|
Haggai 1: 2-10 This morning's sermon is going to be somewhat different from most sermons I preach here - I'm going to talk about our church. That's a strange thing to say, because I'm sure I say a lot about our church in sermons. But rarely, if ever, have I preached a sermon about the church, simply for the sake of the church itself. I might preach about a Bible story, or a spiritual teaching for our lives, and apply it to our life together here as the church - but today the topic is Cicero United Methodist Church, and why I think it is so important for our ministry here to flourish and grow. I want to talk about our church and our community, our church and our Conference, and our church and us. As I begin, would you join me in saying our Church Mission statement: The Cicero United Methodist Church is a caring Body of Christ, open to all, working together to discover, teach, and carry out God's will.
Why is it so important to have such a place in the Cicero community? For several reasons, I believe. In our community, we are a medium size church. And that is unique; there are no other churches that I am aware of in our community that are about our size. We know that we can drive in almost any direction and find churches that are smaller than our church. Wonderful churches doing wonderful things. Many people and many great ministries are happening in those churches. However, there are many families and individuals that are looking for a more comprehensive ministry of a slightly larger church, with several worship, study, and ministry options, the higher standard of presentation that a larger church can provide, and a program that addresses all ages in their family. People looking for that might consider our church.
They also might consider one of the much larger churches in our area. We know that within a ten minute drive of our church, there are about a half-dozen churches that get a thousand or more people in worship. Again, great ministries. Many people find exactly what they need spiritually in one of those churches. The programs are excellent, professional, and effective. But there are people who feel lost in such a big place, and go looking for a church home that is slightly smaller - one that still offers a wide and varied program, but one where you can feel a little more at home, and not so much a face in the crowd.
We are the only church I know of in the area that offers the middle - a little bit of both worlds. And even if we continue to grow, I think that's a niche we have.
I think there are other ways that we are unique and essential. One has to do with authority and independence of thought. All of the churches that are larger than we are are authoritative churches. In the case of the Catholics, the authority is the Church, as expressed locally in the priest, and globally in the Pope. In the Baptist churches, and the large independent churches, the authority is in a particular interpretation of the Bible, especially as taught by the senior pastor. If you are a member of one of those churches, the church will tell you what to believe, what to do, in many cases what to give, and so on. Many people long for that kind of rigid structure in their lives.
But that is not our United Methodist way. We are encouraged to think for ourselves. Our latest national evangelistic campaign is under the emblem "Open Hearts, Open Minds, and Open Doors." Note that middle phrase, "Open Minds." If you love Jesus Christ, and desire to grow spiritually, then you are welcome here. You don't have to agree with the preacher (in fact, it's a lot more fun when you don't). You don't have to agree with your neighbor in the pew. If you are working out your faith honestly and respectfully, then come and journey with us. God is speaking through all of us - and we are listening together. For many people, the symbol of this is our open Communion table. So many churches don't have one - you know that. Nothing against the others; but how important it is, I believe, that people know that it doesn't need to be so that you can only come to the Lord's table if you have proven your eligibility. We believe that nothing should keep you away from that Table when the Lord invites you; and if the open Communion table was the only thing this church had to offer, I would give my all to keep this church here; that symbol is so important.
Then briefly, one other reason this church is so important in this community - the ministry of women. No doubt there are wonderful women leaders in each of those other larger churches. But we know that female leadership is limited in the Catholic church, in the Baptist church, in many of the Independent churches. For many men and women, that is the kind of church they are looking for. But, we need other churches where the full gifts of women are celebrated. This year -2006 -- is the 50th anniversary of the ordination of women in the United Methodist Church. Praise God. I don't want to put other churches down - I just praise God that our United Methodist tradition has opened the doors for God to use the full gifts of the women in our midst; it's important to have a church stand for that here in Cicero.
Those are some of the unique reasons for our ministry here in this community - I could name more. But I want to talk about our church in our United Methodist Conference. First, just a couple sobering numbers to consider:
In 1994, the average Sunday School attendance of all of the churches in our Conference was 11,739. Ten years later, the average attendance in all the Sunday Schools in all our churches was 7978. That's a ten year drop from 11739 to 7978 - I calculate that to be a 32% drop in ten years. In 1994, there were 17 churches with average Sunday School attendance over 100 per week; ten years later, there were 6. One of the highlights of our church year is Confirmation Sunday, and the whole process leading up to it. We might take that for granted as part of our church calendar. I was stunned to find out that over 75% of our churches did not receive a single young person by confirmation in 2004 - 305 churches out of 408 churches did not receive one young person by confirmation all year.
That's enough numbers - you get the picture. Statistics aren't everything, but they are something. And the statistics show that the churches in our Conference are on a bad curve. To be sure, you can be in a church that is declining numerically, and still be doing wonderful things. I'm not passing judgment or saying great ministries are not happening. But I'm worried. Jesus said, "Go make disciples..." and we as a Conference seem to be making less and less disciples all the time. The church I love - the one that raised and nurtured me in the faith -- is getting smaller and smaller. I don't worship the United Methodist Church; I worship Jesus Christ. And if there were no United Methodist Church, Jesus would get the Gospel out one way or another. But as I said before, there are certain essential messages I believe in - the freedom to think, the open Communion table, the celebration of diversity, the equal opportunity for women - those seem so essential to me. Those are the things that we risk losing if we don't do something to build our Methodist churches back up.
Meanwhile, by the grace of God, I am appointed to be pastor of Cicero United Methodist Church, where the worship attendance from 1994 to 2004 rose by almost 30%; and Sunday School attendance increased almost 15% -- where we don't know how to squeeze all the kids into the rooms, and have booming confirmation classes, and on and on. And our community keeps growing around us, and the potential for our church is enormous. We are so blessed here. And I guess what I'm trying to get at is that with blessing comes responsibility. God is calling us, I believe, to an absolutely essential role in our community and in our Conference. I mentioned that we are a medium sized church in our community; in our United Methodist Conference in ten years, we have gone from the ninth largest church in worship attendance to the second - and I believe that is God raising up our church for special leadership. If there is going to be a revival of churches, it will be because stronger churches helped weaker churches; because larger churches helped smaller churches, and because older, larger churches helped new churches get started.
I don't pretend to know all that that means. We have looked to share some of the programs we have developed with other churches - many of our church members are active in wider district and Conference responsibilities. There may be other ways that we can reach out. But I do know that we are called to cherish what God has given us here. It is very important, this church in this community and this conference - not to be taken for granted.
So the question is, where does that leave you and me, as people whose spiritual journey has brought us to this church for whatever reason. I believe in the ministry of this church - and I want to pledge here in front of all of you that as long as I'm pastor here - and I pray that's a long time -- I am going to be working with every bit of skill and energy God gives me to pastor a strong and growing ministry - one that holds up the Methodist values that are so important in this world. And I am inviting everybody here to be part of that special calling God has placed before us.
For the past several years, the elected leaders of this church have been charting the course. In 2000, we formed a Futures Team. That team discerned that we are, indeed, called to grow faithfully. In their work, it became clear early on that our limited facilities would hold us back, so we formed a Facilities Team. That group met for over a year, and discerned that the best next step for addressing our facilities was to seek to purchase the Conference offices attached to our church building. This would allow for an expansion in nearly every critical area where we were experiencing space restrictions. That led to the formation of a Finance Dream Team that studied the feasibility of a capital campaign to purchase the Conference facility.
And out of that came the Miracle Sunday Team. Rather than jump right into a major capital campaign, it was determined that we would be better off taking a smaller bite first - and that smaller bite was to retire the debt from the previous building project 18 years ago. So let me just say a word about Miracle Sunday.
We have learned a lot conducting this campaign; and we have had a lot of fun. But behind all that is a very important goal. We need to clear the deck so we can move forward. We know that not everybody agreed with the campaign - and we respect that. We hear it, but it can't hold us back. And next Sunday, we're going to relive one of Jesus' great miracles of 2000 years ago. And we're going to expect a miracle right here in our midst. I hope everybody will prayerfully support this effort. We still need some larger gifts if we are going to reach our goal; we still need everybody to take part in some way - whatever financial contribution you can make, or if it's simply adding your prayers and moral support - we need it.
We're in this together - and I see that as a great gift. And not just Miracle Sunday - but every ministry here in this church is a miracle. It is only possible because of God working through wonderful people day after day after day. People that have been faithfully serving God here at Cicero for years and years. And people just joining up in the last few weeks. What a fantastic, joyous place.
I could talk about our church and what God is doing here all day, and you're starting to worry that I might just do that. But let me close by saying that I love the front sign this week - This church is a gift from God - Assembly required. Well, we're assembling. And we're working. And we're giving. And we're making disciples. And we're 'growing faithfully'. We're a 'fellowship of believers.' We are a 'caring Body of Christ, open to all, working together to discover, teach, and carry out God's will."
And in God's hands, that's something pretty great.
|
Sermons 