer. But here is the good news. When we live with an attitude of thanksgiving, of perseverance and hope, we take on an attitude of identity that declares that this is who we are – it does not matter who people say we are, we know. We are who we say we are. Our identity here is clear in our vision and mission statements. In this place, we will know God, build relationships and do justice. We have a heritage here of celebrating the full diversity of God’s creation, we set the table every week for all God’s people. And as we do, we are being true to ourselves, known to those to whom we tell our story and invite into this church. We are alive and well, not content to survive, but ready to thrive. Sad days will come, but we will be God’s joyful people. We may be poor in budget, but that will change as we increase the wealth of our commitment, and then nothing, no thing will be withheld from us. Let’s get a new attitude. If it’s already good, tweak it up; if it’s poor, lift it up; if it’s high, keep it up. When the first words in response to a need are, we can’t, we won’t, we are too small, we are too old, we are too young, too busy, too whatever it is that we pray will get us off the hook, we may be telling the absolute truth. There are things we can no longer do, don’t care to do anymore, are not large enough to do, are not young enough to do, don’t have time to do. But that is not all we have to say here. A positive attitude leads us to say, there is more to this story. I may not be able to do this, but I can do something else. I would prefer not to do this thing, but here is something I would be glad to do. We are not big enough to do all that we want to do, but there are enough of us do some things incredibly well. We may not be as young as we used to be, but there is life and energy in us yet. OK, we are not as old and mature as we want to be, but we do know some things now, and we want to contribute to the church now. I may not have time to do this thing, but I am so committed to this church, that I will make time to discover what it is I can do, and then do it gladly. Attitude is everything. If we can adopt an attitude that trusts God enough to risk and reach beyond what we can see, if we will join our hearts and our hands to Jesus Christ who gave all that he had for us we will do the hard and great work of being the church and we will be blessed and Jesus Christ will be praise. Thanks be to God. Amen. Dr.
LaTaunya M. Bynum |
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Broad
Street Christian Church
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