Spans
and Bridges
Sermon preached by the Reverend Brad Beeman
July 24, 2005
Scripture:
Romans 8:26-39 and Matthew 13:31-33 & 44-52
The
question I’ll be dealing with for the sermon this morning came
from an email sent to us as a response to the request for sermon topics.
What I find interesting is that the question has come up dozens of
times over the past year in a wide variety of places but only twice
in the sermon topic requests. One of the specific questions states,
“How can we as a congregation and church break out of the mold
of inertia and conventionality, and begin to reverse the tide of gradual
membership decline and reach out and bring in a host of new members,
who usually sleep in on Sunday mornings?”
As
is my habit, let me begin responding to the question with a story
that happened just over a week ago, an event that kind of took my
breath away and seems defining as I try and respond to the question
of inertia and conventionality.
It
was pizza night at Yosemite. After a long day of hiking, no one felt
like cooking. Off we went into Curry Village for pizza. The young
girls had been climbing rocks all week. This one, just beyond the
tables where we were eating, was about fifteen feet tall with a smooth
and slanted face on one side and severe drop-offs on all other sides.
Cora has had some lessons from her dad about rock climbing, but suffice
it to say that in this case it took help from some of the other girls
to finally get her to the top. Once there she immediately got, what
we call in the rock climbing – the shakes. It is that point
of realization that if you slip or fall there will be serious injury.
The body begins to panic and then shake and one becomes immobile.
I happened to glance over and saw her literally clinging to the top
of the boulder. I wasn’t the only one. Scott and Kevin, two
other fathers also saw her and noticed the body language. We moved
as if in planned unison. Scott went up the face barefoot and reached
her first. I went up the other side and found a secure location. Kevin
took a position at the base just in case she slipped – he would
catch her. All of us spoke calmly to her and assured her that she
was now safe. Scott then carefully lowered her to me. Once in my arms
the emotions exploded and she let herself feel the intensity of it
all. After a few moments she realized that we still had to get her
down. She got nervous again and we again reassured her. Scott then
moved down to me and grabbed an edge of the top of the rock. Kevin
took his place below Scott. I solidified my position so that I could
use both hands to do what came next. I assured Cora that we would
not let her fall and then gently handed her off to Scott, who with
one hand lowered her to Kevin who then handed her to Dorothy. Scott
and I then went down and the event was over, other than the support
and encouragement given Cora by the group.
Now, how
does that story relate to what will re-grow or turn a church around?
There are three or four elements that are represented in the story.
First, we have to spend time examining our rock, our focus so that
we will better recognize how to move securely forward. Second, we
have to make sure that the route we choose to take is the one that
will get us where we need to go. Third, we need to know that if and
when we get into trouble, there will be trusted and appropriate help
to get us through. Fourth, once we succeed, we celebrate and surround
each other with love and care and go about our business looking for
whatever may be the next adventure.
(continued...)
"Spans
and Bridges" by Rev. Brad Beeman, July 24, 2005
First,
let’s take a few moments to examine the rock so that we can find
the appropriate route to take. It is imperative that we study the focus
first before moving into action; in other words, what is to be our central
focus? I believe that we may have lost our center, lost sight of that
on which we need to focus. We need to find it again so that we can take
the time necessary to concentrate on it. If we can find our center again
then other things will assuredly fall into place including changing
the direction of the inertia from loss to gain.
We
are in a time of incredible change, even and maybe most particularly
in the church. Dan Kimball, in his books, The Emerging Church and its
companion, Emerging Worship calls this time “a time of pacing.”
He calls it a time of waiting, of wondering, of searching…but
for what? Social Anthropologist Michael Regele calls it a time of preparation
for the next major national or global crisis – a time of nervous
anticipation as the church awaits what we hope will be the next great
awakening as a response to the crisis. He further states, “The
church has a choice: to die as a result of resistance to change or to
die in order to live.” I agree that we are in a time of pacing.
I do not believe we are about to die. I do, however, agree that we have
tremendous potential for rebirth. The work of rebirth begins with the
toughest part: self-examination, the kind of self-examination that has
to precede any examination of mission or vision or even changes in worship.
We have to look deeply within to see who we are, what we are, and what
is at our center. It is in that kind of reexamination that we will find
our center or our focus again.
This
last Wednesday evening members of The Bridge took a field trip. We didn’t
go far. We moved from our room on the third floor and came here, into
this room. We didn’t however come immediately into this room.
We began just outside the front doors of the sanctuary, listened to
the traffic go by, watched people as they passed, and then came through
the double doors into the Narthex. You may not be aware but the Narthex
is a bridge – by design it is the transition area that moves us
from the world outside toward this place inside. If done well, the Narthex
provides us that moment of transition, that few seconds of transformation
and that preparation for what is to come next. And what comes next?
What comes next is this time of redefining, refocusing and reestablishing
our center so that we can then return through the Narthex – again
a transition – into the world. In walking through the Narthex,
our focus must begin to change. Then, once we step into the sanctuary,
we allow the Spirit and the architecture to speak to us. We do that
and we will rediscover our center while allowing our souls an opportunity
for appropriate nourishment.
Notice
a few things as you look around this morning. By design, from the back
of the sanctuary the eye is naturally drawn. Because of the pillars,
an optical illusion makes the sanctuary appear to become narrower the
closer you get to the front. These front pillars come in even more forcing
our eyes to move more and more toward the center. It is where our eyes
become naturally drawn that is at the center of who we are. In our sanctuary
there are to be three things. First is the altar – or the table
of grace. The altar is where the elements are set as we prepare for
and celebrate communion. It is where our offerings are placed to be
blessed and used for ministry in the church and in the world. It is
the representation of our offering of ourselves to God. It is the first
thing at the center of our focus in worship. Then, our eyes move above
the organ to the cross – again, a part of what is to be at our
center or our core. Third and finally, above the cross is the stained
glass window of Jesus standing at the door and knocking, hoping that
we will open that door to a relationship unlike any other. As Christian
disciples we have to think about, talk about, make decision about and
contemplate what these symbols mean for us. They are the representative
symbols of Jesus as man and as Christ, of God’s unfailing love
for us and what symbolically become the bridge that spans earth and
heaven.
If
we are to turn things around we must come to terms with what Christ
means to us and for us, the realization that what we offer in this place
is something that can’t be found anywhere else. I’m not
talking about the worship service, or the music, or the flowers, or
the people – these are wonderful gifts but they are not the core.
At our very core we are to be offering something much deeper and richer
than any of those other things. We are to be consistently and constantly
offering people a spiritual relationship with God in and through Jesus
Christ, and we offer it because of what it has done for us. Offering
them the church does little. Relationships with people can be found
pretty much anywhere. Offering them Christ is something altogether different.
(continued...)
"Spans
and Bridges" by Rev. Brad Beeman, July 24, 2005
What
does that have to do with a church that is either growing or diminishing?
Everything, a church that is growing knows what is at its center.
It knows why it exists and for what purpose. It is centered in a love
of God, is constantly exploring the work of Christ in relationship
with Christ and seeks, because of that center, to introduce people
to Christ. Its purpose is to assist people to feel God’s presence,
to feel at home and to feel welcomed. This then becomes a church that
loves unconditionally and accepts everyone so that by trust and with
the relationships, they might become better, more whole, more welcoming,
loving and accepting of others. There is more but you get the point.
Do we know what is at our center, what is our primary focus or why
and for what we exist?
Second,
we have to know what we are to do; we recognize the need and choose
our route. Once recognized, we need to take action. In the parables
form Matthew’s gospel regarding buying the field, locating the
pearl and catching the fish – it becomes quickly apparent that
our singular priority in life is to be appropriate disciples of Christ.
That becomes the foundation for everything else we do. Our lives become
living sacrifices so focused on Christ that any who look at us, listen
to us, or watch us see little or no difference between Christ’s
actions as found in scripture and ours. Now we may differ on what
those actions are but the actions
become deeply
apparent if we are living the life of faith. We come here to get better
at that, to be challenged, supported, loved and motivated.
Loving
God means seeking God. Again it is why we have this room and this
gathering each Sunday morning. When we sing, we praise God and seek
a deeper understanding of what that means. When we pray we seek God
and God’s presence in very specific places in our lives and
the lives of others. When we listen – like now – it is
to hear some pearl, some treasure that will bring some deeper understanding
of what God is and how we are to respond to that. Then we have to
leave. In as much as we are routed through the sanctuary, there comes
a point where we can’t stay here. This is only a part of the
intended cycle of God. Without our leaving, the cycle simply wouldn’t
work. There is a danger, however. If we leave without an understanding
of why we were here, then the work will not get done. We won’t
invite people here. We won’t understand why they could benefit
from being here. We would simply go about our everyday lives and not
give our work as disciples another thought. My fear is that we may
be doing just that. If we don’t leave here determined that others
will benefit from a relationship with Christ and with this church,
then I’m unclear as to why we exist.
The
appropriate route is to move from our worlds through the Narthex,
into the sanctuary where we become renewed and encouraged to leave
and upon leaving, inviting others into this holy relationship because
of what it has done for us. We invite because of how we see the table,
the cross and because we have opened the door to Christ. As a result,
our lives have changed. We invite because we have found something
in this place that we haven’t found anywhere else – relationships
grounded in trust, bound in the love and acceptance that we can’t
help but share with others. We find it here because God in Christ
is here loving, accepting and motivating us. That’s the route.
What does this have to do with growing a church or changing the inertia?
Everything, for if we know our focus and know why we’re here,
we will get excited about it and share it with others. Then people
will come – not because of the pastor or the programs, not because
of the worship – they will come looking for what they see in
us.
Third,
but what happens when we get into trouble and for many in the church
and even in the denomination, they would say that is where we are
right now. I have to agree. Our response, however, needs to be like
that of Jesus. Like Jesus did with the telling of parables, we reframe
the discussion and turn it into something potentially positive or
more focused. In other words, instead of seeing this as a time of
despair and nervousness, we see this time as a time of tremendous
opportunity. You know what this is a time of immense
(continued...)
"Spans
and Bridges" by Rev. Brad Beeman, July 24, 2005
opportunity.
It is a time of redefining, reexamination and even rebuilding. If
done well, if done with integrity and if done with Christ at our center,
rebuild we will. In the case of Cora on the rock, it was obvious what
needed to happen, obvious who needed to do it and obvious –
to a point – on how it was to be done. It began with the recognition
of the current reality. She was stuck – maybe we are as well.
Friends,
at the risk of offending I need to tell you, the worship at Santa
Monica First United Methodist Church has not changed significantly
in the last fifty-five years – maybe more. Yet so much has changed
in the world – four (plus) wars, the growth of computers, changes
in television – not all of which are good, the way we experience
movies and the way movies are made. There have been huge changes in
music, in how we dress, what we drive and the way technology continues
to influence our lives. Space travel has expanded to mars, populations
continue to explode, demographics in this country are changing rapidly,
attention spans have diminished, religious understanding and scholarship
has changed, teaching and education has changed, even dangers we never
thought possible seem to be at our front door. Yet we haven’t
changed what we offer in worship. Some say we shouldn’t. I believe
them to be wrong.
We
haven’t offered any significant alternatives to the kind of
worship we’ve done for more than half a century. There have
been some experiments but they have not lasted. As steadfast as our
message needs to be, the ways we communicate that message must be
– at least in part – a response to the cultural needs
that surround us. The church must be the bridge that spans the gap
between the culture, the community and faith. If we don’t come
to terms with the culture that surrounds us, if we don’t explore
alternatives that will be meaningful to a wider group of this exploring
population – and they are exploring in deeply meaningful ways
- we will not grow. It’s as simple as that. Please know that
I am not saying that this service needs to change – it is essential
that we keep this intact. It is in offering choices, other alternatives
that growth could happen. But notice that this is number three on
the list. First, we find our theological center again. Then we explore
that route that moves us from world to sanctuary to world again. Then
we look at ways to reach out to others. That’s the order and
the order is essential.
At
the end of each service of worship we follow the light and the cross
out of the sanctuary and move back into the world – a world
of culture, of idiosyncrasies, of influences and opportunities. Did
you know that if you stand in the middle of the center aisle and look
back toward the Narthex, there is a cross formed by the wall between
double doors that lead outside? At the top of the cross is a sign
that says, exit. Above that is the balcony and above that is another
picture of Jesus standing with a shepherd’s crook in one arm
and a lamb in the other. We are Christ’s flock. He is inviting
us to enter and continue to build his kingdom, part of which is in
this world. We exit so that we can, in action and attitude, love God
out there and love our neighbor. That too is an invitation. Like hands
clasped together and building a bridge that gets a little girl to
safety, we come together each week to search for the call of Christ
in our lives. At the end of that time we stand in unison and sing,
we hear the benediction that is to send us forth. In standing together
we symbolically grasp hands and offer ourselves to God and to each
other so that others may find sanctuary here.
The cross of Christ bridges the span of who and what we were before
and the possibilities that are there in the future and like Paul stated
so clearly in Romans, we can go with absolute confidence because “nothing
– absolutely nothing - can separate us from the love of God”
and “all things work together for good for those who love the
Lord and are called according to his purpose.” Our challenge
is to now go live it with the confidence of that understanding –
but do go - and share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ
– our center, our rock, our redeemer – then watch the
inertia shift.
Amen.
©Brad
Beeman , 2005. Permission is given for brief quotation with attribution.
All other rights reserved. |
