“Outward Focused”
Matthew 28:16-20
Isaiah 6:1-8
Introduction. A lifelong unchurched man
suddenly develops a vague religious urge and decides to join a church--any
church. So he sets out to find one. His first stop is a… church
where he asks what he has to do to join. He is told by the priest that he
must undergo diligent study and affirm the Nicene and Apostles' Creeds.
Then, he is asked by the priest, who wants to see just how much the man knows,
where Jesus was born. “Pittsburgh,” the man answers. “Get out!” cries the
shocked priest.
He next stops at a church where he is told he will
have to learn Bible verses, swear off booze, and be baptized by immersion.
And, as in the former church, he is asked by the preacher, wanting to see how
much the man knows, where Jesus was born. “Philadelphia?” he asks tentatively.
“Get out, you heathen!” yells the preacher.
Our perplexed protagonist finally walks into a
church where he is told that all he has to do is sign a membership card. “You
mean I don't have to study anything, swear to anything, or be dunked in
anything?” “That's right,” says the minister. “We have no special
tests for membership, no dogma. We support total individual freedom of belief.”
“Then I'll join!” says the man. “But before I do, I've been having
difficulty with one question that maybe you can answer--do you know where was
Jesus born?” The minister replies, “Why, Bethlehem, of course.” The man's face
lights up. “I knew it was some place in Pennsylvania!” (http://www.beliefnet.com
Move 1. If the first two churches
visited by the unchurched man disappeared tomorrow, would it make one bit of
difference to him? Probably not. This gets to the question: why do
churches exist? There are only three possible
answers:
The first answer is: churches exists for those who
are already there. Congregations answering this way have an inward
focus. They have the primary task of caring for their own members.
According to one survey, 89% of church attendees “said that the primary purpose
of their congregation is to serve their needs and the needs of their
family.” (John Edmund Kaiser, Winning on Purpose, 2006, p.
26). Like the two churches visited above, these churches tend to turn away
or turn off people seeking a church home.
A minority of congregations put outreach
first. They choose another answer to the question of why churches exist;
they say that churches exist for others, people who are not yet there.
They might carry this out through altar calls, contemporary seeker worship
services, or ministries throughout the community. “These congregations are
fully outward in their focus.” (Kaiser)
A third option is: churches exist for both groups,
those who are there, and those who are not yet there. That's a good
answer, but it isn't sufficient. If churches say that they will serve both
groups equally, they may be sure that they “will wind up hopelessly focused
inward. How so?” Because congregations naturally see what is right
before them, which is the needs of those already there. If they “fail to
put both intention and resources behind the mission of serving others before
serving (themselves, they) will not escape the gravitational force of
inwardness.” On the other hand, when congregations choose serving others
first and themselves second, they embark “on an outward-focused ministry that
also takes care of its own.” (Kaiser, pp. 26-27)
Congregations make decisions about these matters,
whether intentionally or subconsciously, and they fairly quickly show to those
who are on the outside looking in the reason for their existence.
Move 2. In the gospel of Matthew, the disciples are called by Jesus to make disciples. They hear him say, “All authority on heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” In other words, the disciples are called to exist for the people outside.
This word, “disciple,” intimidates us a bit.
It is not something many of us would use to refer to ourselves. But
“disciple” is the word that Jesus uses of his twelve friends from the moment he
calls them. They are, simply, those who decide to follow Jesus, learn from
him, and share the good news of God's love and power, in word and deed.
“Disciple” describes many of us sitting here today--followers, learners,
sharers.
Of course, disciples don't always act like
disciples. Consider this story: “The board of a certain congregation
decided that reaching teenagers in the neighborhood would be part of its vision
for a new commitment to outward-focused mission. So they initiated a
recreation program at the church on Friday nights. Volunteers were trained
not only to keep the fun and refreshments flowing but also to pursue
conversations with any of the students who were willing to open up about their
lives and spiritual journeys. Six weeks into the new program, the board
met again to evaluate and learned that three things had happened: 1) a young
woman had become a Christian, 2) a young man had agreed to meet regularly with
the youth pastor to explore Christianity, and 3) a window in the church had been
broken. The board concluded, 'That recreation night was such a great
idea! Too bad it didn't work. Obviously we can't have windows being
broken, so let's phase out the program and send more money to (a youth
organization outside our church). They are better equipped to deal with
these kids.” (Kaiser, pp. 28-29)
Disciples committed to discipleship, on the other
hand, would have aligned their values with their outward-focused mission.
They would have said, “'Hmm. If we can get one and a half conversions for
every broken window, let's set a goal next year of breaking every window in the
church! We can always buy more glass.'” (Kaiser, p.
29)
Disciples operate on values that place more
importance on the needs of those not yet here than on the needs of those already
here. They are not spiritual giants (Kaiser, p. 59), but people who want
others to come see, come learn, come follow.
Move 3. Jesus tells his disciples to
make disciples of all nations, but he goes on and breaks it down a bit
further--and the three things he says to do are participles which support the
main verb, “make disciples.” He not only tells his disciples to do these
three things, but tells us, too.
First, Jesus tells us to go. He realizes that
making disciples doesn't happen by sitting, stopping, staying still, but rather
by going. Jesus knows that we can choose to keep our faith to ourselves,
or to act on our faith only in the confines of this building. But he also
knows that most of us go places and have the opportunity to share our faith in
those places--when we go out of here today, when we go to work, when we go out
with friends. Jesus says that when we make disciples, it happens when we
are going.
Second, Jesus tells us to baptize. He calls us
to baptize in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Next Sunday at this church, God has worked out for Bill Dent, a retired minister
and disciple who is the father of one of our members, Julie Latvakoski, to
baptize 4 new disciples into the Christian faith. Jesus calls us to
baptize, a significant piece of outward-focused ministry.
Finally, Jesus tells us to teach, to teach
everything that he has commanded. Jesus is the reason we do Christian
education for those here and those not yet here--classes in which questions are
welcome. He is the reason we do Vacation Bible School that is available to
all children. He is the reason we do Bible studies. Jesus calls us
to learn not just for learning's sake, but in order to teach others his
commandments to love God, love one another, forgive everyone.
Jesus tells his disciples, tells us, to make
disciples, by going, baptizing, and teaching.
Move 4. As individuals, and as part of
First Presbyterian Church, we each need to decide how important these words are,
and therefore what importance they have in our lives. We each need
to decide whether the gospel will cause us to be outward-focused. Like
Isaiah, we need to decide if we will respond, “Here am I. Send me.”
We might note that these are the last words Jesus
speaks to his disciples in the gospel of Matthew. In the movie The
Untouchables, “a movie about Elliott Ness and Al Capone, a crusty old cop
named Jimmy Malone asks Ness the same question three times. (Near the
beginning of the movie, Malone) looks Ness in the eye and asks, 'What are you
prepared to do?' testing to see if Ness can be trusted to go the distance
against Capone. When the case against Capone hits a dead end and Malone
wants to know if Ness is willing to go beyond conventional police work to get
him, he asks Ness, 'And what are you prepared to do, now?' And when Malone
lies dying from machine gun wounds on the floor of his flat, he pulls Ness
close, and gurgles, 'What…are you…prepared…to do?'” (Kaiser, p. 17)
Though we know that Jesus is not dying but rising, his final words bear great
importance: what are we prepared to do? Will we go, baptize, teach?
We might also note that we can get stuck in ruts,
and that unless we hear the words and act on them, perhaps changing the way we
do things, we may never become outward focused. Famous philosopher and
theologian Soren Kierkegaard “describes a town where only ducks live.
Every Sunday the ducks waddle out of their houses and… down Main Street to their
church. They waddle into the sanctuary and squat in their proper
pews. The duck choir waddles in and takes its place, then the duck
minister comes forward and opens the duck Bible…. He reads to them:
'Ducks! God has given you wings!... With wings you can mount up and soar
like eagles…. God has given you wings and you can fly like birds!' All the
ducks (shout) 'Amen!'” And then they all waddle home. (Tony Campolo,
Let Me Tell You a Story, 2000, pp. 81-82).
We can allow many things to get in the way of our
carrying out this mission of making disciples. We know that many good
things can get in the way. I know that I certainly have allowed many
things to take priority over making disciples. But if we don't take Jesus'
last words seriously, then we are failing to fulfill his great commission.
We are in danger of turning inward. We are in danger of losing the very
heart of what we are called to be and do as Christians.
When we take the commission of Jesus seriously, and
when we trust in him, then we become outwardly oriented, prepared to share his
love with all. We do not become perfect Christians. Rather, we
better fulfill our callings as disciples, to follow Jesus, learn from him, and
share his good news with those who are not yet here.
Conclusion. I challenge all of us,
myself included, to reach out to others. Invite people to things that are
happening at First Presbyterian. Talk with them about faith. Show
them what a life of love, with Jesus as Savior, looks like. Volunteer to
be involved in the welcoming ministries of our church, serving as ushers or
greeters, or in the nursery. Help all people understand that whether or
not they know where Jesus was born, whether or not they break windows, whether
or not they look or talk the same as we do, they are loved by Jesus and welcome
here.
And whether you have been here for years, or this is
your first time, you are invited to the table of our Lord. You don't need
to be perfect. You don't need to be wonderful. You don't need to be
a member here. At this table, you are invited to partake of what Jesus
shares--his very self, given for you and me and all people. You are
invited because Jesus is the host, and because Jesus reaches out to all.
When Jesus invites, we have the opportunity to say,
“Here I Am, Lord.” Let's sing that hymn, #525, as we get ready to
participate in the Lord's Supper. Will the serving elders and deacons
please come forward on the last verse of the hymn?
June 11, 2006
Rev. Dave Hedgepeth
First Presbyterian Church
Logan, Utah