Sermons

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November 15, 2009

Built To Last

Sermon: November 15, 2009 Built to Last…
1 Samuel 2:1-10
Mark 13:1-8

Since 9/11 we are painfully aware that great buildings can come crashing down. Just like the institutions they represent. Those in positions of power abuse their power and innocent people suffer. Who could have forecasted the 2008 Stock Market drop of almost 50% from 14,000 to below 7,000? How many of you have lost savings, pensions, jobs or your home because of the misuse of the powerful brokers in the investment world?

And twenty years ago, who could have predicted that newspapers would have to reinvent themselves or disappear? Because of the technology shift over the past eight years major US cities have gone from having two or three newspapers to only one.

For years, the Sun Times office building and Tribune Tower stood on opposite sides of Michigan Avenue and issues. In December 2004, the Sun Times building was demolished to make way for Trump Tower, which has yet to be completed. The Tribune Company is selling assets, the Cubs and Wrigley Field. And while both still operate, they have been in Chapter 11.

And what about the Sears Tower built in 1974? Former retail giant, Sears and Robuck, sells the naming rights to their flagship building--the largest building in the Western Hemisphere--to Willis Company, an insurance broker from England. What did Willis have to do to get the naming rights? Sources have it that they leased 110,000 square feet of office space in the Tower, which has over one million square feet. So for 1/10 of the leased office space, the Sears Tower became Willis Tower.

Talking about building’s coming down or changing, we need not look any farther than our own building. I ask those of you who were members of this church to recall 1996 when Rev. Martin Deppe was here. The offices for Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN) offices were on the same floor as the church office, off the Bacmeister Room. That year, the third floor chapel area was remodeled, the Fellowship Hall was painted, and the handicapped assessable ramps at both entrances were built. Pastor Deppe announced at the dedication ceremony that the church was set for another 100 years! Well, 13 years later, here we are again…different issues, same building.

In this morning’s scripture reading, the disciples are impressed with the large stones and Temple buildings and they comment on them. Jesus’ says to them. “Don’t be so impressed. These great buildings will be thrown down.”

Many people have dedicated time, energy, and money—with plans to spend more in all three areas—on this building. Are we doing the right thing? I truly believe God has a mission for us at 3801 N. Keeler Avenue. Part of our responsibility is to fix up this building so that it is in good working order. However, the building is a means to an end—not the end itself.

The building is here so that God’s important work can be done. The work of making disciples, reaching out with love to those in need like the Food Pantry and RMN, providing a home for organizations who make a difference in the lives of others. If we put all our time, energy, and money into fixing up this physical building and not building up the spiritual body of Christ, we’ve missed the point, and we aren’t being faithful to God’s call on our lives.

How often have we heard it said that the church is not the building—it’s the people? Unfortunately, we have too many examples of churches that act like social clubs. The church focuses exclusively on the people in the building and doesn’t care about others. When the congregation cannot maintain the facility any longer, the church building is closed or sold. And the people scatter. Since the church was more social club than place where lives are transformed, when the building closes, people find another social club. Not another community of faith.

This has been a problem with many of our declining mainline churches. We aren’t providing enough nourishment to build up people’s spiritual lives. We are not concerned about those who don’t know Jesus. Our lives don’t reflect a faith in Jesus that is inviting and exciting.

The building that Jesus wants us to focus on is our relationship with God and with each other. So that instead of people being impressed with this beautiful edifice, they will be moved by what they experience when they come in contact with you and me—with this community of faith. A physical building may awe for a moment, but the experience of genuine Christian hospitality, openness, and love will have a lasting impact.

The National United Methodist Church has a campaign, Rethink Church. Maybe you’ve seen our ads in the local newsletters where we mention that we are Rethinking Church. One of the tag lines is, “What if church was not a noun but a verb?”

I have a Rethink Church button on my backpack. While in the airport, a man asked me about the button. My reply was “Rethink Church is worshipping God in all areas of your life, not just on Sunday morning.” Good answer right? The man then asked me back. “Does that mean I can skip worship on Sunday morning and go golfing?” If you don’t make a habit of it, I replied, quietly…feeling unsatisfied with our encounter.

The conversation stayed with me. What does it mean to Rethink Church? We may need to make changes to the way we are operating. If we want different results, we’ve got to move beyond the status quo.

I’m only on chapter three of the book, Christianity for the Rest of Us by Diana Butler Bass. But I was intrigued right away. Bass writes about neighborhood Protestant liberal churches that provide a place for Christians who want to be inclusive, loving, socially responsible, and Christ-centered. She started the project because she wondered if there were Protestant churches in American who had a diverse political identity, were not a mega church and were also growing!

Joyfully, what she discovered was a bounty of “quiet” Protestant liberals who practice a faith that is “open and generous, intellectual and emotive, beautiful and just.” Bass identifies 25 of these churches in her book. She writes the following, “Many people think mainline Protestantism is dying…in favor of a more lively form of conservative Christianity found in suburban evangelical megachurches.” (1) She continues...

“I do not deny that mainline Protestantism is in trouble. Some of its institutions, unresponsive to change are probably beyond hope of recovery or repair. I also believe, however, that lively faith is not located in buildings, programs, organizations, and structures. Rather, spiritual vitality lives in human beings; it is located in the heart of God’s people and the communities they form.” (2)

In chapter three,Diana Butler Bass offers three ways to build a vital, living church (3)
1. Embrace Christian traditions, not traditionalism. For example, the Wesley tradition we focused on in Lent: Do No Harm, Do Good, and Stay in Love with God is a healthy, life-giving tradition that encourages a personal commitment to spiritual growth. In contrast, to keep a program that isn’t growing or reaching people just because “we’ve always done it,” is stuck in traditionalism.

Another area of focus is…
2. Embrace Practice not purity. Form communities around spiritual practices not around moral or theological purity. Bass promotes the idea of the church as filled with both saints and sinners. When we recognize that we are both sinner and saint, we aren’t easily drawn into an us/them mentality. It isn’t us telling you how to live. It’s about sharing the journey together and building community.

Lastly, embrace…
3. Wisdom not certainty. Wisdom as a spiritual gift that joins thinking (our heads) with knowing (our hearts) in a way that opened us up to God. The pastor is not the only one with wisdom. All Christians can receive God’s wisdom if they seek it. Being a Christian is not having all the answers to life’s many questions. Being a Christian is trusting God and your community of faith enough to ask your questions.

A good example of this is the story of Hannah from 2 Samuel. We read her song of praise earlier. Unable to have children, Hannah continues to have faith and act faithfully. At one point, she asks God to remember her and she will give her child to serve in the Temple. God does remember Hannah, and when her son, Samuel is weaned, she brings him to the Temple to serve the Lord. Hannah’s wisdom came from her experience of God’s presence in her life, even if it was not in the traditional way of her time--a child. She trusted God and then kept her promise.

A church that is built to last is transforming lives. Jesus reminds us that life is full of devastation, disappointment, pain and man-made things that do not last. This has been a difficult year for many of us in this community. We are grieving the death of loved ones, divorce, and jobs. We are disappointed in our inability to fulfill a commitment or maintain our lifestyle. We are fearful because of a progressing illness—either our own or someone we care about.

And yet, in the midst of these difficulties, we celebrate new jobs, promotions, healthy babies, teenagers in confirmation, new marriage vows taken, and new connections that are happening in this place because of our relationship with God and with each other.

We’ve got our work cut out for us in the coming days, weeks, and year ahead! Let’s seek God’s help to build a community of faith that is vital and alive, reaching beyond ourselves to people who do not know Jesus, and welcome those we meet with openness and love. For a vibrant, spirit-filled Christian life is not walled up inside a beautiful church building. It is lived among the rubble of life!

Footnotes:
(1) Christianity for the Rest of Us by Diana Butler Bass. Copyright 2006, Diana Butler Bass. Published by HarperCollins.
(2) Ibid, page 6.
(3) Ibid, chapter 3, The New Village Church.

Posted by vickie at 10:00 AM

Built to Last

Sermon: November 15, 2009 Built to Last…
1 Samuel 2:1-10
Mark 13:1-8

Since 9/11 we are painfully aware that great buildings can come crashing down. Just like the institutions they represent. Those in positions of power abuse their power and innocent people suffer. Who could have forecasted the 2008 Stock Market drop of almost 50% from 14,000 to below 7,000? How many of you have lost savings, pensions, jobs or your home because of the misuse of the powerful brokers in the investment world?

And twenty years ago, who could have predicted that newspapers would have to reinvent themselves or disappear? Because of the technology shift over the past eight years major US cities have gone from having two or three newspapers to only one.

For years, the Sun Times office building and Tribune Tower stood on opposite sides of Michigan Avenue and issues. In December 2004, the Sun Times building was demolished to make way for Trump Tower, which has yet to be completed. The Tribune Company is selling assets, the Cubs and Wrigley Field. And while both still operate, they have been in Chapter 11.

And what about the Sears Tower built in 1974? Former retail giant, Sears and Robuck, sells the naming rights to their flagship building--the largest building in the Western Hemisphere--to Willis Company, an insurance broker from England. What did Willis have to do to get the naming rights? Sources have it that they leased 110,000 square feet of office space in the Tower, which has over one million square feet. So for 1/10 of the leased office space, the Sears Tower became Willis Tower.

Talking about building’s coming down or changing, we need not look any farther than our own building. I ask those of you who were members of this church to recall 1996 when Rev. Martin Deppe was here. The offices for Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN) offices were on the same floor as the church office, off the Bacmeister Room. That year, the third floor chapel area was remodeled, the Fellowship Hall was painted, and the handicapped assessable ramps at both entrances were built. Pastor Deppe announced at the dedication ceremony that the church was set for another 100 years! Well, 13 years later, here we are again…different issues, same building.

In this morning’s scripture reading, the disciples are impressed with the large stones and Temple buildings and they comment on them. Jesus’ says to them. “Don’t be so impressed. These great buildings will be thrown down.”

Many people have dedicated time, energy, and money—with plans to spend more in all three areas—on this building. Are we doing the right thing? I truly believe God has a mission for us at 3801 N. Keeler Avenue. Part of our responsibility is to fix up this building so that it is in good working order. However, the building is a means to an end—not the end itself.

The building is here so that God’s important work can be done. The work of making disciples, reaching out with love to those in need like the Food Pantry and RMN, providing a home for organizations who make a difference in the lives of others. If we put all our time, energy, and money into fixing up this physical building and not building up the spiritual body of Christ, we’ve missed the point, and we aren’t being faithful to God’s call on our lives.

How often have we heard it said that the church is not the building—it’s the people? Unfortunately, we have too many examples of churches that act like social clubs. The church focuses exclusively on the people in the building and doesn’t care about others. When the congregation cannot maintain the facility any longer, the church building is closed or sold. And the people scatter. Since the church was more social club than place where lives are transformed, when the building closes, people find another social club. Not another community of faith.

This has been a problem with many of our declining mainline churches. We aren’t providing enough nourishment to build up people’s spiritual lives. We are not concerned about those who don’t know Jesus. Our lives don’t reflect a faith in Jesus that is inviting and exciting.

The building that Jesus wants us to focus on is our relationship with God and with each other. So that instead of people being impressed with this beautiful edifice, they will be moved by what they experience when they come in contact with you and me—with this community of faith. A physical building may awe for a moment, but the experience of genuine Christian hospitality, openness, and love will have a lasting impact.

The National United Methodist Church has a campaign, Rethink Church. Maybe you’ve seen our ads in the local newsletters where we mention that we are Rethinking Church. One of the tag lines is, “What if church was not a noun but a verb?”

I have a Rethink Church button on my backpack. While in the airport, a man asked me about the button. My reply was “Rethink Church is worshipping God in all areas of your life, not just on Sunday morning.” Good answer right? The man then asked me back. “Does that mean I can skip worship on Sunday morning and go golfing?” If you don’t make a habit of it, I replied, quietly…feeling unsatisfied with our encounter.

The conversation stayed with me. What does it mean to Rethink Church? We may need to make changes to the way we are operating. If we want different results, we’ve got to move beyond the status quo.

I’m only on chapter three of the book, Christianity for the Rest of Us by Diana Butler Bass. But I was intrigued right away. Bass writes about neighborhood Protestant liberal churches that provide a place for Christians who want to be inclusive, loving, socially responsible, and Christ-centered. She started the project because she wondered if there were Protestant churches in American who had a diverse political identity, were not a mega church and were also growing!

Joyfully, what she discovered was a bounty of “quiet” Protestant liberals who practice a faith that is “open and generous, intellectual and emotive, beautiful and just.” Bass identifies 25 of these churches in her book. She writes the following, “Many people think mainline Protestantism is dying…in favor of a more lively form of conservative Christianity found in suburban evangelical megachurches.” (1) She continues...

“I do not deny that mainline Protestantism is in trouble. Some of its institutions, unresponsive to change are probably beyond hope of recovery or repair. I also believe, however, that lively faith is not located in buildings, programs, organizations, and structures. Rather, spiritual vitality lives in human beings; it is located in the heart of God’s people and the communities they form.” (2)

In chapter three,Diana Butler Bass offers three ways to build a vital, living church (3)
1. Embrace Christian traditions, not traditionalism. For example, the Wesley tradition we focused on in Lent: Do No Harm, Do Good, and Stay in Love with God is a healthy, life-giving tradition that encourages a personal commitment to spiritual growth. In contrast, to keep a program that isn’t growing or reaching people just because “we’ve always done it,” is stuck in traditionalism.

Another area of focus is…
2. Embrace Practice not purity. Form communities around spiritual practices not around moral or theological purity. Bass promotes the idea of the church as filled with both saints and sinners. When we recognize that we are both sinner and saint, we aren’t easily drawn into an us/them mentality. It isn’t us telling you how to live. It’s about sharing the journey together and building community.

Lastly, embrace…
3. Wisdom not certainty. Wisdom as a spiritual gift that joins thinking (our heads) with knowing (our hearts) in a way that opened us up to God. The pastor is not the only one with wisdom. All Christians can receive God’s wisdom if they seek it. Being a Christian is not having all the answers to life’s many questions. Being a Christian is trusting God and your community of faith enough to ask your questions.

A good example of this is the story of Hannah from 2 Samuel. We read her song of praise earlier. Unable to have children, Hannah continues to have faith and act faithfully. At one point, she asks God to remember her and she will give her child to serve in the Temple. God does remember Hannah, and when her son, Samuel is weaned, she brings him to the Temple to serve the Lord. Hannah’s wisdom came from her experience of God’s presence in her life, even if it was not in the traditional way of her time--a child. She trusted God and then kept her promise.

A church that is built to last is transforming lives. Jesus reminds us that life is full of devastation, disappointment, pain and man-made things that do not last. This has been a difficult year for many of us in this community. We are grieving the death of loved ones, divorce, and jobs. We are disappointed in our inability to fulfill a commitment or maintain our lifestyle. We are fearful because of a progressing illness—either our own or someone we care about.

And yet, in the midst of these difficulties, we celebrate new jobs, promotions, healthy babies, teenagers in confirmation, new marriage vows taken, and new connections that are happening in this place because of our relationship with God and with each other.

We’ve got our work cut out for us in the coming days, weeks, and year ahead! Let’s seek God’s help to build a community of faith that is vital and alive, reaching beyond ourselves to people who do not know Jesus, and welcome those we meet with openness and love. For a vibrant, spirit-filled Christian life is not walled up inside a beautiful church building. It is lived among the rubble of life!

Posted by vickie at 02:54 AM