Sermons for the Month

Getting Our Heads On Straight
DATE: September 30th, 2007
SERVICE: 18th Sunday After Pentecost - Stewardship Emphasis
TEXT: II Corinthians 8:1-7, 9:6-12

“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN

This morning I would like to begin by telling you three stories. The first one occurred in a Lutheran church during the early 1990's. This was a struggling congregation with about 60 people in worship and a significant debt. They decided to embrace change and to start over. One of the things they did was to adopt a retired church marketing campaign that featured the logo, "The Welcome Place".

This became their motto; the people worked hard to transform their community and, low and behold, there was growth. The worshipping community more than doubled. Yeah! But, there also were challenges. For one thing, people took the motto seriously and some individuals came to the church with whom others were uncomfortable.

On the same day the pastor received two letters. The first announced, basically, "…they go or we go … and our friends will go with us." The other letter said, "…we like it here, we want to stay, but we know our presence is causing problems, so we'll go."

An emergency Church Council meeting was called to consider what to do, and there was a L-O-N-G discussion about the details of the situation. But then a Council member stated the obvious, "Wait a minute. Whatever else might be true we are the Welcome Place Right? Isn't that what our signs say? And doesn't that mean everyone one is welcome here?" The question then became, "Who are we?" and that church discovered that in order to move forward they had to claim their identity.

Now, there are many things we could focus on in that story, but the point I want to make today is that in order to move forward we too have to know who we are. Kelly Fryer, who told the story I just shared in one of her books, calls this "getting our heads on straight." She tells about a woman who helped her understand the importance of paying attention to where your head is.

This woman is a theologian, but also a martial-arts expert. Her experience has taught her that, "if your head hits the floor, your body will follow." So, if you want your body to go somewhere, put your head their first. (1) It's true in self-defense and it's true in day-to-day living. Our actions will be determined by the principles that guide our thinking; what we do starts with understanding who we are.

That brings us then, to story number two. It's about one of the first congregations of the Christian faith, the one in Corinth in the first century. This body of believers had agreed to help support suffering Christians in Jerusalem, but had not followed through on their commitment. Perhaps the reason had to do with the on-going conflict between the Gentile Christians and the Jewish Christians; the Corinthians were the former. In any case, in his second letter to them Paul raises the question of their failed support. We read portions of it today.

First Paul praises the Macedonian churches for giving, noting that their motivation to do so came from God, not people. So, they exceeded their ability to give and were grateful for the opportunity to do so. We might say they had their heads on straight. Their actions were guided by their understanding of themselves as loved and forgiven children of God, by their gratitude for that and by their commitment to being disciples. They saw sharing in the ministry as a privilege, and as a result they gave sacrificially.

Now, Paul says, that what needs to happen among you Corinthians. "Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."(vs.7) Your motivation, he says, is your understanding of yourselves as loved, forgiven, empowered children of God.

It's not guilt or pressure that is the source of your giving, but the realization of who you are and how God will respond. "And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work."(vs. 8) The result of all this is not only that needs are met, but also the community "overflows with many thanksgivings to God". (vs. 12)

That brings us then to story number three. It's about a church that is full of faithful, talented, caring and committed Christians who are striving to be disciples. For whatever reason, this congregation has remained on a relatively comfortable, and stable, plateau for about 30 years. There has been some growth in average Sunday attendance, and positive moves forward in stewardship of time, talents and money, but no major changes. At least there hasn't been a decline.

However, this medium-size, middle class, mild-mannered congregation has the audacity to identify themselves as those who want to be a transforming force in the world. They developed a vision, which includes adding to and renovating their building so that it might be better used as a tool for ministry. And, they created a logo that reads: 2b Transformed: Gathering and Growing Disciples for Mission.

At first it was the product of a few creative minds, but then the people of God in that place began to see it everywhere, and hear it announced. At first it was just a few, and then more, and then more began to say, "That's who we are!" We are the ones who want 2b transformed, and 2b transformers, as we gather and grow disciples for mission.

And the next thing you know the adage that "where the head leads the body will follow" became true; their actions grew out of their self-understanding as the ones transformed, and empowered to transform, for the sake of mission.

Like the Macedonians of the first century, they begged for the privilege of sharing in the ministry of transformation. In spite of challenges they overflowed in a wealth of generosity. They followed the advice of scripture, intentionally seeking God's will for them, listening for guidance, but not controlled by guilt or compulsion. Instead of stress, peace and joy abounded, and in that way - through a Capital Campaign of all things - the transformation began in earnest.

Now, I've told you three stories. When I started I did not indicate if they were fact or fiction, but now I can say that the first two are definitely true. What about the third one, the one about the medium-sized, middle class, mild-mannered church that embraces transformation? Well…only time will tell.

AMEN

(1) Reclaiming the "L" Word: Renewing the Church from its Lutheran Core by Kelly A. Fryer, Chapter 1, 2003, Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis, MN.

---