Living Church

 

The Living Church, 9-30-2020

             “Tell the older women to be reverent in behavior … so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, … to be good managers of their households. … Urge the younger men to be self-controlled.  Show yourself in all respects a model of good works” (Titus 2:3-6).  In this short New Testament letter, Paul instructs Titus how to lead the church in Crete.  Paul wants to see a church that is called by Christ, loyal to Christ, and functions in an organized, ordered way.  

            Is the church organized?  Does the church have direction, and a sense of mission?  We must be discerning in reading Titus!  We do not abide by 2:9, “tell slaves to be submissive to their masters,” because we have read Philemon.  We know Paul himself subverted the institution of slavery when he commanded Philemon to receive the runaway slave Onesimus back, not as a slave, but as a brother (Philemon 1:15-16).  We know Paul’s sense that in the church of Jesus, no one is a slave (Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11).  Thus, we take Titus 2:9 as a word set in first century Crete, but not applicable to us today.  The overarching spirit of Titus, though, most definitely speaks authoritatively to how we, as a 21^st church, must function if we are to be the body of Christ.

            We must be a living church.  In a living church, ministries happen.  People meet Jesus.  The good news is proclaimed by the pastor in sermons and by the members and worshipers in everyday life. 

            Are you a woman in the church?  Are you mentoring younger women, as Paul prescribes (Titus 2:4)?  It’s not as if Paul says, ‘go ahead and do this if it fits your calling and is in your comfort zone and is aligned with your gifting.’  This word from Paul is for all women in the church.  Are you mentoring a teenaged girl or a college-aged girl, or a young woman?  If not, why not?  Are you contributing your time, experience, and knowledge to the church’s children’s, youth, or young adult ministries?

            Men, there’s a word here for us too.  “Show yourself a model of good works,” Paul tells Titus (2:7).  Are you doing that?  If so how?  Would you respond, “Well, I am not a role model or mentor, because I don’t know how to do that”?  Fine.  What are you doing to learn how to do that?  Men, how are you pouring your faith and your life into boys, teenaged young men and college-aged young men? 

            We, and by “we” I mean the people of the church, have to want this.  We cannot say, “Oh that’s not a priority for me.”  The Bible doesn’t give any space for saying we don’t value active ministry.  God’s word doesn’t give the option of not passing our faith onto the next generation.  We have to value an active, difference-making approach to living our faith, and this includes discipling each other and especially our younger members.  We all have to be part of ministry.  In a living church, there is no sideline nor are there any wallflowers.  Everyone is dancing.  Everyone is in the game.  Every worshiper, member, and attendee are involved in some way. 

            The only exception might be newcomers, visitors, and seekers.  Part of being involved in ministry is recognizing who the newcomers are and gently inviting them to become involved.  We want those who come for the first time to be loved, to see Jesus, and then to get active in church life.

            Not knowing how to mentor or disciple is not a reason to avoid mentoring and discipling.  The follower of Jesus learns how. 

            The pandemic is not a reason to avoid being involved in ministry.  The church has survived plagues, wars, and severe persecution throughout its history.  In the Roman era, the church met in tombs – the catacombs.  The church, persecuted by the most powerful empire in the world, grew holding worship in mausoleums.  We can grow, even if we stay home to avoid getting sick or wear masks and hold our meetings under “social distancing” protocols.

            In an era of texting, countless forms of social media, and good old-fashioned phone calls, we have constant connection.  We just need to use it to spread the Gospel, encourage each other, and grow in relationships with fellow church members.

            If upon reading this, you want to become more involved in ministry, check in with Dina, or Pastor Rob.  Our college/young adult group has started back up, in-person.  So has our youth group.  We continue to do our food pantry and we continue to need volunteers.  We have a small group (via Zoom call) starting October 8.  You can be involved in any of the ministries.  Women, you can attend Dina’s Tuesday morning women’s Bible study, which is also now meeting in person. 

If you want to be involved in a one-on-one relationship of spiritual mentoring, we can help you do that.  Pastor Rob or Phil Partin can assist you. 

If you read this and don’t feel the need to be involved in ministry in any way, I urge you to read Titus 2, prayerfully and discerningly.  How does this word of God speak into your life?  What does it mean, in your life, to live an active faith?  What, in your sense of things, does an active, mission-directed church look like, and what’s your part in that? 

I know what I’m saying here is direct and challenging.  When we follow Jesus, we find that he’s direct, and he challenges us.  I don’t presume to be Jesus, but I think what I wrote here is something he wants all of us to think about.  Church should be comforting, but not too comfortable.  We need to be prompted and sometimes even prodded by the Holy Spirit.  Read Titus and the other passages referenced here.  Read, pray, and then get involved in living an active faith and helping Hillside be a living church.

"A Disciple named Tabitha" (Acts 9:36-43)

Sunday, September 29, 2019

            “Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha.”  Luke, the writer of the book of Acts, does not go out of his way to explain why a woman could be a disciple.  Yes, he knew that the 12 were all men.  But we know, because we’ve read his two works, Luke and Acts, that there were many women who followed Jesus with devotion and at great personal cost.  They were among the most crucial in his circle.  It was this way from the very beginning.  Luke offers no qualifiers or any word that minimizes what he’s said.  There was a disciple; a passionately devoted follower of Jesus.  Her name was Tabitha.

            Luke does tell us she was “devoted to acts of charity.”  When I started at HillSong, our mission statement was “we exist to make passionately devoted followers of Jesus.”  We understand devotion.  The word Luke used that is translated “charity” literally means “good works;” works that help people who need help.

            The picture comes into focus.  In Joppa, this disciple stood out for her care for people, especially the most needy of people.  She did not do it to be recognized and admired.  No one seeks glory by devoting their time to serving the poor.  No, Tabitha, also known as Dorcas, followed where Jesus led.  Jesus led her to poor widows, among the most vulnerable people in a society without any form of social welfare.  Once Jesus led her there, she loved with action, out of her own abilities. 

            Then, the story takes a drastic, unwelcome turn.  Dorcas the Jesus-following caregiver died.  The heartsick community so blessed by this disciple did what we’d expect them to do.  They washed her body and prepared her.  The women who followed Jesus intended to do the same thing with his body upon his death.  They went to the tomb with spices to clean him and bury him properly.  These women around Dorcas, the Jesus follower did the same – except, they knew the story.  They knew Jesus rose from the grave.  So, after the washed Dorcas, they didn’t bury her.  They laid her body in an upper room.

            Then they sent for the disciple, one of the 12, Peter, the miracle worker.  They knew Peter’s power came from the Holy Spirit.  These Joppa Christians had been in Jerusalem and seen the Spirit’s power themselves.  Or, if they weren’t present at Pentecost, they came to faith in Jesus through the preaching of some who were.  Either way, they knew Peter was connected to the Spirit of God.  And they knew whatever Peter did came not from himself but from the power of God.  So they sent for Peter.

            He was, Luke tells us, going here and there among the believers.  His agenda was whatever God set before him.  Oh, a disciple devoted to acts of love for the poor has died and the grieving community wants me to come?  Peter went.

            He was greeted by weeping widows.  The text says they showed Peter the tunics and clothes Dorcas made with her own hands.  The English doesn’t indicate as clearly as does the Greek: the women were wearing these clothes.  They reason they could be dressed in nice garments instead of filthy rags was Dorcas made the clothes herself.  They didn’t show the wardrobe to Peter.  They displayed it on their bodies thus giving witness to how much Dorcas had blessed their lives. 

            Having taken in the scene and absorbed the sorrow, he put the mourners outside.  Then Peter did what he had seen his Lord do.  He knelt by the body of the deceased woman and channeled the life-giving breath, the Holy Spirit of God.  “Tabitha, get up,” he said.  She opened her eyes and he helped her to her feet.  When he expelled the weeping widows from the room, it was not done out of insensitivity.  He had to do God’s work, just as Dorcas had done God’s work by caring for them, and they had done God’s work by calling him. 

            The final act in the drama is verse 42.  The raising of Dorcas, verse 42 says, became known throughout Joppa.  We tell stories from scripture to testify that the power of God saves us.  The church has been testifying in this way from day 1 of its existence.  As followers of Jesus, as his church, we are a story-telling, testifying people.

            In recent weeks, we have looked at the S.H.A.P.E acronym, originally found in Rick Warren’s book The Purpose Driven Life.  S= spiritual gifts; H = your heart’s passion (what really motivates you); A = is your abilities; P = personality; E = experience; it all comes together to describe each of us as disciples.  Furthermore, as we live into our shape and then out of our ministry shape, we serve God and love people and do so working out of our strengths. 

            Peter possessed spiritual gifts that are easy to see.  In Acts 2 – 5, he preaches with transforming power.  He exhibits leadership and clarity of vision.  Now, here in Acts 9, he demonstrates miracle-working in the most dramatic way, bringing someone back to life.  Spiritual gifts are very important.  We can see Peter’s easily.  Yet, Spiritual Gifts are just one facet of the S.H.A.P.E. picture. 

            Peter’s experience also comes into play.  He was willing to hang around the city Lydda, being present to the nascent church there.  He was then available when believers from Joppa called him.  We know Peter was married.  We don’t know if he had children.  We don’t know if his wife was back in Jerusalem or traveled with him.  Whatever happened in that aspect of his life, his experience made him available to God. 

            What excites me more than just Peter in this story is the way God speaks through Tabitha’s shape.  Tabitha, Dorcas, had a heart for God.  We become devoted to something when it grabs us.  That was Dorcas when it came to caring for the needy.  She was a disciple, active in the church.  When she met poor members, she didn’t need the pastor or anybody to tell her how to care for them.  She just knew and jumped in.  There’s some aspect of church life or ministry or community life that just comes naturally to you.  Susan Dunn and record-keeping and history is something that immediately comes to mind for me.  She just knows how to keep the minutes and keep track of the church’s story.  If I had a dime for every time I tapped into her institutional knowledge, I’d pay off our mortgage.  That’s one example of a passion matching a ministry need.  I could offer many other examples.  And that it certainly not Susan’s only passion.  Dorcas was passionate about helping the poor.  That’s the ‘H’ in her shape.

            We also see the ‘A’ displayed on the bodies of the women who loved her so much.  Can you sew and make your own clothes?  Some of you absolutely can.  You can identify with Dorcas better than me.  She used her ability to meet a very practical need for impoverished people. 

            The story of Dorcas is not important because she was raised by Peter’s miracle. She would go on to die again and, then, like all of us who are in Christ, be raised when Christ returns at the end of time.  The importance of this story is the way we are invited to retell it in the living of our lives. 

            Acting out of her heart’s passion, Dorcas offered what she had and God’s church was blessed.  What do you have to offer?  What is your ministry shape?  This summer on the youth mission trip, some of our teens were exceptionally outgoing.  They easily befriended kids from other groups.  Others in our group were shy and falling into isolation.  I am glad I was there to witness what happened.  The kids with the outgoing personalities almost literally dragged the shy kids into interactions with other students.  By the end of the week, those shy students sat at the center of the crowd, enjoying the ministry.  They got there because their fellow students loved them enough, acting out of their outgoing personalities to include them.

            Recently, we had families with teenagers visit and our youth group went out of their way to welcome these families.  One of our members commented to me, “I was so glad to see our youth go over and speak to those visitors.”  That’s an example of a young person leading the way by living out of his ministry shape, specifically his personality. 

So, what do you have to offer?  What are your spiritual gifts, your heart’s passions, abilities you’ve developed in your life, your personality, and your experience?  Put this all together.  It’s not for the sake of you or me brilliantly leading people to Christ and building up the kingdom.  It is God’s kingdom and God doesn’t need us.  We bring our ministry shape to God as an offering.  The story of Dorcas invites us to do what she did. We offer ourselves to God for God’s use in the kingdom.    In Philippians 2:17 Paul writes “Even if I am poured out as a drink offering … I rejoice.”  We offer our very selves to God to be poured or used as God sees fit.

One of the ways churches are critiqued is with this question: if the church disappeared would anyone notice?  If HillSong suddenly stopped existing as a church, would Chapel Hill notice?  I think so.  When Dorcas died, the people around her noticed.  Dorcas was caught up in serving God and people wept at her passing.  Our Chinese Pastor, Hong Zhou puts it this way.  When she’s trying to get people involved in ministry, she incredulously asks, “Don’t they realize this work of God is the most amazing thing they’ll ever be part of?” 

Do we see that?  Do we see that when we serve God, especially when we serve out of our shape, who we truly are, we will know the greatest joy that can be known?  They noticed when Dorcas was gone.  God worked through her.  She was passionate.  And lives changed.

Her story begins “A disciple whose name was Tabitha.” 

Now, it’s time for your story and mine.  What we’ve read in the Bible comes to life when we walk of here following Jesus, serving him out of our shape.  We are passionate.  God works through us and people are blessed.  And lives are changed as they turn to Jesus.

The opening lines of this story are “A disciple whose name was _________.”  

Your name fills in that blank .

AMEN

10 Years

This blog installment comes on the occasion of the 10th anniversary as pastor of my church.  This is a very personal piece and if you are one of my readers who is not associated with my church, I wanted you to know the personal nature of what I write here.  My approach to ministry is hands-on, and it is invested in personal relationships.  Some pastors lead large churches.  They are more like corporate executives.  I am a leader, but I am also a member of a family - a church family.  It is an approach to ministry that has been a blessing and it is the approach I believe God has mandated for me.

10 Years

            I began as pastor of HillSong Church on September 17, 2006.  Dina Sit had started as our ministry assistant one month before I began.  I was father to just one child, 4-year-old I__.  I had just started a Facebook account.  George W. Bush was president.  No one knew who Michael Brown or Trayvon Martin were.  ISIS did not exist.  No one used the phrase “Arab Spring.”  HillSong Church had one pastoral staff member. 

            Since then, our family has added H and M.  Heather Folliard got married, became our associate pastor, had three children, and is about to welcome number 4 into the world.  Our church has had 3 wonderful youth pastors (4 if we include Jen Moss, and we should include Jen Moss for the simple reason that she’s awesome).  I miss Jonathan & Krystal, love that Emily B. is still in the church as an elder and worship leader, and am happy for Nathan as he and his new wife Emily W-H start their life together.  I am excited about our new youth pastor Enam and her husband Carlin. 

            As I think about the changes and the journey our church is on, I am grateful we are on it together.  In 2006, none of us knew where Kombolcha, Ethiopia or Puerta Plata, DR were.  Now, we’ve been to those places and the people there are as much a part of our church as the people here.  I am grateful for HillSong.

            I am grateful for the leaders in our church.  Each chairman/chairwoman of elders and deacons have been different in personality and method, and I have enjoyed working with each.  Will Allen, Tamara Baker, Todd Baker, Susan Dunn, Patricia Johnson, Nelson Keller, Jess Ostrowski, Nancy Parker, Laura Shrewsbury, Tabitha, Storm, and Betty Thompson: I love each one of you and am grateful that I have been able to be in ministry alongside you. 

            I am grateful for the people I have come to know at HillSong, and there is no way I could name you all.  Many of you have been a mentor to me.  Many have been prayer warriors, going before God on my behalf.  Many have gone out of your way to show love to my family.  There are people who have been essential to our wellbeing and I cannot name all here.  But, you know who you are.  And I promise, before we go to bed at night, Candy and I thank God for you.  We do this all the time. 

            I am not going anywhere, I don’t think.  Beth Roberts and I joke about this, but with the Lilly Grant, I am contractually obligated to HillSong through the end of 2018.  But, it is a pleasure, not an obligation.  It is a joy to be pastor of this church.  I suspect that when January 2019 rolls around, I’ll be enthusiastically working with our pastoral staff and our elders on the vision for our church as move into the future together.  I am very, very excited about that future.  If God told me to leave tomorrow, I would.  But everything I have heard from God is that there are plans for HillSong and I have a role in those plans.  I believe this is true and am working toward a future in which our church is a powerful witness that testifies about the Kingdom of God to our community.  God is at work among us and I thank Him that He lets me be a small part of it. 

            

Thinking about ... Golf??

I'll start with this - Our church is hosting a Golf tournament.  Here is the link - 

http://hole4one.com/

OK, why, besides the fact that millions of people love golf, are we hosting a golf tournament?  The intent is to raise money for our mission trips to Ethiopia.  We go every Spring, and this year we're also going in October.  We always visit the same place - the Children's Hope Chest care point in the city of Kombolcha (http://www.hopechest.org/). There are 170-200 children who come to this care point.  They receive funds for education, school uniforms and supplies.  They also receive a meal.  And most importantly, they are taught the Gospel.  Our trips are intended to build an in-person relationship with the children and also with the adults (all Ethiopians) who tend to the daily care of these kids.  We think if we do this annually for a decade, we will see tangible results.  Children will come to faith in Christ.  Children will be educated and learn English and gain employment opportunities.  Maybe, this generation will grow up and become parents who do not need American sponsors to help them care for their children. Maybe we are making a contribution that can break the cycle of generational poverty.

Awesome.

What does any of this have to do with golf?

It is expensive to travel to Ethiopia.  Many of those from our church who go on the trips are university students.  They need financial help.  And those who go come back saying, "I want to sponsor a kid."  "I want to raise money to get new facilities at the care point."  "I want to dedicate my life to helping people know Jesus and climb out of the pit of malnutrition and material need."  

Some of the funds raised in the golf tournament will help people go on the trip.  Some of the funds will go to the care point, to help with the many needs at the facility.  I have seen some nasty toilets in my life.  I have not seen many worse than the one at the care point.  The leaders of the Meseret Kristo Church (the Care Point is an Evangelical Mennonite Church) know how insufficient their facilities are.  They just don't have the money for upgrades.  The Care Point would benefit from improved kitchen facilities.  These are examples of the needs.  

So ... Golf!

We want people to play in our golf tournament (click on link at the top).  We want companies to sponsor holes in our golf tournament.  We want God to bless this effort and multiply the money that will be used for our mission in Kombolcha, which as I said we hope will be ongoing for at least the next decade.  We are also praying about adding another site, probably somewhere in the Western Hemispheres, in 2015.  This would be in addition to, not in place of, the work in Ethiopia.

Readers of my blog, I ask you to pray about this effort.  Pray for Children's Hope Chest.  Pray for the One Child Campaign (http://onechildcampaign.showitsite.com/).  That group, led by Caleb David, plans the details of our trips.  Caleb or his brother Josh go with us and act as guides for us.  If you have a mission trip you are planning, contact Caleb.  He might be able to help you pull it off.  Especially call him if international missions are new to you.  Pray for Hope Chest, for One Child, for our church, for the kids in Kombolcha.

And, my faithful readers, pray for our golf tournament.  I am even going to play.  I have never broken 100 (probably never even broken 115 if I honestly count all my strokes).  I am going to play because it is fun.  No, that's not why I am playing.  For me golf is a lot of fun, but when we became parents in 2005, I happily gave it up.  No, I am blowing the dust off my clubs because I believe in this project.  If you can, please sign up to play.  Spread the word.  Tell your friends.  Play golf and pray that God will help us carry out this mission of Christian love in Ethiopia.  

One other thing; if you are moved by the tragedy of orphans and economically vulnerable kids, consider joining us in our work in Ethiopia.  Sponsor a child.  Travel with us.  The trip is March 8-18.  Actually we need a physician or physician's assistant for our trip in October, October 12-21.  If you know a doctor, physician's assistant or nurse practitioner who might go in October, please pass the word along.

Play Golf.  Share the good news.  Love as Jesus loves.  

http://hole4one.com/