Reality #2: The Shift from Church Growth to Kingdom Growth

Preached on:  May 5, 2013

Scripture:  Luke 18:9-14

Series:  Sermon 2 in the series:  “This Present Future:  4 Realities for Walking by Faith”

Based on book by Reggie McNeal:  This Present Future:  6 Tough Questions for the Church

Sermon

            Here’s what I like about Alcoholics Anonymous.  AA forces addicts to be honest with themselves and others.  If you have ever been to an AA meeting – or seen one represented on TV or in the movies – you know how individuals introduce themselves to the group. “My name is Eric (always only their first names) – and I am an alcoholic.”

            This introduction wasn't a planned principle put in place by the founders.  Instead, it grew out of the AA movement as the meetings grew larger and more people began attending.  Not everyone knew each other so they began introducing themselves and eventually, someone said, “My name is Eric and I’m an alcoholic.”

            For church members, friends and others I have counseled through the years who have struggled with substance abuse – both alcohol and drugs – I have discovered being able to admit you have problem to be one of the first steps to healing.  Before anyone can work their way through a 12 step program, they have to come to the conclusion that they are an addict. 

            This morning – I want to take a step toward healing and health in my life.  I need to introduce myself with a layer of my own mask rolled away. 

            “My name is Eric and I am a Pharisee.”

            I know some of us here are now breathing a sigh of relief.  But don’t let me off so fast.

            Think back to the Bible and the teachings of Jesus?  When did Jesus speak positively about the Pharisees?  After we read the Gospels, how often do we pray – “Please, Lord, make me a Pharisee?” Like cowboys in black hats, the Pharisees end up as the butt of many of the stories of Jesus. 

The dislike went both ways too – the Pharisee saw Jesus as a threat to their identity, spiritual worldview, and religious standing in the community.  They determined they couldn’t let Jesus continue teaching what he teaches.  The Pharisees become some of the key religious leaders who orchestrate the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus.  The most religious people send Jesus to the cross. 

            Admitting I am a Pharisee does not come easily or without consequences.  In fact, most of us would argue handily to keep a Pharisee label off our name – there’s shame in calling ourselves a Pharisee – in the same way addicts work hard to never admit they have a problem.   Look at the world of the Pharisee:

·         The Pharisees were both a Jewish social movement and a political party during the time of Jesus.  Their view of the world and faith in God covered all of Israel – from the smallest villages to the Jerusalem Temple.

·         The Pharisees had reduced the scriptures and faith into a purely moral actions.  Life and faith were reduced to our ability to abide by the laws and customs of the Old Testament.  If you didn’t abide by these – you were a sinner and God was not with you.

·         Pharisees saw themselves as the most spiritual mature – and righteous in all of Jewish society – they were the most moral – the most law abiding – and thus the most spiritual people in every town. 

·         The Pharisee gained great political, social, and personal satisfaction for their moral superiority. 

·         The Pharisee never came into contact with anyone outside of their Jewish circle. 

·         If someone wanted to know more about how to follow after this expression of faith – he would come to the Pharisee – the Pharisee was too good to come to him.

Do you see me yet?

·         Like the Pharisees of Jesus’ time, I am surrounded by Baptist, religious people like me.  I come to work at a Baptist church, I hang around other Baptist people, I have lunch with other Baptist preachers.  Sometimes, I venture out – but it is usually with Charismatics or Episcopalians or even sometimes a Methodist.  My one venture into the unknown land of unbelievers happens when I study at a coffee house in Gainesville – but even then I might be overrun by a Christian small group meeting.

·         Like the Pharisee have a pure world view – I listen to Christian music, I read mostly Christian novels or books, I scan mostly Christian websites and blogs.  When I come across a non-Christian I usually have a hard time understanding their perspective – let alone knowing how to discuss Jesus in a way that makes sense to them. 

·         My biggest shame, though – like the Pharisees – I see still judge my own righteous – my own spiritual life – by the morals and religious duties that I keep.  I say this in spite of the fact that I know and have preached that this is not how God judges or views us.  “Seek first the Kingdom of God” – Jesus says.  “Love the lord with all of life and your neighbor as yourself,” he commands.  Yet – I still measure my life by how often I go to church and whether I am reading my bible or how many people I talk to about Jesus or how much money I give to the church or what kind of role model I am to this church and community.  When I am most moral – then I think to myself – “ok, Eric, we are doing ok!” 

Recently, I’ve noticed my inner Pharisee emerge as the newest cultural value polls have emerged.

·         When I hear that almost 50% of first children are born before marriage – I start judging all of those couples who are making bad decisions

·         When I hear of the increase of the number of people in America who choose “none” as their religion of choice I judge all of our churches for a lack of outreach.

What doesn’t happen?  My heart doesn’t break for the young mothers struggling to find ways to care for their children alone.  My heart doesn’t break for the millions of people all around me who are traveling through life with a chip on their shoulder towards Christians like me and whose hope lies in their own abilities and talents. 

My name is Eric Spivey and I am a Pharisee?

Clarence Jordan knew quite a few Pharisees like me down in South Georgia– some maybe meaner – a few other more naive.  When Clarence came to translate the parable in today’s scripture for a Southern audience in his Cotton Patch Gospel – he did it in a way that makes all of us come to terms with our own inner Pharisee.  It’s hard to listen to the passage again without squirming. 

Jesus gave this comparison to certain ones who had a high regard for their own goodness, but looked down their noses at others:  Two men went into the chapel to pray. The one was a church member, the other was an unsaved man. The church member stood up and pray to himself like this:  Oh God, I thank you that I'm not like other people – greedy, mean, promiscuous – or even like this unsaved man. I go to church twice on Sunday, and I am a faithful tither of all my income."   But the unsaved man, standing way off, wouldn't even lift up his eyes, but knelt down and cried, “Oh God have mercy on a sinner like me.”  I'm telling you this, this man went home cleaned up rather than that one. For everyone who puts himself on a pedestal will be laid low, and everyone who lays himself low will be put on a pedestal.”

Every time I read this passage – I want to put myself in the good role.  I don’t want to be the arrogant, ungrateful one – the one Jesus says went home unjustified.  When Jesus says that someone will be exalted – I want it to be me. 

            Jordan has my number, though?  Does it sound familiar in your life?  Have all of us become so religious that now we represent to the world exactly what we feel the Pharisee represented to Jesus?

            Do you feel my shame?

            My name is Eric – and I am a Pharisee. 

            What my confession helps me to do is understand the reality that our church faces in the emerging world.  Reggie McNeal in This Present Future says, “The collapse of the church culture requires a shift from church growth to kingdom growth.”

            If you are a person who has found your identity, like me, in the systems and the traditions of the church – especially the Baptist church – this reality hits us hard. 

            Here’s the reason – Over the past 30 years most of us – and most pastors and deacons and staff members and denominational leaders - have bought into the philosophy of the church growth movement. 

            The church growth movement tells us:  “If a church isn’t growing, it is being disobedient to God, falling short of God’s expectations.”

            Churches and pastors have come to place not only our worth and our prestige – but also the very hand of God – on the number of people who join OUR church.  This has created a all-growth is good-growth mantra and led to some unscrupulous methods and a celebrity status church culture – and has ultimately created many more losers than winners. 

            The church growth movement and other aspects like – the church health movement for example – have led us to ask the wrong question as a church.

Wrong Question:  How do we grow this church? (How do we get people to come to us)?

When we view God’s hand upon our Church by the number of people we get to join our church – then we will do all that we can – to get people to join our church.  We have to find ways to get people to come to us, to walk through our doors and become like us.  Becoming a follower of Jesus is not enough – we have to get folks to become part of our tribe and look and dress and act like us. 

This tendency – which we might as well call out as our inner Pharisee – can be seen in the life of the early church.  All of the disciples and early Jewish Christians were raised within the worldview of the Pharisees.  They saw God’s kingdom only through the prism of Israel.  Do you remember the last thing the disciples asked Jesus in Acts – just before he ascended to heaven? 

“Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

These disciples had been around Jesus for years – watching him love and accept and bless and send so many people on the fringe and outside traditional Judaism.  But their last question was based on their Pharisee tradition – Lord – when will you restore Israel.”

This same tendency brought conflict to the early church when Gentiles began coming to the Jesus party.  The Jewish Christians steeped in Pharisaism resisted.  “You have to become Jews like us if you want into God’s Party.  You have to be circumcised and eat what we eat,” they said. 

The tough question the followers of Jesus faced in the first century is the same tough question we face in the 21^st.

Touch Question:  How do we transform our community? (How do we hit the streets with the Gospel?)

How do we get beyond our inner Pharisee that wants to build OUR kingdom – our church – and join God in the world he is building through the transformation of our community? 

            The collapse of the church culture means that our evangelism strategy must shift from “y’all come and see” to “Hey, ya’ll let’s go.” 

            My mentor author Findley Edge says it this way:  “Being transformed into the People of God means releasing our people “to invade the world for God” (Edge).”

            When we begin to release each other, our church resources, and our church strategy to invading the world with God, everything changes. 

Kingdom Growth says, ““Let’s shift our target of ministry from church membership to kingdom citizenship.”

Think about it:  What would happen if everything we do as a church shifts from growing our church to building citizenship in God’s Kingdom?

·         How different would our church budget look?  Where would most of our money need to go?

·         How would we look at the resources of our buildings and facilities differently?  Who will be using our buildings when we are building kingdom citizenships?

·         How would we look at our people resources differently?  Where would we invite our members to spend most of their time each week if our purpose is to invade the world for God?

·         How would we change the role of pastor and our ministerial staff?  Would my role shift from caring for each of us to preparing and sending each of us out to the world?

Maybe we get the picture.

Because the world has changed – everything about the church is changing too.  Some of this we will grieve.  It’s a part of our culture and life and it has meant so much to us.  And at the same time – it will also be the most spiritually challenging and nurturing and empowering times of our lives. 

I witnessed the power of this shift several months ago when I walked up into the Seekers Sunday School Class.  A year ago this class heard God calling them to take a step of faith and help our community reestablish a soup kitchen.  I know we have gotten tired of my using this illustration – but I keep using it because God has been moving through it.  This class just simply began to feed our community. It reminded me a lot of God’s kingdom feast – where everyone – rich and poor are welcomed.  I can’t tell you the number of people I have seen blessed over this year – volunteers and patrons. 

This class didn’t go out and say, “We want to get more people to come to our Sunday School. “  They just served our community and loved people.  But this is just want God did.  God grew their class.  Eventually this year, the class had to move classrooms to fit everyone there – both volunteers and patrons of the soup kitchen.  We served food, but love and Jesus were experienced. 

This is what the shift from church growth to kingdom growth is about.  As we begin focusing on transforming our community and hitting the streets with the Gospel – God does something totally else:  God transforms us!

We might all have a little Pharisee in each of us – but God has not given up on us yet.  Thanks be to God.