Why Encourage?

Ever since January 18, when God gave Old Union Church its theme verse of 1 Thessalonians 5:11, we have been considering ways to live up to our calling to “encourage one another and build each other up.”  Last month I asked you to consider the ways you have experienced or offered encouragement, as inspiration for how we can grow from what we are already doing.  Next month, I’ll suggest ways that we can learn more about the community around us, so that we can offer encouragement and up-building in ways that will touch their lives.  But before that, I’d like to ask a simple question:

Why do we reach out to our community?

We may provide outreach as a congregation for at least three reasons.

1. RECRUITMENT: We may reach out to our community in order to attract new members to our church.  We want our church to continue as a viable institution, so we need new people to fill our pews and help to pay the bills.  On top of that, it makes us feel better to see new faces on a Sunday morning…especially if they are the faces of young families.  The name of our now-defunct “Church Growth Team” captures essence of this mindset.  It is a selfish motivation for outreach: our focus is on how we can benefit from our outreach efforts.  It has nothing to do with the love for others to which Jesus calls us.  It is about getting other people to take care of us.

2. PITY: We would never call it this, of course.  We give it other names: “taking care of those in need,” or “sharing our blessings with people who have none.”  The PC label for this attitude is paternalism.  When this is our motive for outreach, we give the message that we are better than the people we are helping.  Their lives are such a mess that we can’t imagine how they will get by without us.  We pat ourselves on the back because we have chosen to help them.  This sort of outreach almost always comes with a message: “I’m better than you.  You need me.”  We may be helping those we reach out to, but it generally comes at the cost of a piece of their dignity.

3. SERVICE: When our outreach is based on an attitude of service, we are blind ourselves.  Our actions are motivated by our love for the other, flowing out of the love of Christ.  When reach others as true servants, we give no thought to ourselves: how we may benefit from our service, how we compare to those we serve, or how the other person may be indebted to us because of our service.  It is a self-giving act, following the model of Jesus Christ, who emptied himself out of love (Philippians 2:7).

It is difficult to reach out to others as an act of service, because it requires us to forget about ourselves.  We may gain nothing, or even lose out, from our outreach, but we don’t care.  We care only about that other person, and about the love God has for them.  Outreach-as-service is a high and difficult calling.  With God’s aid, are we up for it?

How to Encourage

It’s time to take the next step.  God has been doing remarkable things lately at Old Union Church, and he has more amazing stuff up his sleeve.

Last summer, we all knew things were declining at our church, but no one wanted to talk about it.  Either we hoped it was just a phase that we’d snap out of, or we were worried that there was nothing we could do.  In the fall, we began to look seriously at the concerns we had about Old Union Church.  We quit pretending they would go away if we ignored them.  But we still didn’t know what to do about it.  In January, God took advantage of our openness to his guidance by giving Old Union a theme verse: “Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are already doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).  There’s been a renewed level of excitement and energy in our congregation, and we’ve been thinking, talking, and praying about how this verse can point us into the future.

The next step is to move beyond talking and thinking, and to begin acting.  Our theme verse hints that our future endeavors will be rooted in what we are already doing.  We are already a beacon of encouragement for the discouraged and a place where broken lives can be rebuilt.  How can we become more focused on this mission and enhance our work to follow God’s calling?  Here’s how you can help.  In a spirit of prayerful reflection, write down your answers to the following questions:

1.    In what ways have you been encouraged and built up by the people and ministry of Old Union Church?

2.    What have you done in the past to encourage or build up other people, either individually or as part of a church project?

3.    How have you witnessed others being encouraged and built up?

4.    What can we learn from our mistakes?  What could we have done differently when we failed to encourage and build up people, or even discouraged and tore them down? 

When you’ve answered these questions, you will have a list of ways that Old Union encourages people and builds them up.  Your list may include things from receiving a get-well card to sending Operation Christmas Child boxes.  Please give your list to me or to a session member, preferably before the next session meeting on April 20.  Knowing what we’ve already done will give us clues about what we can start to do.

The session is also looking for people to be part of a team to organize new ventures in encouragement and building up.  We will begin with what we’re calling “small, low-risk experiments:” easy and simple things to try out to see if they work or not.  If they do, we can build on them.  If they don’t, we can learn from them to plan the next experiment.  Please let me know if you’d like to be part of this team.

I'm Available

When the prophet Isaiah had his vision of the glory of the Lord in the temple (Isaiah 6:1-8), he heard God asking who would take on the mission that he had.  Isaiah boldly proclaimed “Here am I. Send me!”  He is wonderful role model of how we can respond to the challenges that the Lord sends to us.

Often, however, it’s hard for us to know exactly what God wants us to do.  Very, very few of us have an experience like Isaiah’s, where the Lord speaks to us in a voice that’s impossible to ignore.  The life of discipleship for us more frequently involves trying to sense what God’s will is for us, or what mission he has in mind for us.  Over the years, I’ve had a number of people who have been so excited about the faith that they were eager to do anything for God.  But they didn’t know what God wanted them to do.  My advice was simple: tell God that you’re available, and he’ll give you a mission.  If you express your desire to serve, God will honor it.  Things will fall into place, usually in surprising ways, and you’ll find yourself making a difference in the name of Jesus Christ.  You may even find it so enjoyable and fulfilling that you wonder if it’s too easy.  That’s because you’re doing exactly what God has called you to do.

Since our special worship service on January 18, Old Union has been considering the theme verse that God has given to us:

“Encourage one another, and build each other up.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

This commission from the Lord is something that comes quite naturally to Old Union Church.  Many of us have had our lives and faith strengthened through the ministry of this church, and many of us have experienced the satisfaction of encouraging others.

Now that we understand the identity of our church, the next step is to figure out how to live it.  What can we do to encourage and build people up?  We do a decent job within our church family, but what about everyone else?  How can Old Union become a beacon of encouragement and up-building in our community?

To answer these questions, all we need to do is tell God, “I’m available.”  Old Union Church is available.  We’re ready and eager to serve God.  And then we watch.  We’ll discover people in our community who are discouraged, whose lives have been shattered.  Opportunities will fall in our lap to make difference in the lives of the hurting people of our community.  It won’t start with something heroic or splashy, but with simple, easy activity that will eventually develop into something that takes our breath away.

Please join me in telling God, “We’re available.  Old Union Church is ready to do what you want us to do.  Here we are.  Send us.”  Then watch to see what God will show us.

A Special Worship Service

Old Union had an unusual worship service on January 18.  Usually, as the pastor I select a Bible passage and tell the congregation how I think it applies to our lives.  Instead, you selected 14 Bible passages in advance, and told each other how you think they apply to our congregation.  During worship, we divided into five groups, each led by two elders, for lively and uplifting discussion.  By the end of the service I sensed a renewed excitement about our church, and how God is at work in it.

I was also very aware of how God was at work through the entire process: through the session as we planned the event, and through the congregation as He brought to people’s minds powerful and insightful Bible passages.  During the week before this worship service, I thought to myself, “Could I even dare to imagine that God would have all the groups select the same passage as the one that best describes our church?”  With 14 excellent passages to choose from, and five groups doing the choosing, it didn’t seem possible.  But it was.  After all, all things are possible with God!  All five groups selected the same passage, which was also the passage the session had selected during their discussion the week before.  Apparently God wants to use this Scripture to guide us in our ministry and mission:

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, 

just as in fact you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

As exciting as the January 18 worship was, it is only the beginning.  Now that we have a guiding vision for our church, it’s time to do something with it.  On January 25 I began a series of sermons on this passage, and the verses that come before and after it, to help us learn as much from it as possible.  The session is developing plans for how all of us can use this verse focus our attention on what God wants us to do.  As we grow in our understanding what God is telling us, we will be able to focus the life of our church around it, giving purpose and meaning to all that we do.

Spend some time reflecting on these questions that arise from the passage.

• What can we do to encourage one another?
• What can we do to encourage our community?
• What can we do to build each other up?
• What can we do build up our community?
• How can we do these things together, as a church?
• How can we do these things as individual members?

The session and I would love to hear your suggestions and ideas!

This is not something new.  The discussion groups on the 18th talked about the many ways that Old Union and its people already encourage and build people up.  By focusing on these gifts and considering how we can use them to touch a discouraged and broken-down world, we can be part of God’s work to increase his kingdom.

 Peter

Encourage and Build Up

Old Union had an unusual worship service on January 18.  Usually, as the pastor I select a Bible passage and tell the congregation how I think it applies to our lives.  Instead, you selected 14 Bible passages in advance, and told each other how you think they apply to our congregation.  During worship, we divided into five groups, each led by two elders, for lively and uplifting discussion.  By the end of the service I sensed a renewed excitement about our church, and how God is at work in it.

I was also very aware of how God was at work through the entire process: through the session as we planned the event, and through the congregation as He brought to people’s minds powerful and insightful Bible passages.  During the week before this worship service, I thought to myself, “Could I even dare to imagine that God would have all the groups select the same passage as the one that best describes our church?”  With 14 excellent passages to choose from, and five groups doing the choosing, it didn’t seem possible.  But it was.  After all, all things are possible with God!  All five groups selected the same passage, which was also the passage the session had selected during their discussion the week before.  Apparently God wants to use this Scripture to guide us in our ministry and mission:

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up,

just as in fact you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

As exciting as the January 18 worship was, it is only the beginning.  Now that we have a guiding vision for our church, it’s time to do something with it.  On January 25 I began a series of sermons on this passage, and the verses that come before and after it, to help us learn as much from it as possible.  The session is developing plans for how all of us can use this verse focus our attention on what God wants us to do.  As we grow in our understanding what God is telling us, we will be able to focus the life of our church around it, giving purpose and meaning to all that we do.

Spend some time reflecting on these questions that arise from the passage.

What can we do to encourage one another?

What can we do to encourage our community?

What can we do to build each other up?

What can we do build up our community?

How can we do these things together, as a church?

How can we do these things as individual members?

The session and I would love to hear your suggestions and ideas!

This is not something new.  The discussion groups on the 18^th talked about the many ways that Old Union and its people already encourage and build people up.  By focusing on these gifts and considering how we can use them to touch a discouraged and broken-down world, we can be part of God’s work to increase his kingdom.

Peter

The Church Follows the Eyes

When I took my motorcycle safety course, I learned that “your wheels follow your eyes.”  If you look at the pothole you want to avoid, you’ll end up hitting it.  I learned instead to look at the patch of good pavement, and that’s where my bike would go.

Over the past several months, our eyes have been on the potholes of our church.  We’re very aware of the problems and difficulties that Old Union is facing, and many of us are worried about the future of our congregation.  But, to paraphrase my motorcycle instructors, the church follows the eyes.  As long as we focus on our church’s weaknesses and problems, we’ll never get onto the clean pavement.  Our ride will keep getting rockier and rockier.  It’s wise to be aware of the “potholes” around us, but our future lies on the good pavement.

The session and I encourage you to pay attention to what God is doing in our church.  What gifts and opportunities has he given us?  To word it another way, what are we good at as a congregation?  God’s desire for us is to respond to what he is doing in our church and in the community around us.  He wants us to use the gifts with which he’s blessed us.  He longs for us to build upon the strengths that we have.

Since September, the session has been working actively to plan for Old Union’s future.  There’s a good chance it will look very different from what we’re doing now.  Some of us may be uncomfortable with the plans that God has for the church.  But the session is convinced that the health of our congregation depends upon following God’s guidance as he leads us into the unknown.

To move forward, we first need to know where we are now.  You can’t reach a destination without knowing your starting point.  We cannot use the gifts God has given us if we don’t know what they are.  We can’t respond to what God is doing if we don’t know what he is doing.

The session wants your help to recognize how God is at work in our church.  As always, the best way to learn from God is through Scripture.  Prayerfully consider which story, or passage, or character from the Bible can help us understand what God is doing at Old Union.  Is there a passage that captures the spirit of our congregation?  Is there someone in the Bible who has been in a similar position to ours?  Is there a teaching from God that we can take to heart?  Is there a story in Scripture that relates to Old Union?  Please make time to discover where God leads you in Scripture.  Remember: we are not looking for the problems our church has, but for signs of what God is doing and how he has equipped us.

No later than January 11, please tell me what Scripture passages you find.  Your responses will help the session to recognize God’s presence and work as it leads us into the future the Lord has prepared for us.

Peter

Being a Healthy Church

We’ve been talking a lot lately about  how our church is doing.  Many of us feel anxiety, and perhaps even despair, when we look at some of the troubling trends in our congregation.  But there is only one way to have a healthy church.

Quit worrying about it.

None of us can create or sustain a healthy church.  Only the Holy Spirit can do that.  He is the one who calls a church into existence, gathers people into it, and shapes them into a community that builds the kingdom of God.  Let God do his work.  If Old Union truly is his church, he’ll be at work in it.  He will build it and fill it with life.  But if the Spirit doesn’t do it, there’s nothing any of us could ever do to make up for it.  All we could do on our own is make a cheap human imitation of what church is supposed to be.  I don’t know about you, but I have no desire to be part of a pretend church.  Either God fills it and empowers it, or it’s not worth having.

So what should we do?  After all, we can’t just sit on our hands and wait for God to act, can we?  To be honest, sometimes that’s the best thing we can do.  There have been too many times in my life when I was convinced I knew what the best path was.  All I ended up doing was getting in the way of God’s plans.  However, there are a few things that each of us can do to be part of the Lord’s work in our church.

1. Quit worrying about how well or poorly the church is doing.  Trust God to take care of it.  He’s been at work in Old Union for more than 200 years, at times that were much more dire than this.  To paraphrase Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, who of us by worrying can add a single spark to our church?

2. Pray.  First, pray for yourself.  A healthy church is a community of disciples.  The spirit of a church is only as strong as the spirit of its members.  Are you a disciple: a student and follower of Jesus Christ?  If so, what are you doing to develop your relationship with him?  How are you deepening your commitment, growing in your knowledge, taking the risks that God has put in front of you.?  Second, pray for our church.  I don’t mean “Pray that God will be at work in the church.”  He already is.  And I don’t mean “Pray for our church to grow.”  That’s up to God.  I mean “Pray that Old Union will pay attention to God and will get with his program.”

3. Find and follow our purpose.  God created Old Union for a reason.  It  is not to gather for an hour of worship once a week and make sure we can pay the bills to have our Sunday morning gathering.  Sunday worship is essential and critical.  But our church’s purpose grows out from that worship.  What does God want us to do?  Why did he create our church?  The reason for being a church isn’t about the building, the pastor, the budget, the next church program or function.  These are things to help the church pursue its purpose, but they are not the goal God has placed before us.  Then, once you figure out what God wants from us as a church, do it.   Get on board with what the Lord is already doing.  When we do that, there’s no stopping us.