One Sunday in July a number of years ago the pastor of a church we were attending got up and preached a sermon, announced that he was resigning and then got into his car with his family and left on vacation. Needless to say, we were just a bit shaken up by his rather abrupt resignation. I didn’t happen to be there that Sunday, but I soon heard about it.
The elders came to me early that week and asked if I would preach the following Sunday. I said yes, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to follow up after a rather dramatic Sunday service. So, I prayed about it and felt that the story of Abraham would do well. God told Abraham to go to a land that he would show him and I was thinking that it was a good story about moving on into an unknown future and leaving the past behind. So, I crafted what I felt was a rather good message and that Sunday I got up and preached. My goal was to encourage the congregation and have them look ahead with confidence into an uncertain future and not dwell on what just took place.
I was pleased with the message and was sure that it was clear, until a couple of days later when the elders called again, this time to tell me that one of the families was going to leave the church. What they got out of my message was that God was telling them to go! Anyway, the elders asked if we would meet with the family, which we did that week. I explained that when I said go, I didn’t mean leave the church. What was mostly behind their decision was the fact that in the culture that they came from a pastor was central to a church and pastors didn’t leave. They were really shaken up about the pastor’s departure. We were able to reassure them and they didn’t go.
This week’s message is the final chapter of our vision series and it is based around the passage from Matthew 28 where Jesus tells the disciples to, “go and make disciples.” I am speaking this Sunday at The Sunday Gathering and I confess that I am little concerned that when I tell the congregation to GO, they just might all leave!
I think that sometimes we think that Go means something far too big for us and we get intimidated by that command. Not all of us are travelers and not all of us are particularly articulate. But, when Jesus said go, he did suggest that we start in our own community. Go, can actually be quite simple and as easy as helping out a neighbour, inviting someone to church, talking about our own challenges and how our faith has helped us. In fact, I would say that Go rarely means getting up on a soapbox (if you can even find such an item) and preaching. Most of the time Go is just being the best you that you can be in your community and taking advantage of the doors that open to share what Christ has done in your life.
Anyway, I’m speaking this Sunday and I would prefer that people come, if possible, rather than go. So, see you at The Sunday Gathering, 10:30am for Food and Friendship and 11:00am for Worship and Inspiration. I’ll try and be clearer this Sunday, then I was so many years ago!
- Kevin.