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Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Kevin
E. Dayhoff
Last
night I covered the Westminster mayor and common council meeting for the
newspaper: “Broad range of topics discussed at the Westminster mayor and common
council meeting Monday night http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/2015/08/broad-range-of-topics-discussed-at.html. And I had spent almost all
day in church at Grace Lutheran Church in Westminster.
At
the end of the day, as I was writing the article on the council meeting, I
could help but to recall one of my all-time favorite sermons about change.
Both
Westminster city government and Grace Lutheran Church need to continue to
change in order to continue to relevant.
Fortunately,
Grace Lutheran, under the leadership of Pastors Martha and Kevin Clementson, and
church council – especially Council President Ron Fairchild are continuing in
the correct direction of adapting with the times.
Along
with my sister-in-law, United Methodist Church Pastor Sarah Babylon Dorrance, this
simply must be some of the brightest and best church leadership around.
Same
goes with the Westminster city government.
As
I sat last night in the Westminster council chambers beside city attorney
Elissa Levan, I reflected upon the fact that I have now been going to
Westminster City Hall since the late 1950s and have always been impressed with
the level of care, diligence and expertise exhibited by our government at work.
But
the current administration simply must be one of the best in the state of
Maryland – and the current mayor and common council are going some great
things. We should all be proud and help in any way we can.
So,
anyway, this one of my all-time favorite sermons…. June 14, 2001: "Sharing
Faith in a New Century” By Lutheran Bishop H. Gerard Knoche
"Sharing
Faith in a New Century”
By
Lutheran Bishop H. Gerard Knoche
** Here is the text of the sermon by Lutheran Synod Bishop H. Gerard Knoche at Synod Assembly Opening Worship, June 14, 2001, based on Acts 17:16-34; given at Western Maryland College in Westminster, MD.
Permission is given for
congregations to reproduce it for their own use.
This
one of my all-time favorite sermons…. June 14, 2001: "Sharing Faith in a
New Century” By Lutheran Bishop H. Gerard Knoche http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/2001/06/thisone-of-my-all-time-favorite-sermons.html
______________________________
If
we do not share faith in the new century many of the congregations in the
Delaware-Maryland Synod will die. I am
sorry that my first words as a preacher at Synod Assembly carry bad news. But in my travels around the synod in these
last nine months, I have come across too many congregations where the largest
demographic group in the congregation is over 55. Two urban churches have closed since I took
office, both being sold to other denominations that expect to make a go of
it. If they can do it, why can’t
we? It was almost shocking last Sunday
to be in a congregation where there were more teenagers worshiping than in any
other church I have attended (20 or 25 at least). “If this church can do it, why can’t
others?” I asked myself. Churches that will survive, that will grow,
are churches that have, as our assembly theme suggests, learned how to share
the faith in a new century.
The lesson from Acts tells the story of Paul sharing the faith with a group of people who are new to him. Paul has been left in Athens and is depressed to see the city is full of idols. Apparently there were beautiful statues to every imaginable Greek god or goddess throughout the city. He is waiting for Silas and Timothy and so decides to argue for the faith with the Jews in the synagogue and with the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. Like other Athenians, the text says, they “spent their time in nothing but telling or hearing something new.”
The lesson from Acts tells the story of Paul sharing the faith with a group of people who are new to him. Paul has been left in Athens and is depressed to see the city is full of idols. Apparently there were beautiful statues to every imaginable Greek god or goddess throughout the city. He is waiting for Silas and Timothy and so decides to argue for the faith with the Jews in the synagogue and with the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. Like other Athenians, the text says, they “spent their time in nothing but telling or hearing something new.”
This
evening I would like to look at Paul’s speech to see what it might tell us
about Sharing Faith in a New Century.
First, Paul went out to the Areopagus, the public square where folks
gathered to talk. Unlike times past, we
cannot expect folks to come to church looking for us. Those who do that are largely those who have
had some experience with the church in their background. Increasingly, there are many Americans who
have had no contact with Christianity, know nothing about it—and may even feel
it is irrelevant or may be hostile to it.
A telling commentary on our culture is the fact that ”spell check” in
Windows 95 does not have all the books of the Bible in its list, much less many
of the Biblical names. They are not part
of the general basic knowledge base. In
campus ministry it was not unusual to have a student come in timidly saying,
“I’m dating a Christian. I have no idea
what that means. Can you tell me?” To share faith in the new century we will
need to go to the unchurched where they are.
Secondly, Paul knew the world-view of those with whom he wanted to communicate. He had discovered their altar to an unknown God and he knew that they shared his belief that God had created all things. He spoke the gospel to them in a form they were most likely to understand and accept. We need to be more attentive to our audience. Leonard Sweet is one of the writers who has researched what the postmodern culture is like. I don’t have time to share all the characteristics, but I will say that it is a culture more interested in spiritual experience than spiritual arguments. They want to feel God more than they want to understand God. Stories of personal belief are more convincing than explanations of doctrine.
Secondly, Paul knew the world-view of those with whom he wanted to communicate. He had discovered their altar to an unknown God and he knew that they shared his belief that God had created all things. He spoke the gospel to them in a form they were most likely to understand and accept. We need to be more attentive to our audience. Leonard Sweet is one of the writers who has researched what the postmodern culture is like. I don’t have time to share all the characteristics, but I will say that it is a culture more interested in spiritual experience than spiritual arguments. They want to feel God more than they want to understand God. Stories of personal belief are more convincing than explanations of doctrine.
Today’s
culture also seems to be able to hold two contradictory notions at the same
time. F. Scott Fitzgerald said that the
test of a first-class mind is the ability to be able to hold two opposing ideas
in the head at the same time and still be able to function. Book titles catch the doublespeak with
”Ordinary Miracles” or “Open Secrets” and movies with “True Lies.” More significantly, it is true that new
houses are bigger while families are smaller; more farmers are making big bucks
and more farmers are facing financial catastrophe; more people are becoming
rich than ever before and more people are becoming poor than ever before. The postmodern is able to handle paradox,
which in other days we have called dialectics.
We need to understand the worldview of the unchurched if we are to share
the faith in a new century.
Thirdly, and perhaps most obviously, we need to know the gospel ourselves.
Paul makes his connection to their thought world and then moves on to talk of
God’s judgment, of their need to repent, and of the resurrection. It pains me to read that pollsters have determined that four out of ten folks who call themselves Christians are unable to name the four Gospels. If the way that
Jesus speaks to us and guides us in our life is through the Scriptures, then
if we don’t know the Scriptures we don’t know Jesus very well either. There
is no question in my mind that the key factor in churches that are reaching
out to share the faith is the rostered and lay leadership. Folks who know Jesus, know the Bible, and are excited about sharing that relationship with
others do it best. To share faith in the new century, we need to deepen our
Biblical knowledge and our love of Jesus, so that we will have something
fresh and dynamic to share.
One of the fears about changing the way things have always been with new
music or the use of the Internet or coffee house churches is that what is most precious to us will be lost. The story is told that in the early days of the Tennessee Valley project, a dilapidated homestead was going to be torn down. They were damming the river and the valley would be flooded out. A new split-level ranch house was built for the Appalachian family on a hillside nearby.
The day of the flooding arrived and the bulldozers were there to tear down the old house. The family refused to move out of the homestead. Finally, out of desperation, a social worker was called to find out what the problem was. “We ain’t goin’ anywhere” was the reply. The social worker pleaded with them to tell her what the problem was and why they would not move into their beautiful new home.
Thirdly, and perhaps most obviously, we need to know the gospel ourselves.
Paul makes his connection to their thought world and then moves on to talk of
God’s judgment, of their need to repent, and of the resurrection. It pains me to read that pollsters have determined that four out of ten folks who call themselves Christians are unable to name the four Gospels. If the way that
Jesus speaks to us and guides us in our life is through the Scriptures, then
if we don’t know the Scriptures we don’t know Jesus very well either. There
is no question in my mind that the key factor in churches that are reaching
out to share the faith is the rostered and lay leadership. Folks who know Jesus, know the Bible, and are excited about sharing that relationship with
others do it best. To share faith in the new century, we need to deepen our
Biblical knowledge and our love of Jesus, so that we will have something
fresh and dynamic to share.
One of the fears about changing the way things have always been with new
music or the use of the Internet or coffee house churches is that what is most precious to us will be lost. The story is told that in the early days of the Tennessee Valley project, a dilapidated homestead was going to be torn down. They were damming the river and the valley would be flooded out. A new split-level ranch house was built for the Appalachian family on a hillside nearby.
The day of the flooding arrived and the bulldozers were there to tear down the old house. The family refused to move out of the homestead. Finally, out of desperation, a social worker was called to find out what the problem was. “We ain’t goin’ anywhere” was the reply. The social worker pleaded with them to tell her what the problem was and why they would not move into their beautiful new home.
”See
that fire over there?” the man asked, pointing to a blazing fire in the
primitive hearth of the log cabin. “My grandpa built that fire over a hundred years ago,” the man explained. “He never let it go out, for he had no matches and it was a long way to the neighbors’. Then my pa tended the fire, and since he died, I tended it. None of us let it die, and I ain’t goin’ to move away and let grandpa’s fire go out.”
The social worker got an idea. She arranged for a large apple butter kettle
to be delivered to the home. The hot coals would be scooped up and transported to the new home, kindling would be added, and the grandfather’s
fire would never go out. The Appalachian family accepted and moved up to the
split-level rancher on the hillside after they knew that they would have the
fire of their ancestors.
As we share faith in the new century, we will keep the fire—of water, of bread and wine, of the book that is a love letter from God, but we will move to new places, where we do things differently, lest the flood of modernity wipe us out. Paul and Jesus would want it that way. Then, just like with Paul, some will scoff; others will hear us again; and some will become believers.
primitive hearth of the log cabin. “My grandpa built that fire over a hundred years ago,” the man explained. “He never let it go out, for he had no matches and it was a long way to the neighbors’. Then my pa tended the fire, and since he died, I tended it. None of us let it die, and I ain’t goin’ to move away and let grandpa’s fire go out.”
The social worker got an idea. She arranged for a large apple butter kettle
to be delivered to the home. The hot coals would be scooped up and transported to the new home, kindling would be added, and the grandfather’s
fire would never go out. The Appalachian family accepted and moved up to the
split-level rancher on the hillside after they knew that they would have the
fire of their ancestors.
As we share faith in the new century, we will keep the fire—of water, of bread and wine, of the book that is a love letter from God, but we will move to new places, where we do things differently, lest the flood of modernity wipe us out. Paul and Jesus would want it that way. Then, just like with Paul, some will scoff; others will hear us again; and some will become believers.
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