Discipleshifts #2 From Living Like Everybody Else to Being Like Jesus.

Discipleshifts #2 From Living Like Everybody Else to Being Like Jesus.

RUMC July 28, 2013

 

A farmer gave a whistle and his dog herded the cattle into the corral, then latched the gate with her paw. "Wow, that's some dog," said his visitor. What's her name?" The forgetful farmer thought a minute, and then asked, "What do you call that red flower that smells good and has thorns on the stem?"

"A rose?" "That's it!" The farmer turned to his wife.

"Hey Rose, what do we call this dog?"

 

Forgetfulness is always funnier when it happens to someone else.

 

One day after Albert Einstein had moved to his home at the Institute For Advanced Study In Princeton, New Jersey, the telephone rang in the dean's office and the voice at the other end inquired: "may I speak with Dr. Einstein, please?" Advised that he was not in, the voice continued: "perhaps then you will tell me where Dr. Einstein lives." The secretary replied that she could not do this, since Dr. Einstein wished to have his privacy respected. The voice on the telephone dropped to a whisper: "please don't tell anyone, but I am Dr. Einstein. I am on my way home, and have forgotten where my house is"

 

Forgetfulness happens to the best of us… believe me, I know.

 

I want to look at this story about Mary and Martha through the lens of forgetfulness.

Mary, Martha and their brother Lazarus were friends of Jesus. This is not the first time he had been to their home. I picture their house 4 miles southeast of Jerusalem as kind of a retreat center for Jesus. It seems as though he sometimes went there to get away, and be refreshed, and renewed.

Jesus showed up for lunch one day, perhaps unannounced. So, there was quite a flurry of activity preparing hospitality for the teacher and his friends. Now, if you had a sibling, or have worked on a team or committee you know that there is always someone who feels that they have the responsibility to monitor whether everyone else is pulling their weight. Apparently, Martha was that person in their home.

Martha was busy being a good hostess, but when she looked around Mary was nowhere to be found. In fact, Mary had made a place for herself with the men instead of seeing to her womanly duties in the kitchen. (You have to remember that men and women had pretty rigidly distinct roles in that society.)

Martha works herself in to a perfect huff and marches into the living room chastising Jesus for letting Mary slough off.

How does Jesus respond? He says, "Martha, take a chill pill." Well not exactly. Actually, he says, "Martha, Martha, Martha… you are so stirred up (That is what the Greek word means. From that word we get the word "turbidity" which is the measurement of how cloudy the water is) Martha, Martha, you are stirred up and worried about many things. You are so distracted."

From Jesus perspective, that is the problem. Jesus is not worried about Mary. He is worried that Martha is upset. He is worried that Martha is worried. He is worried that Martha is distracted.

Perhaps he was worried that she was distracted from making his lunch, but I don't think so. Think about it. Martha has the opportunity to serve Jesus, yet all she can do is complain about Mary. She has the opportunity to serve the master and she is having a squabble with her sister. Martha is about to break bread with the son of God and all she can think about is petty sibling rivalry. I think Jesus is concerned because Martha has forgotten what is important. The one thing that is most important in the entire world is having a relationship with Jesus. Sometimes that means sitting at his feet. Sometimes that means serving him. Whatever we do- we do it for Jesus and because of Jesus. That is what Martha has forgotten.

 

This story is not about working or not working. It is not about worshipping or not worshipping. It is not about worship being more important than work, or work more important than worship. This is a passage about spiritual amnesia.

Just like the Pharisees had spiritual amnesia and were distracted from real prayer.

Just like the priests had spiritual amnesia and were distracted from real worship.

Martha had spiritual amnesia and was distracted from serving Jesus.

 

People still have spiritual amnesia today.

We can point to all kinds of folks with spiritual amnesia.

They have dropped out of church.

They love Jesus, but not the church.

They baptize their children but don't bring them up in the church.

They get confirmed and disappear.

We can point to all kinds of people with spiritual amnesia. They have forgotten who they are and to whom they belong.

 

We have to be careful of pointing, though.

As a pastor, this is a risk I live with every day. It is awfully tempting because it would be easy.

 It would be easy to manage the church like a Wal-Mart. But if I am just a manager, I have spiritual amnesia. I have forgotten who I am and who called me.

It would be easy as a pastor to slip into doing something in order to get a pat on the back, or in order to make you happy, or to make me look better. But if my main goal as a pastor is to make myself feel better or look good, I have spiritual amnesia. I have forgotten who I am and who called me.

It would be easy for a pastor to let the church just keep doing the same thing over and over. It would be easy to let the church slip into the "But we've always done it that way" thinking just to keep the doors open. But if my main goal as a pastor is to keep the doors open, I have spiritual amnesia. I have forgotten who I am and who called me.

Pastors can have spiritual amnesia.

 

But so can churches. Churches get spiritual amnesia too. Do you believe that? Sure they can. In fact, there is probably someone here right now who owns a dusty Bible. They have a Bible, but never brush off the dust, let alone open the cover. They have spiritual amnesia. They have forgotten who they are and that the Bible is God's word.

There is probably someone here today who prays, but only for their own needs. Prayer is all about them. They have spiritual amnesia. They have forgotten who they are and why they pray.

There are probably people here who show up to church, but they think they do not need to do anything else to grow spiritually. No one is going to hold them accountable. They have spiritual amnesia. They have forgotten who they are and what it means to be the body of Christ.

There is probably at least one person here who comes to church for the entertainment value, to hear the latest gossip, or to see their friends. They have spiritual amnesia. They have forgotten who they are and whom we worship.

There is probably someone here today who makes a special point to love others because it makes them feel good. Alternatively, they serve so they can feel like they are better than someone else. They have spiritual amnesia. They have forgotten who they are and why Jesus washed the disciples' feet.

 

As Christians, we all have to guard against spiritual amnesia every day. Last week I challenged you to get off your big fat excuses and love like nobody else. I have a vision that we can be a church where everyone is serving, and loving, and teaching, and giving.

I have a concern, however, that we never ever forget who we are, to whom we belong, and why we do those things. It would be easy for us to be so distracted by the bleeding people alongside the road, so distracted by the bloated tummies of starving children in the Sudan, so distracted by doing the critical work of visiting the elderly and teaching the young that, like Martha, we get distracted. It would be easy for us to forget who we are- the body of Christ; and to whom we belong; God.

 

So alongside my vision that we can be a church that loves like no one else,

I have to set the vision that we can be a church that is sitting at his feet.

·         I have a vision that we can be a church that will spend more time at Jesus feet studying scripture. You say that you want to know the Bible better, but are you involved in an ongoing Bible study or class? Every single one of us should be in a study or a class sometime during the week. As a church, every single one of us needs to spend more time at Jesus' feet studying scripture.

·         I have a vision that we can be a church that will spend more time at Jesus feet praying both individually and together. How much time do you spend in deep prayer? Not just saying a blessing… in deep prayer. At this time, we don't have any prayer groups. Why? Why don't we have times when people come together to share in the greatest power available to us: prayer. As a church, every single one of us needs to spend more time at Jesus' feet praying.

·         I have a vision that we can be a church that will spend more time at Jesus feet supporting, encouraging, and holding each other accountable in small discipling groups. We have several small groups, but no discipling groups. Our groups encourage, they support, but what they lack is intentionally covenanting to grow together and then holding one another accountable. As a church, every single one of us needs to spend more time at Jesus' feet in intentional discipleship groups.

·         I have a vision that we can be a church that will spend more time at Jesus feet in weekly worship. Notice I said weekly worship. For too many of us, worship has become an option whenever it is convenient. As a church, we need to raise the bar of expectation from worship whenever it is convenient to weekly worship. As a church, every single one of us needs to spend more time at Jesus' feet in weekly worship.

·         I have a vision that we can be a church that will spend more time at Jesus feet serving side by side with him both in our own community and on life changing mission trips for all ages. You have seen how mission trips change the lives of young people. Perhaps you have noticed that the adults come back changed too. Whether we are serving in our own community, on nearby mission trips or half way around the world. As a church, every single one of us needs to spend more time at Jesus' feet serving together.

 

Are you seeing the vision? I know it is a little scary. Nevertheless, we can do it.

However, my friends, the insidious creep of spiritual amnesia is making its way into our church. Call it secularization, call it taking the easy way, call it being distracted.

We do a lot of things as a church. Look at the bulletin at all the things going on. If we forget who we are and to whom we belong, however, none of that will make a bit of difference.

If we forget whose we are, we will no longer be who we are.

BUT… we will not forget will we?

We will not forget that we are a people of one book, the bible. And we will not forget to do something about it.

We will not forget that we are a people on our knees. And we will not forget to do something about it.

We will not forget that we are a people growing toward Christ. And we will not forget to do something about it.

We will not forget that we are a people here to worship God and God alone. And we will not forget to do something about it.

We will not forget that we are a people here to love and give in the name of the one who loved us so much that he gave all he had even his life that we might be saved. And we will not forget to do something about it.

 

We will not forget. Will we?

AMEN 

Discipleshifts #1 from looking like everybody else to loving like nobody else. RUMC July 14, 2013

We’ve all heard that story over and over haven’t we?

The lawyer asks Jesus a question, hoping to trick him. It is a perfectly good question, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” It is the man’s motivation that blows an ill wind here. The scripture tells us that he came to “test” Jesus. Was this some sort of a litmus test? Was he hoping to embarrass Jesus? Yes and yes, but Jesus would not so easily fall into that trap.

He turns the question around, “No, what do YOU think you need to do?” The man easily and automatically recites the Shema from Deuteronomy 6:5 and the second commandment from Leviticus 19:18. Now I don’t know what Jesus tone of voice was at this point, but I think he must have sounded a little sarcastic: “Good boy, you answered your own question!”

At which the lawyer was embarrassed and sought to justify his question. “But the question is…” He says, “Who is my neighbor.”

That’s the setup. Then comes the story. The man, the robbers the priest, the Levite (who was not a priest but worked in the temple) and finally the Samaritan…. Wait! The what? The Samaritan. I think we sometimes miss the significance of that. This wasn’t another religious leader. He is not a Jew in the strict sense. This person wasn’t even treated as well as a gentile. He was a Samaritan.[1]

Samaritans were of mixed heritage. They worshipped Yahweh, but only recognized the first 5 books of the Bible. They worshipped on Mount Gerazim in Samaria rather than Jerusalem. They were the least of the least. Adherent Jews preferred to walk around Samaritan territory through Gentile territory, rather than risk contact with a Samaritan. They have been attacked and conquered by the Jews, the Romans and the crusaders.

 There are still several hundred Samaritans living today. The Israelis consider them to be Palestinians so they are confined by Israeli authorities to their compound on Mount Gerizim, where they have lived since at least the 600 B.C. They are no body’s people. No one wants them. They are truly the least of these.

YET… it is a SAMARITAN who acts in our story. A Samaritan- frankly the man alongside the road must have been unconscious, because no self-respecting Jew would want to be helped by a Samaritan.

It wasn’t the priest, who may not have wanted to become ritually unclean. It was not the Levite, who may have been afraid of being attacked himself. On the other hand, maybe we give them too much credit. Maybe they were just like us they had 101 excuses…

·        they were busy…

·        he was a stranger…

·        they didn’t have time…

·        they didn’t want to get sued…

·         they were busy texting and didn’t see him…

·         they didn’t want to get involved…

·        they didn’t want to be seen with THAT kind of person…

·        it was his own fault for traveling alone …

·        maybe he spoke a different language, had an accent, or had a different skin color.

·         Or maybe they thought they had had done their part and it was time for the younger folks to take over…

·        or they’ve served on that committee and now it is someone else’s turn…

·        or they didn’t think they had anything to offer him…

·        or they were on fixed incomes…

·        or they had never done it that way before…

·         or what will the neighbors think…

·        OR MAYBE MOST HONESTLY, THEY JUST DIDN’T WANT TO. Just… like… us (God forgive us!)

v So along comes gay woman who transgendered into a man, and who then stayed with his lesbian partner. Oh wait... that’s the wrong story…

v So along came the Arab Muslim wearing traditional clothing, speaking only his native language, who sits smugly at the airport because they know you are uncomfortable… Oh, wait... that’s the wrong story…

v So along came the blue and green haired kid, with a dragon tattoo up the side of this face, his pants pulled down showing off his underwear while he texts as he walks…… Oh, wait... that’s the wrong story…

Or is it? Who would surprise you the most? Who in our culture do you think would be least likely to help someone?

v The single parent on welfare who is perfectly content to sit on their butt……

v or the illegal immigrant…

v or the alcoholic…

v or the spouse abuser…

v or sex offender… … Get the point? For the scribe to whom Jesus was speaking the absolute least likely person in the entire world was the Samaritan. 2000 years later, we have our own brand of Samaritans who, in our eyes, are just as unlikely to be the hero of Jesus’ story. They are, in our mind, just as unlikely to stop and help anyone as the Samaritan was in the scribe’s mind. And in our minds, we would be afraid for them to help.

Let me turn that around now… For many people in our culture today we are the Samaritans. The image of the church and Christians in general is that we are

·        so absorbed with our own institutional survival,

·        so busy arguing about whether we like, love or pity homosexuals,

·        so paralyzed by declining membership,

·        so hypocritical that we… the church would be among the least likely to help. To them, the church is the Samaritan. And they would rather die alongside the road than be helped by the Christian church. 

We could tell the story this way… A man was

·        beat up and

·        robbed,

·        hungry,

·        in need,

·        poor,

·        imprisoned,

·         lonely,

·        mentally ill,

·        heartbroken,

·        homeless,

·        and helpless.

v The senator walked by on the other side of the road,

v the chairman of the county republicans or democrats (take your pick) walked by on the other side of the road,

v the volunteer at a nonprofit organization walked by on the other side of the road,

v the co-worker walked by on the other side of the road,

v the woman from across the street walked by on the other side of the road.

v You won’t believe this but a Christian from a nearby congregation stopped to help. (gasp!) Just like the Samaritan was the last person anyone expected to help in Jesus story It shouldn’t be a surprise, but no one in their right mind would expect the 21^st century American church to be the helper! No one in their right mind would expect a hypocritical Christian to stop and help them.

I’m sorry to say even our congregation is more concerned about

·        what is happening in here,

·        more concerned about “not stretching ourselves too thin,” and to get right down to brass tacks, most of us are

·        more concerned about having a “convenient faith” than being disciples and loving our neighbor.

In his speech "I've Been to the Mountaintop," Martin Luther King, Jr. put it this way. "The priest and the Levite ask, 'If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?' But then the Good Samaritan came by, and he reversed the question: 'If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?'"  or If I do not stop to help this man what will happen to me?  What kind of “Christian am I?”

We are in that position today.

·        Is there anyone who believes that there is no hunger in our community? All the children and seniors are well nourished? NO??? What are we doing about it? If we don’t stop to help what will happen to them?

·        Do you believe that all seniors in our community have enough money for their medication? Do you believe that they have all the rides they need, and all the visits they need and all the spiritual nourishment they need? Who is helping them? If we don’t stop to help them what will happen to them?

·        Do you believe that every single-parent in our community has everything they need to raise healthy and happy children? All the support they need, all the encouragement they need. Who is helping them? If we don’t stop to help them what will happen to those children?

·        Do you believe there is adequate access to health care? Excellent public education for all? Good housing for all income levels? What are you doing about it? If we don’t stop to help them what will happen to them?

v You think the church doesn’t have any place in those situations. Let me tell you… You are wrong! You are just as wrong as the Levite was in thinking that the Samaritan didn’t have had any business touching the injured man. If we don’t stop to help them what will happen to them?

v You think the church doesn’t have any power in those circumstances. Let me tell you… You are wrong! You are just as wrong as the Levite was in thinking that the Samaritan didn’t have had any ability to help the injured man… this church is made up of powerful, gifted, creative, compassionate, dedicated individuals who empowered by the Holy Spirit, can do anything they put their mind to… if they will. If we don’t stop to help them what will happen to them?

·        Do you think that coming to worship is enough? Everything else is optional. (in fact look around, apparently coming to worship is even optional now)  Are you one who believes that if you come to church a second hour per week you have gone way above and beyond the call of duty? Do you believe that someone else will volunteer for all the committee, will offer to pick up people who don’t drive, will sign up for VBS, will offer to teach LIGHT? Let me tell you how wrong you are! If you don’t stop making excuses how will it get done. If you don’t stop to serve what will happen to those ministries?

·        Finally… Do you believe that everyone who could ever go to church is already in a church? I hope you aren’t that naive. Who is helping them to find a church? Do you know your new neighbors? When was the last time you invited someone to church? If you don’t stop to help them what will happen to them?

This is the first of 4 sermons I am writing about my vision for us as I start my 7th year. If you have been listening to me for the first 6 years you won’t be surprised at anything I say. Yet I have to say it because we have not yet made the discipleshift and become the church God wants us to be.

This week I have to tell you if you want to make the disciple shift you have to stop looking like everybody else and start loving like nobody else.

·        You have to stop looking like the priest and the Levite who pass by on the other side of the road with a 1001 excuses why they can’t stop.

·        You have to stop looking like the Lions club who does good work, but just is not the body of Christ.

·        You have to stop looking like the corner café where people exchange a cup of coffee for the latest gossip, and start being the voice of truth and love emerging from the contentiousness of our culture.

·        We have to stop talking about love and start doing it in ways that no one else around here is doing it.

·        We have to really

§  help the hurting,

§  really feed the hungry,

§  really visit the sick and imprisoned,

§  really teach the little ones,

§  and really change the world.

Yea, I know you thought you survived that whole series on changing the world and we were on to something else? Sorry, no, because I haven’t seen our church change let alone the world. (In fact, I have seriously thought about pulling that series of sermons out and preaching it all over again because I can’t tell for sure that you were listening.)

·        We have to stop looking like every other self absorbed church in the world,

·         we have to stop looking like every other non-profit organization,

·        we have to stop looking like my grandma’s church and start loving like no one else in the name of Jesus Christ - not for our benefit, but

o   for the man alongside the road,

o   for the single parent struggling with child care,

o   for the older lady who would love to have someone offer her a ride to church,

o   for the little boy or girl who thinks they don’t have even one friend,

o   for the teenager who thinks they don’t belong,

o   for the hungry and the

o   hurting, and the

o    hopeless…

we have to stop acting like everybody else and start loving like nobody else for the  kingdom of God.  And for the salvation of our own souls. Because someday…

 someday we will each have to stand before God and explain why, when we saw the

·        hungry, the

·        homeless, the

·        hurting, the

·        lonely, the

·         young, the

·        old, the

·        grieving, the

·        opportunity to serve our community or even the

·        opportunity to serve in our own church…

We will have to explain to our creator why we walked by on the other side of the road.

For God’s sake, for the kingdom’s sake, for your own sake you have to get off you big fat excuses and serve…

·        make relationships with people you don’t normally talk to.

·        Reach out to people you don’t normally notice.

·        Find a way to meet a need you thought was someone else’s problem.

·        Embrace someone you normally pass by, and

·        invite someone who needs to know that God loves them.

Get off your excuses … and love like nobody else.

---

[1] http://www.predigten.uni-goettingen.de/archiv-6/040711-4-e.html

Discipleship… not your average Caribbean cruise

Discipleship… not your average Caribbean cruise

July 7, 2013

RUMC

This graph reflects the history of the church in America from 1989 to 2009. That doesn't look so bad does it? Except when we add the headings we realize that this is the percentage of the population claiming no religious affiliation. That percentage has doubled in the last 20 years.

We call that group the "nones" because when we ask them for a religious affiliation they answer "none."

If the growth of the so-called "nones" continues like this, it will reach 25% in 10 more years, and 50% in 60 years.

The truth is worse than that, though… the rate of growth has increased significantly in the last 3 years. Now 1 in 5 Americans claims to have no religious connection at all.

If we extrapolate that line into the future we reach 50% in 10 years and in 60 years… well… as you might guess, there is nothing left of the church.   

Here is an astounding statistic…in 1850, 30 years after the Methodist movement was established, there were roughly 7 million Methodists in America. Today we have roughly 7 million United Methodists in America. Except today's 7 million includes members brought in through merger with other churches who existed alongside us in 1850, and the nations population has grown by 500%

You have to understand that this is not a worldwide phenomenon. African and Asian Christianity are growing at astounding rates. The Christian church in America, however, is on the precipice. We have two choices. We can change or we can die. I do not think that is an exaggeration. The church in America is really at the point where we have to change or we will fade from the history books. And the church in Reinbeck is not far behind it.

Why are we in this situation? I have some ideas. But frankly, I think we have spent way too much time mourning, blaming, and rearranging the deck chairs on the sinking ship of American Christianity.

I have spent 35 years listening to denominational leaders who say the right words but are too invested in their own personal power to actually act on them. I have spent 30 years holding the hands of church members who know what they need to do, but are too invested in the Christian cruise ship to board the discipleship.

·         A cruise ship offers 5 star service- where the crew serves the passengers. On the disciple ship the passengers are there to serve the least of these.

·         The question on the cruise ship is how much can I eat today and still have room for the midnight buffet. The disciple ship lives by faith and sacrifice, giving as much as possible to the poor and the hungry.

• The Cruise Ship is literally a self-contained fortress. Programming, classes, restaurants, movies, clubs, gyms, gift shops. You never need to leave the confines of the ship. The disciple ship is an externally focused network of relationships for the sake of better meeting the needs of the communities it serves.
• The Cruise Ship is a place of retreat. The Disciple ship is a launching pad for going out to the least and the lost.
• The Cruise Ship is based on self-interest. You show up at the things you want to do. The disciple ship is based on the call of God and the needs of others-- servants rather than volunteers.

Would Jesus be happy with a cruise ship church, or did he envision us as the disciple ship. More like a tug boat than a luxury liner.

Before you answer that let's look at today's scripture. 

How many disciples is Jesus sending out? 70… not 12… 70. Did you know there were 70 disciples? Actually, you can envision this as the second ring of disciples around Jesus. There was the intimate band of 12 with whom we are familiar. Their job was to help collect another layer of disciples around Jesus (the 70) and their job is to collect a larger ring of disciples around them… that's us. As we listen to this then, we have to listen to Jesus' instructions knowing that they are aimed right squarely at us.

The first thing I notice is that Jesus is no cruise director.,  He says, first of all there aren't enough of you to do the job, it is dangerous, don't take luggage or even a change of clothes, don't dawdle on the road, don't expect a fancy hotel or any choice food, take whatever you get. Be prepared for rejection and failure. That sounds more like a mission trip than a vacation doesn't' it? That's because it is. Discipleship is, in a sense, a lifelong mission trip.

The people going on the mission trip today are not going for their comfort. (If you are, you will be disappointed) They are not going for the recreation. They are not going for the food. They are not going for the recognition. They are going to BE the church. They are going to love, and serve, and share, and feed, and clothe, and visit the least and the lost all in the context of Christian community. That is being the church. 

Have you noticed the words to the song we have been singing at the end of the service for 2 months now? "The service is ended, O now be extended the fruits of our worship in all who believe" Worship is important. Critically important. I will never deny that. Worship, however, that stops at making us feel better is empty worship. Worship that stops at the doors of the church dies on the vine. Worship that does not extend to the other 167 hours of the week in the form of loving, and serving, and sharing, and feeding, and clothing, and visiting the least and the lost, is empty worship indeed. And may be a symptom that the cruise ship has overcome the disciple ship. So first, Jesus did not envision an easy discipleship.

The second thing I notice about Jesus' instructions is that he says the harvest is plentiful. The 70 came back excited saying "Jesus, Jesus, you wouldn't believe it. Even the demon's obeyed us!" They couldn't believe the results. The harvest was more plentiful than they imagined. It was then, and it still is today. If our congregation experienced the same rate of growth as the "nones" category-- the no religious affiliation category --- we would have pastors and bishops from all over the country coming to study us and write books about us. Let me tell you …There are so many people, so many needs, so many hurts, so much brokenness, so much searching, so much pain, and so much regret even right here in our little community. The potential is there. The harvest is plentiful. If we could get all the way around to the other side of our excuses- which is a long way--- but if we could find our way all the way around to the other side of our excuses we would see lives changed, people freed and relationships restored. We would be saying "Jesus, Jesus guess what… this really works." The harvest is plentiful

Third, and this is hard to face… there will be success… but there will also be failure. There will be acceptance, but there will also be rejection. There will be joy, but there will also be disappointment.

The disciples were very excited at the success they experienced. Do you suppose they were ever rejected? Do you suppose they ever failed? I am sure of it.

Did they come back to Jesus crying because they failed? NO. They brushed the failure off their feet. They left the stench of rejection behind them and gave thanks for what God had done in and through them.

Fear of failure is real, but we overcome it in other parts of our lives… as students, as employees, for heaven's sake there is nothing worse than fear of rejection when you are asking a girl out for the first time. Why is failure so much harder when we are representing Jesus? He even says if they reject you, it isn't about you… it is about me. I am the one they are rejecting.

So there will be rejection, there will be failure, we will fall on our noses, we will trip over our own feet. But there will also be great joy… unspeakable joy … unless we don't try.     

          To summarize Jesus says, it will be hard, there is a lot to be done, and you will be rejected. But Jesus doesn't sugar coat it, he doesn't excuse it, and he doesn't offer any options. If we want to be disciples that is what we are in for.

          That brings us to an article that almost made my jaw drop. It isn't that I didn't know, but seeing it laid out in black and white was discouraging. 7000 United Methodists were surveyed…

(Everyone on the largest side of the congregation) please stand. 71% of respondents define a 'Christian disciple' as "someone who believes that Jesus Christ is the one, true Son of God." "Going to church" and "praying" are the two primary (and only necessary) characteristics of discipleship for them. Disciples can do more if they want to, but they don't need to. Does that sound like what Jesus has in mind? 

16% define discipleship as "following the teachings of Jesus Christ." They begin with going to church and praying but add, "being kind to others," "reading/studying the Bible," "helping out at church," and "giving money to the church." Does that sound like what Jesus had in mind?

I don't think so. Sorry 87% that is exactly what I am talking about when I describe cruise ship Christianity… sit down.

Now, the last 12% have a better grasp on discipleship as Jesus described it. 2/3 of them define discipleship as reorienting one's life to live like Jesus. And 1/3, radically changing one's life to become the body of Christ in ministry to others.

·        They add words like "daily" and "regular" to "worship" and "prayer." Studying the Bible is paired with "sharing the faith."

·        "Teaching" is paired with "learning." 

·         "Being kind to others" morphs into "doing good for others." Connecting with other people to do good works in the community is more important. Openness to strangers, the poor and marginalized, and to the needy is named as a characteristic of discipleship at these levels

·        "Sacrificial" giving of not just money, but of time and energy and gifts is central.

·         Being willing to risk comfort, security, health, and safety are all mentioned here.

The defining characteristics of discipleship for this 13% raises the bar and bears very little resemblance to the vision of the other 87%. For almost 90% of United Methodists, discipleship is passive, rather than active — a kind of spectator sport. For 1-in-8 (12.6%) discipleship is the game on the field — you can't just watch, you have to play. (Thank you. please be seated)

Almost 90 % of United Methodists live a cruise ship Christianity- they have more in common with the "nones" than with the other 10% who live the kind of discipleship Jesus describes in Luke 10.

Is it any wonder the "nones" are winning more converts than the church? Sadly, enough 90% of the church is recruiting for the other team.

The mission of the UMC is to make disciples for the transformation of the world. Real Disciples will not be satisfied with a cruise ship. There are 5 shifts we have to make if we are to reverse the trend and become the disciple ship Jesus calls us to be.

1.     We need to shift from anything goes to greater discipline and higher expectations.

2.     We need to shift from –easy fellowship ---- to deeper mentoring relationships and accountability.

3.     We need to shift from acting like everyone else- sitting in the pews and pastor surfing, to going out and making a difference and changing the world.

4.     We need to shift from looking like everyone else- to loving and serving the least and the lost.

5.     We need to shift from focus on us and our institution to focus on knowing God and God's will

Do you want your congregation to survive the decline of American Christianity?

Do you want your church to do more than SURVIVE?

Do you want your congregation to be the community Jesus wants us to be?

If you do… there really isn't a choice to be made…is there?

Welcome aboard the disciple ship.