Acts 2:42-47
Introduction
Moments before worship, a pastor was handed a note to share during the announcements. He read it, saying, “It says here I should announce that today there will be no B.S.” He tucked the piece of paper in his pocket and added, “I’m hoping they mean ‘Bible Study.’”
I know I have used this preacher joke before, but I love it because yes, it probably did mean “Bible Study”, but I am certain anyone in that worship service secretly wanted it to mean “Today there really will be no B.S.” Because that has become the common belief of the Church’s message. This is the common belief for Christianity, and for all religions. And because it is the common belief, the religions of the world often don’t resemble their founders. Islam and Muhammad; Buddhism and Buddha; Christianity and Jesus—look at their origins, and then look at them today, and the dots don’t always connect.
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof observed that “Muhammad raised the status of women in his time, yet today some Islamic clerics bar women from even driving. Buddha would probably be horrified by the racial segregation that Buddhists in Myanmar impose on minority Muslims. And although Jesus was a radical who challenged the establishment, Christianity has been so successful that in many parts of the world it has actually become the establishment. This all shows that religions don’t always resemble their founders.”
Former pastor Brian McLaren would agree with Kristof. In his book “The Great Spiritual Migration” McLaren writes, “Our religions often stand for the very opposite of what their founders stood for. The question becomes then, why is this? After all, founders of religions, and revered voices of them, are usually bold and charismatic visionaries. They inspire people with their fresh insights and their moral imaginations. But over time, their teachings are preserved by religions that are run by risk-averse bureaucracies.”
McLaren’s bold declaration of this truth, holds up the mirror to faith traditions and shows them, instead of being bold and visionary, religions have become obsessed with money and power—which is what many people today feel and believe has happened with Christianity—that the Church no longer reflects the ways of Jesus, that it has disconnected from him and his teachings and instead is only interested in money and power. And because Christianity has become disconnected from Jesus, many people are sick and tired of the Church. They are sick and tired of the Church’s B.S.—and I don’t mean Bible Study.
McLaren further says, “A just and generous way of life rooted in contemplation and expressed in actions of compassion and welcome—that is the kind of religion Jesus founded. And that is the kind of church Jesus wants us to be.”
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We are called to be a spiritually mature body, rooted in prayer, filled with thanksgiving and gratitude for the one from whom all blessings flow, and is outwardly focused on alleviating suffering through actions of compassion and welcome. We, as the Church, must always be looking at how we conduct ourselves to make sure we are still true to the ways of Christ and working to be this kind of church.
The question becomes then—How do we do this? How do we, the Church, be church in the way Christ calls us? This is a hard question, but it has a very simply answer. We do this by being Church.
Move 1
Being a church is not hard. Being church… that is a differ story. What is the difference? The difference is in how we conduct ourselves, and who we show ourselves to be, of course. And I am not talking about coming to worship, or not coming. I’m not talking about whether or not we do enough outreach. It is about how we conduct ourselves as followers of God and Christ Jesus. Because truthfully, there are all kinds of ways to be a church, but being church includes some very distinct specifics.
Among these specifics would be not having an attachment to material things. When a church is being Church then it is generous and not attached to material things. A church being this kind of church existed in Jerusalem, where members “would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.” Such congregations today put church mission above all else. They give generously to programs that feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, welcome strangers, rescue vulnerable children, and visit people in prison. All of it showing their way of being church meant they were not reluctant to practice extravagant generosity.
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Another specific practice of being church is offering a loving way of life that is open and receptive to others. Jesus is a model of receptivity, and he challenges us to be open to the needs of others. A church being Church in Jerusalem met this challenge and the result was, “Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the Apostles.” It is as Maya Angelou said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
In a time and place of oppression and struggle, the signs and wonders of the Apostles made people feel good again. It filled them with hope and purpose and value—everything people long to feel and experience today. How does the Church show itself today? How do people feel when it does? Does the Church earn “the goodwill of all the people.”
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And a third specific practice of being Church is to live a loving way of life marked by spiritual maturity.
In the Jerusalem church, the members “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers… they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts.”
The Church made sure the people were nourished through teaching and preaching, communion and prayer; knowing that spiritual sustenance was needed before church members could go out and feed the hungry. Through worship and fellowship we are strengthened as followers of Christ, and these practices change our behavior and make us into those who live and love and act as Christ did.
Move 2
Let’s go back to what pastor McLaren said earlier when talking about founders and leaders of religions, saying about them, “They inspire people with their fresh insights and their moral imaginations. But over time, their teachings are preserved by religions that are run by risk-averse bureaucracies.” That term “risk-averse bureaucracies” is striking to me—especially because Jesus was never “risk averse”. This got me wondering… Would we want Jesus sitting on any of our leadership teams? Would we want him as an Elder? A Youth Leader? How about your Pastor? Now before you give the obvious answer, remember…the Gospels give the perspective that Jesus wasn’t the easiest person to get along with.
Jesus criticized how people prayed. Jesus was critical of certain traditions. Jesus often called people hypocrites. Jesus once got violent in the church foyer. Jesus was always calling for those with money to give away their possessions. And Jesus was often seen with cheats, prostitutes and others who were considered lowlifes. Jesus loved speaking truth to power, challenging beliefs and traditions, all of which irritated religious leaders and their known institutional associates—which would be me… and you.
Take all of this into consideration, and then ask yourself… Would you like Jesus to be your pastor—even though he is exactly the kind of pastor the Church needs? Many pastors will tell you, their congregation would not want such a “radical” pastor.
Move 3
People want and need a church that is true to Jesus, aligned with his ministry and mission. So we have to ask ourselves, as McLaren does in his aforementioned book, “What would it mean for Christians to rediscover their faith? What would it mean for us to rediscover Christianity as ‘a just and generous way of life, rooted in contemplation and expressed in actions of compassion and welcome?’”
For this to happen, McLaren says the Church needs to “migrate.” We need to migrate from one way of life to another. We need to challenge ourselves to be more like the church of Acts, moving from expressing our faith only as a system of beliefs to expressing it as a loving way of life.
We are being Church when we migrate away from religious bureaucracy and go back to the vision of our founder, Jesus Christ. It’s a migration away from pointing fingers in condemnation to opening our hands to alleviate human suffering through actions of compassion and welcome. It’s a migration away from only looking at ourselves inside our comfortable building, to spending time making disciples outside our building. That is being Church, like the first Christians did, as described in the book of Acts. That is being Church the way Jesus intended.
Conclusion
It’s Welcome Sunday—the Sunday that marks the beginning of a new programming year in our church. Admittedly, it probably feels a lot like a regular old Sunday. But we don’t have to let it be just a regular old Sunday. And we shouldn’t. We shouldn’t because we know that’s just being a church. Jesus wants us being Church— a spiritually mature body, rooted in prayer, filled with thanksgiving and gratitude for the one from whom all blessings flow, and is outwardly focused on alleviating suffering through actions of compassion and welcome.
When we are Church in this way— we can be certain we will resemble our founder, that the dots will always connect. When we are Church in this way—we will not be risk-averse. When we are Church in this way—we will have migrated from just being a church… to being Church. Amen.
Pastoral Prayer, September 10, 2023
Gracious God, today we come into your presence in ways that are unique and special. We gather to begin anew on this Welcome Sunday which marks the beginning of a new program year for our congregation. So it is our prayer you fill us with encouragement for what we stand at the beginning of…
Fill us with encouragement for our children and young people as they begin their study, rehearsals, and fellowship. Fill us with encouragement for the inquiring minds of adults who return to meetings and disciplined study. Fill us with encouragement for the opportunity to stretch out our hands and offer your presence to those in need, those searching, those who need to be loved. We ask you deepen our faith in each new week, increasing our understanding, enlarging our dreams, and furthering our commitment to be your faithful people.
This is our prayer for we know the world around us continues to yearn for compassion, encouragement, and hope. And that is what we wish to offer when being Church—where all can come encounter you and your compassion, encouragement and hope.
Make us church where all can be fed in the ways they need. Make us church where all can find assurance you will meet them in every step of life. Make us church where all can find confidence that each one is forever in your care, surrounded by your arms of courage and strength. Make us church where all can find your nurturing spirit, where each person’s cares can be heaped upon you who loves us with an everlasting love.
This is our hope and our prayer as we step off from this Welcome Sunday into a new year as your church. By your grace and guidance may you make it a good and faithful journey.
Hear now, we ask, the individual prayers deep within our souls as we offer them in this time of Holy Silence.
All this we pray in the name of Christ Jesus who taught us to pray saying, “Our …”