Click to hear this sermon  sermon101114

There's a lot of talk against the church these days, and a lot of people claiming that the
Christian faith is becoming less and less relevant; so it might surprise some people to learn that church attendance has actually been going up the last couple years. 

Conversion: Find the Right Church - Acts 9: 23-31-- November 14, 2010 - Cicero United
Methodist Church - Everett J. Bassett

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There's a lot of talk against the church these days, and a lot of people claiming that the
Christian faith is becoming less and less relevant; so it might surprise some people to learn that
church attendance has actually been going up the last couple years. According to the latest
Gallup polls, in 2008 42.1% of Americans said that they attend church regularly; in 2010 that
number rose to 43.1% -- up one full percentage point. That's a significant increase in just two
years. And it does seem counter to the impression we can get from other events.

For example, Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code was a record-breaking bestseller for
years; and as you probably know, the institutional church is nothing short of a group of ruthless
murderers in the book. And as a marketing ploy Brown claimed, and convinced a lot of people,
that the facts behind his story were true. It created quite a stir, and millions and millions of
people have read the book and seen the movie. Yet people continue to go to church.

Or what about the rise of militant atheism? In the past five years there have been vigorous
defenses of atheism on the best-seller lists, in movies and on TV. Like The Da Vinci Code, many
of these vocal atheists are not just passive non-believers - they are anti-church. They see the
church as a big conspiracy that has caused major harm in the world. Sam Harris, Bill Maher,
Richard Dawkins - are just a few of the strong constant voices of atheism. One of the claims
I've seen more than once is that 16% of Americans now claim to be atheists. That's not quite
accurate. In the Gallup polls, 16% of Americans actually claim to be unaffiliated with religion -
and that's not quite the same thing. Only 1.6% of Americans actually identify themselves as
atheists. But still, it is a very vocal movement, making strong anti-church accusations.

And let's face it - the church is an easy target. Everybody knows what's wrong with the
church. There's a hundred different ways to address that topic, but what the heck -let's talk
about squirrels. It seems that a bunch of churches were infested with squirrels. Each church
dealt with the problem in its own way. One church was very careful about theological

doctrine, so after heated debate, it was decided that the squirrels were predestined by God to
be there, so they just had to put up with them. Another church wanted to get rid of them, but
they were a church heavy in evangelism and numbers, so out of habit, they just kept sending
them out to bring in more squirrels. Another church was concerned about proper worship, so
they ended up teaching the squirrels the prayers, and proper rules for the liturgy, and how
much to give to the church. Only the Methodists figured out how to get rid of them. They
baptized them and made them members, and now they only see them on Christmas and Easter.

So there you have it; many familiar charges against the church. The Church is trapped in old doctrines; the Church is just concerned with numbers, and obnoxiously evangelistic; the
Church is stuck in routines and rituals, and only concerned with money; or, the Church is
lukewarm and irrelevant. These are just a few of the possible charges against the Church.

And who could deny that we have seen evidence of every one of those claims, and worse?
Perhaps one of the most honest views of the Church was lifted up by the congregation that put

the following ad in a church journal: "An imperfect church, with an imperfect staff, seeks an
imperfect candidate to be our imperfect pastor, so that grace may abound." Or, the response
of Harry Denman, a prominent Methodist evangelist, when he received a letter from a woman
criticizing him relentlessly. He wrote back, "It's all true; pray for me." That's about all you can
say about some of the glaring failures of the church. It's all true; God help us all.

Thankfully that's not the whole story. And today, I want to lift up my best claim that, in spite of the imperfections, the Church is still an indispensible part of God's plan, and a vital part of our spiritual life, and the life of our community. And that's why, even in this secular age, and
even despite its faults, people turn to the church. 43% attend regularly. And, having recently
canvassed our neighboring businesses, as Jim Havens also did, to ask for support for our church
auction, I can report with absolute confidence that even among many of our neighbors who do
not attend church regularly, there is a strong desire for this church to be here. Why?

As many of you know, I've been preaching about the conversion of Saul in Acts 9; and I've been lifting up four components of his religious experience that are evident in that chapter.
There are not many people who are more anti-church than Saul was. So how did a murderous,
persecuting enemy of the faith turn into one of its greatest defenders? First of all, we saw that
Saul had a powerful encounter with God - an experience of radical grace that changed his life.
All of us have life-changing experiences that can point us toward faith if we are willing to go
there. Secondly, Saul was given a mentor named Ananias, who helped him to understand the
meaning of his faith-experience, and find new sight. Thirdly, Saul had to deal with the past-
breaking the old patterns, humbly accepting forgiveness, and so on.

The fourth and last point I want to make about Saul's conversion in Acts 9 is how significant the church was. As I said before, Saul's encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus did not stand on its own. In fact, it left him blind and confused. It was the nurturing of the church after that experience that shaped Saul's identity, and his faith-journey from then on. And it seems to me that we can identify three key elements that the church brought for Saul.

First of all, the church cared for him. The church, through people like Ananias and Barnabas restored Saul's sight, lowered him to safety in a basket, baptized him, took him into its caring and protective fold. And now we begin to build that other picture of the church - the one that keeps people like you and me connected to the church, despite its faults. The church is where caring happens. In our mission statement, we identify that as our first task - 'Cicero United
Methodist Church is a caring Body of Christ....' The alternate history written by its enemies
depicts the church as a power-hungry hierarchy that wants to oppress the masses. But the
truth is much simpler and actually quite beautiful- a group of people cared for each other and
for the world in the name of the One who had taken care of them - Jesus the Son of God. Jesus
asked Simon, "Do you love me?" And when Simon said Yes, then Jesus said, "Then take care of
my lambs." And that concern for caring has been woven into the life of the church. It was the
most remarkable thing about them - how much they cared. No wonder-the great caring
organizations in our society have Christian oriented names - Salvation Army, Rescue Mission, Red Cross - they were started by Christians carrying out the compassion-based ministry of
Christ. We see that genuine caring acted out all the time in this church - it is still beautiful.

The second thing the church did for Saul was to interpret for him. As I mentioned a moment ago, Saul's conversion experience left him blind and confused. He knew the most powerful experience of his life had occurred, but he didn't have the language to explain it - the concepts to understand it. The church provided the interpretation and guidance he needed to interpret what had happened to him, and what the next steps were. It's fine to claim that you're a
spiritual person on your own individual quest, and you have no need for an institutional church
to tell you how to go about it. Many people in our society claim just that. What they rarely
acknowledge that they can do that because the church has delivered the framework for their
search, and provided the language they need to describe it. The very idea that there is a loving
spirit behind the created world that can be reached through a personal spiritual quest is one
that most of us first encountered through the ministry of the church. It may have come to us
several steps removed from source; we may not be able to even trace it back. But the basic
Christian teaching - God so loved the world that he gave his only Son - is embedded in the air
we breathe mainly because of the ministry of the church. It is the source of our best thinking; it
is our moral compass. I know there are people who want to claim otherwise. I know that the
church in its imperfection has often gone astray itself, and needed to be reformed and recalled
to its basic message. But again and again I have witnessed, and experienced personally, the
power of the church to guide people on their quest for faith. Maybe it was through a Sunday
School teacher; maybe it was through an example of someone who lived out his or her faith
simply and humbly. One way or another the church has interpreted the path of faith for us.

So the church cared for Saul; the church interpreted his faith-experience for Saul: and thirdly, the church sent Saul out to accomplish his mission for Christ in the world. We say it again and again - the essential part of our faith is not about what happens here in this place, where we come together to experience Christian care and guidance. The essential part of our faith is what happens when we are sent out to make a difference in this world - converted people
living out our faith for Christ where we live and work and vote and volunteer and play and
study. This is the ultimate goal of the church - to send converted people out to make a
difference for Jesus Christ. In the United Methodist Book of Discipline it is stated like this: 'The
church exists to make disciples for the transformation of the world.' That's a pretty great
project God has started - nothing short of transforming this world into a place of hope and
peace. And the church, for all its imperfections, is a vital tool in God's plan.

This is a key time of year for us to consider the value of that; it is the middle of our annual stewardship drive, when we of the church consider our promise to God in five key areas - the vows we took to become members of the church - our prayers, our presence, our gifts
(including our financial support), our service, and our witness. We are truly blessed here at
Cicero UMC, in my view. There are so many examples of the good ministry of our church, and
the difference in the world that the members and participants in this congregation are making
every day, that it is not the least bit embarrassing to ask for everybody here to prayerfully
support this ministry. This is truly a place where people care for each other, and for the world. It is a place where faith is interpreted and people learn the power of the cross of Christ, and
what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. And then it is a place where we are equipped and sent
out to carry out Jesus' mission in the world, and to spread the Good News of God's love in a
hurting and hungry world. Acts 9 showed us how powerful that was in the life of one man -
Saul. It converted his life from one of hate and violence, to one of service and integrity. When
the church is faithful, that kind of conversion is happening again and again. We've seen it; we
expect it; we're here because of it. And oh, how this hurting world needs it. May God forgive
our flaws, and make us faithful. And by the power and direction of God's Spirit, may we all do
our part to move it forward.