Step over the side (WoW #3)Reinbeck UMC
March 7, 2010
This is our third week of the Walk on Water series and there are still some of you who don’t think you can walk on water? Would you walk on water if you were this guy?
I know I would.
Some people will never get water walking. You see you have to believe in something bigger than yourself. Something beyond our pathetic little lives. Something that is far greater and far more valuable than anything else in all creation.
To do that requires faith.
We read from the 11th chapter of Hebrews this morning. That passage begins faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Assurance of things hoped for What do we hope for? Most fundamentally, we say it every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer. “Thy Kingdom Come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” “Thy Kingdom Come, thy will be done, in Reinbeck as it is in heaven.” “Thy Kingdom Come, thy will be done, in our church as it is in heaven.” “Thy Kingdom Come, thy will be done, in our lives as it is in heaven.” WOW!!! That it makes it real doesn’t it?
There was a farmer who had been trying to decide what God wanted him to do with his life. He went to church and prayed and studied and listened and watched for a sign. Finally He was out plowing one day and the clouds began to move around kind of funny. They started to look like letters and there appeared in the sky over his field the letters “G---P---C” “GPC” he thought. “GPC” “Go Preach Christ.” So off he went to college and seminary and he became a student pastor. When he preached his first sermon he fell flat on his face. If the congregation weren’t so polite they might have booed it was so bad.
The same thing happened with his second and third. And he really began to doubt.
So he went back to his field and prayed “You know God, I prayed and you sent me that message telling me to Go preach Christ and I did and here I am a miserable failure. I have uprooted my family, gone to school, given up the farm and now I am a failure. Why did you tell me to go preach Christ if you weren’t going to make me successful. To his surprise the clouds began to stir again and they formed into letters. Except there were more than three letters this time. He saw G---P---C. And then the rest of the letters came into focus. And said “ Go Plant Corn. “
Sometimes we are called to things that seem real spiritual and churchy- sometimes we are called to things that are very earthy like planting corn.
The important thing is I want you to know with absolute certainty that you are all called by God. You have a call from God . You might answer that call planting corn, or preaching Christ. You have a calling from God. You might answer that call as a machinist or a missionary. You have a calling from God. Whether you serve as a Sunday school teacher or a store clerk. You have a call from God . In whatever way you live the prayer, “Thy Kingdom Come thy will be done in my life as it is in heaven.” You have a call from God.
We are all called by God to faithfully use our God given gifts and talents for the benefit of the kingdom, the church and others.
Our church is called as well. We pray that same prayer every week don’t we “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in our church as it is in heaven.”
Through the years many have risen to that call Mr. Avery when he started the church; your parents by providing low cost suppers for 15-30 cents during the depression; many of you saw many migrant workers during the 40’s and you answered the call and fed them. When the church burned you saw a vision you answered the call to the future, raised the money, made the sacrifices and built this building.
Through the years you have answered the call a hundred ways in your giving, outreach and faithfulness to the gospel.
I am asking you to answer the call again. There are probably 100 ways we could answer the call of God as a church. Part of my job is to help us sort those out so we take the right steps. With the help of a lot of other people, and the board and a lot of prayer I believe I have identified the place we are being asked to step out of our boat this spring.
Our current family ministry-- to children youth, and parents is hobbling. The children’s choir has died, the Christmas program had half as many people this year as it has in the past, the Children’s Sunday School attendance is down, the youth group has been on hiatus since October, the High School Sunday School class has had 3 students this year, and they have taken turns being here. More often than not, there have been no students.
I’ll be the first to point out that this is partially demographic. We are in an aging community. BUT it is not all demographic.
· There are 23 High School students on our list - the class has had an average attendance of _____ this year. It is not all demographic.
· And I have been asking for a youth leader for a year and have yet to find anyone who will say yes. How can we hope to have a youth ministry without a leader. That is not demographic.
· There are 34 elementary students on our list the average Sunday School attendance is 9. That is not all demographic.
· And worship attendance for those families is even worse. That is not all demographic.
It is not all demographic. Part of the problem is we have been following the same children, youth and family ministry model for 50 years or more and we all know that families are not the same as they were 50 years ago. Someone moved the cheese and we haven’t wanted to admit it. Someone has changed the rules and forgot to tell us.
Things are changing though. And each of us needs to get out of our comfortable boat and get behind the change. You remember hearing about the leadership retreat- you remember hearing about the youth and family taskforce--- Here is the bottom line.
We have 5 firmly committed families and a core group of 10 others who have risen - in this process-- and said we need to do something.
Now we have something to do. It will be called something like Wednesday night LIGHT or LIGHT night. It will start the Wednesday after Easter and last for 8 weeks. Then everything can be re-evaluated. Light Night is a family program- raise your hand if you are part of a family-- that’s right everyone is in the family.
You saw the details in the newsletter. It is a family program starting with dinner at 5:30, Education time, Worship and by 7:30 the lights are off and everyone is on their way home. It would replace Children’s and youth Sunday School for these 8 weeks. There is still a lot of work to be done. And that is where you come in .
I need you to get out of your boat and get 100% behind this program (Will it succeed? I don’t know. But looking at similar successful programs like Grundy Center UMC and Wellsburg Reformed it has a good chance! And if it doesn’t that’s OK we try something else. Is it the answer to all of our problems? No. That’s what the youth and parent meeting this morning was all about.)
What we are trying to do is faithfully respond to God’s call. And in order to do that we are going to have to get out of our boats. I need you to not do one thing.
1. I need you to not say “That won’t work” or “I told you so” if it doesn’t For some that is a pretty big step out of the boat.
Then I need you to do a few things.
1. I need you to step out of your boat and answer the call to support these families, and others who will come by supporting this ministry. We are all in this church together. I need 100% of you to support, encourage, volunteer and donate for this new ministry.
2. I need 50 people to get out of their boat-- or their couch as the case may be-- to commit to be present at this ministry for the first 4 weeks. All kinds of people of all ages. Just to be present and get a free supper!
3. Finally I need someone to step out of their boat and answer the call to love our youth by leading our youth ministry.
Will we step out of your boat? Will we answer the call by you putting ourselves 100% behind this program? More importantly, Will we put ourselves 100% behind those families who are saying “I want more for my children and youth?” Will someone get 100% behind our youth and lead them in ministry?
Will we step over the edge- step out of the boat and answer God’s call to reach out in ministry? I hope so. I pray so.
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