Category: Church Transformation

Bent Reeds, Flickering Lamps

The disciple Matthew was a flickering lamp. As a Roman tax collector, Matthew was banned from synagogue and Temple, so he could not read the Sacred Scrolls in Hebrew. But Matthew’s gospel quotes the Septuagint, a Greek translation of his day. After Jesus healed a man in the Temple, the Pharisees started looking for a way to kill him. So Jesus and his disciples were hiding in the wilderness. Jesus healed all who came to him, but he told them not to tell anyone where he was. Those days reminded Matthew of this Old Testament prophesy.

Let us hear the Word of GOD:

The LORD says, “Here is my servant, whom I strengthened — The one I have chosen, with whom I am pleased. I have filled him with my spirit, and he will bring justice to every nation. He will not shout or raise his voice or make loud speeches in the streets. He will not break off a bent reed nor put out a flickering lamp. He will bring lasting justice to all. He will not lose hope or courage; he will establish justice on the earth. Distant lands eagerly wait for his teachings.”

–Isaiah 42:1-4 (CEV)

I stand in the pulpit today with fear and trembling. I know that a good word can turn your life around. It can draw you closer to God. And I know that the wrong word might be the last straw that turns you away from the church. I have great respect for the pulpit.

My respect for the pulpit goes double for THIS particular pulpit. Pastor Jim Burton is one of the most consistently loving pastors I know. I wish that he were here now. I can only dream of matching his love for this church, and his skill with the word of God. I stand before God in Brother Jim’s pulpit. I am eager to hear him again. I’ll say for Jim something that I am not quick to say about anyone: Jim Burton is my pastor.

My Grampa, the Rev. Roy Tucker, has graced this pulpit as well. You can’t inherit 50 years’ experience in the pulpit. Grampa, I wish I had been a better student. We have real preachin in the Cabin every Saturday night. You’ll be blessed if you come hear him speak. We’ll get Grampa back up here in May, if not before.

I had the pulpit one Sunday evening at Shady Grove Church in Alabama, back in 1993. We did some singing, and I did some preaching. When it was all done most folks agreed that we should have just kept on singing. I shook hands with one of the elders on my way out, and he said, “Well, I’m gonna pray for you.” I think that was less than a glowing endorsement.

I haven’t done much preaching since then. I wanted to, but a funny thing happened while I was looking for a church home.

My wife and I tried to fit in at one church, but it was tooooooo soft. Then we tried another church. That church was tooooooo hard. Finally, we tried Tropical Sands Christian Church. This church was just riiiiiight.

That soft church was a big church. They had classes and trips and apple pies, but trying to get involved was like trying to hop a freight train while it roars past. There was so much going on that we just got lost in the shuffle. By the time they finally had us on the mailing list, we had long since shuffled out the door. They still don’t know that we left.

The hard church was a brand new church. We were ready to take on the world. I put a few miles on the standup bass in the praise band at that church. We started in a living room and moved to an auditorium. Eventually, I started playing saxophone, and everything about that church started changing. The heat was on to get better musicians, to pick the right people, and to line up on the doctrine.

A lot of good people got shuffled aside while I was blowing saxophone, center stage. I did not want that spotlight. I made some very dear Christian friends in that church. Most of them left before I did. It was like the love for the worship got stronger than the love for people.

I knew about Tropical Sands because of the Christian music coffee house here the first Sunday of every month. The coffee house all about fellowship; nobody knows or cares what church you come from. It’s live and let live, let’s jam and have some coffee. That’s how I knew a lot of the people here.

That first Sunday morning I came to this church, I was hiding out. I could not stand the thought of blowing one more note on that Brass Idol of a saxophone. I just wanted to worship in peace. So I came in here that Sunday morning, just to hide out.

People, I was so tired. I don’t remember what Brother Jim preached on that day – I’m not even sure if he was speaking that day. I just remember how sweet it was to be out there, and not up here. The choir and organ made the most beautiful music. They looked like they really loved doing it. In the lobby after church, I remember everyone was so civil. I mean civil! Friendly and polite. I was so impressed to find old fashion friendliness, everywhere I turned.

I came back a couple of times, and I decided it was safe to bring my wife, or my Grampa, or my children. I don’t worry that somebody I invite to church might be shunned, or ignored, or put on the spot. When I want people to meet my Christian friends, I invite them to This church.

Some of you know we have an informal worship gathering every Saturday at the Log Cabin, across the parking lot. That gathering was started by a bunch of hard church dropouts. We just wanted to worship like we used to, when we kept things simple and everybody got to play. We were so tired of rules that we made three rules right away. No rehearsals. No collection plates. No amplifiers.

Anyone who wants to sing or play with us is invited to do so. No experience necessary. No skills required.

We felt like religious refugees, and Tropical Sands Christian Church let us use the Cabin. This church never once tried to steer or restrict the Log Cabin service, in any way. It has never once tried to recruit me or any other member from that group. This church gave us encouragement, love and freedom to worship however we pleased, for no payback.

What an incredible testimony that was.

Let’s see if that arrangement has done any good. People who swore they would never again set foot in a church sing and pray with us every Saturday night. Grampa pulls the Gospel plough right straight down the middle every week. People who were afraid to sing in public two years ago are now worship leaders at other churches, thanks to the Log Cabin. As far as I know, we have not brought any members into this church. But we have sent a lot of people back to church somewhere. I say that knowing that you care more about the role up yonder than the roles on the church computer.

Nearly 200 years ago, this denomination — The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) — was founded on an official rejection of all man-made creeds and doctrines. Our constitution is the New Testament, and our battle cry is the prayer of Christ for Christian unity.

Think about that name – The Christian Church – PARENTHESIS – Disciples of Christ – CLOSE PARENTHESIS. That’s the official name. We couldn’t agree on which one to use. We just decided it wasn’t worth fighting about. That’s how deep this goes.

Think about how this church encourages non-denominational worship. Think about the cabin, and the coffee house. That’s what Jesus prayed for, that we might be as one, not as many. This church is serious about Christian unity.

Our Elders and Deacons really lead this church. Most of us don’t know who they are. When they think nobody is looking, they patch the roof, paint the walls, cut the grass and balance the books. They like to give in secret, and they don’t like to take any credit. That something else they got out of the Bible, that humble servant thing. They’ve got it down to a science.

A lot of those people are shaking their heads and saying what’s the big deal? Isn’t church SUPPOSED to be a nice, safe place? Tropical Sands, you don’t even know how precious you are. You’re so used to loving each other, and anyone else who walks through the door, that you don’t even know how weird that is. Praise God, you are a peculiar people.

It is said that the times are changing, and the church has to change with ’em. I speak for more than one new member of this church when I say, We don’t want you to change. We’ll have more of the same, please. Nobody’s perfect; we understand. Everything humans touch, including this church, falls short of God’s plan. But you are proof of what the disciple Peter meant when he said in his letter, “Above all, practice fervent love, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”

The church is told get ready for change. Brace yourselves for Mohawks and nose rings. Meanwhile, meek and lowly people are looking for a safe place to worship God, and they don’t all wear Mohawks and nose rings.

Meek is a funny word. Children are meek. Kittens are meek. Jesus is meek. Some people don’t like that; they want a savior who is as loud, brash, and forceful as they are. We are bombarded with shouting and violence. “In your face” is the buzzword for intrusive, forceful communication.

Some people think it’s OK to get in your face for God. But to a meek and lowly person, “in your face” is an assault, and they won’t fight back. They just leave. To the poor in spirit, “in your face” is poison. They won’t fight back either. They just give up.

I know a lot of you have been praying for me, and maybe occasionally biting your tongues. Thank you for not getting in my face.

This church will change. Everything changes. We will grow, and we will grow even closer to God. We will see new faces, and we will hear new songs. Never be afraid to invite people here; this church will do you proud. Just remember, we are not interested in how the world would change us, but how can we change the world. We are in the world, but we are not of it.

We met at [a congregant]’s house a few weeks ago to discuss small group meetings. That would be Bible studies and fellowship circles in our homes, during the week. That fits the New Testament pattern, and it fills a spiritual need that the larger service might not provide. That is exciting, but it is not new to this church. This church began as a small group, and it has sponsored many small groups. [Elders] are heading up that effort, and now is a good time to get small groups going again.

Many of our Elders are also Prayer Warriors. A few weeks ago my wife received a prayer card from the Christian Women’s Fellowship. Ladies, that was good medicine. At a deep, personal level, God wants to be intimate with his children. He loves it when we talk to him.

I had the privilege of giving chapel service for our preschool this week. Have you ever been surrounded by tiny children who really want to talk to you? If you have, you might know some of the joy that God feels when we pray.

Next Sunday [02/18/01], at 9 a.m., we’re starting an eight-week study on prayer in the cabin, across the parking lot. If you don’t have a Sunday school class, or if you want to learn more about prayer with us, you are invited to attend. Please don’t get upset if we run out of books; just show up, and we’ll work it out.

Prayer and fellowship are nothing new to this church. Like I said, we’ll have more of the same, please.

To the new members, and to those who may not be active in the church, let me point out how difficult it must be to make nice to all these people. We see so many new faces now that the last visitor might slip away without a courteous greeting. We need to help make sure that does not happen.

We are free to come and go as we please, but we have found a church home. Let’s move in. Let’s get behind all the do-ers in the church and see if we can learn to show the love of God like they do. Let’s all read the bulletin, get involved, and keep up with each other. This is your church, too.

To the visitors, let me say you are always welcome here. I was a visitor once, myself. There is never any pressure to join this church. Please, worship with us to your heart’s content. This is God’s church, and you are God’s child, so this must be your church, too. This church was loving to me and my family long before we joined. That’s just how they treat people here.

If you ARE looking for a church home, this is the only one I can recommend. No one here wants to hurt you, or even to change you. Changing you is not our job. Like I said, you can trust these people.

Now it might be that some of the Elders, deacons and members of this church still don’t get what I’m saying, or why I’m so excited. What’s the big deal? The deal is you did something right, over and over, dependably, every time.

Here’s what you did:

  • I was hungry, and you fed me.
  • I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink.
  • I was a stranger, and you received me into your homes.
  • I was naked, and you clothed me.
  • I was sick and you took care of me.
  • I was in prison, and you visited me.

I am also impressed by what you didn’t do:

  • A bent reed you did not break.
  • A flickering lamp you did not snuff out.

You remind me of somebody else I know …

Thank God, you look familiar.

Delivered at Tropical Sands Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ) – February 11, 2001

God’s Will vs. Our Decisions

There is not one instance in scripture where God wills the death or failure of a church. Revelation has seven letters warning seven churches to shape up or perish.

If you don’t read the Disciples bloggers, don’t start now. Some of them seem to think that church death is good. By some theologies, everything that happens is therefore God’s will, God being all-powerful and all-knowing. Why, then, would God advise anyone in any direction whatsoever? No, God does not will the damnation of souls or the demise of congregations. At worst, God permits us to choose between life and death.

The choice, however, is ours alone. God clearly prefers we choose life. God told the children of Israel how to survive as a nation, but let them choose to survive or perish.

If you believe Que Sera, Sera — what will be, will be — then you rest secure in your own salvation and write off every failure as God’s will. If that’s true, then it must be God’s will that I work with dreamers, because I want ministry partners who are willing to work for the kingdom of God!

Some pastors move from church to church, leaving each one in worse shape than before. Some people, given free rein, would move from committee to committee, ministry to ministry, job to job, confident that God wills success or failure, thereby relieving them of any responsibility.

At a General Assembly — the national gathering of Disciples of Christ — in Ft. Worth a few years ago, I overheard a minister at lunch say, “The last two churches I served are dead, and they deserved to die!” There’s a man of great faith — in the wrong theology!

2 Peter 3:9 says God is “not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.” Isn’t God powerful enough to get what God wants? So why do any perish? Because we decide to repent or not, to struggle or surrender, to be generous or greedy.

Generally speaking, Disciples are not Calvinists. But you wouldn’t know it to hear them talk of the inevitable demise of traditional church. Where traditional church is deemed too unholy to survive, the traditional church that actually survives and thrives becomes demonized as something unnatural, or essentially unChristian.

I’m not saying that church success requires a big-steeple church — but a big-steeple church building can certainly be useful real estate. I’m not saying that Elders must be old — but elderly people just might remember some essential element of church success from days gone by. I’m not saying that a 500-seat auditorium is a good fit for a 50-member congregation — but both can be excellent springboards for going forward as church!

I pray that pastors who decide that a church should fail will instead realize that they have failed to inspire the congregation. Instead of giving troubled churches an interim pastor, perhaps we should give troubled pastors an interim career, where they can shake their faith in inevitable death and regain the notion that with God, nothing is impossible.

Darkness & Light

The first time I read the Bible cover-to-cover, I was shocked by what I found. I thought I would have to wrestle with a condemning, torturous God who set the bar impossibly high in order to harm as many people as possible. That’s a common message in some quarters, is it not?

Instead, I found evidence of an expansive, loving God who desires our awareness and genuine love in return.

It was a simple, inexpensive King James Version. Yes, I did sense a harshness in some of the stories, couched as they were in ancient English. But for every verse on condemnation, I found dozens on forgiveness and leniency. For every statement of prejudice, I found dozens on inclusiveness and equality in the eyes of God. I noticed passages commonly used to endorse cruelty were actually there to document ancient crudeness, not to promote it.

What’s going on? Aren’t we all reading the same Bible? The KJV is another imperfect human attempt at translating inspired scripture, erring on the side of sternness where other attempts are accused of leniency. Even so, if I can find more love than hate even in the KJV, why do so many use it to condemn?

“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” — John 3:19.

I think it really is that simple. In our fallen state, we love to condemn, set ourselves above others, and see ourselves among the elite chosen ones. If I devalue myself, I’m more inclined to set others even lower in an attempt to feel better.

I will continue to preach the love of God, because I am convinced that it is the correct message. I am convinced by the same Bible used to condemn people and condone hatred. I am instructed to avoid condemning anyone, so I gleefully dwell in the light!

Youth Among the Prophets

“After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, tambourines, flutes and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying. The Spirit of the LORD will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.”

As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. When they arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he joined in their prophesying. When all those who had formerly known him saw him prophesying with the prophets, they asked each other, “What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”

As a preaching musician who became a musical preacher, I sometimes wonder whether music per se has gained unworthy supremacy among the elements of worship. Formality and production values look very similar from the pews, and that look has something in common with silk flowers and faux finishes.

I remember the days when I would play opening and closing hymns, then go outside for a smoke during the sermon. Musicians, I note, are sometimes held to a far lower standard of behavior because they are so vital to the church. And the impact on churches of losing a worship leader can be as devastating as the loss of a beloved pastor.

But for some reason, these verses from 1 Samuel 10 came to mind just before tonight’s weekly youth gathering. Maybe it was that pile of bongos and ukuleles in my office. There’s a lot of musical talent in our youth group, but some of our youth are reluctant to share that talent in a worship setting.

So I gathered up the bongos, tambourines, ukuleles, song flutes and the like and spread them out. I prepared communion and read how Saul went from a good son seeking donkeys to the first king over Israel after a worship experience. He became a different person.

Our youth group often prays, certainly studies a lot of lessons, but rarely worships. For too many years, Sunday morning youth group has been their escape from worship services that fail to inspire them.

So tonight, I told them that worship was historically a way to communicate with God, just like prayer and meditation. I encouraged them to grab a drum, uke or flute and simply worship, freestyle and without regard for quality of sound. As they worshipped, they were to listen for inspiration from God, however they might perceive it. Upon gaining said inspiration, they were to each take communion and return to the worship circle.

The results were amazing. After five minutes of what settled into a nice rhythmic melody, they took communion one by one and returned to the circle. The music faded and I invited each one to share what God had told them.

One habitually bored youth noted that he was energized, and it showed. Another with chronic gothic depression noted how happy it made her feel. The shy one confidently shared the sense of unity and potential she felt in the circle.

I was envious of how God spoke to them. One teen was inspired to feed the poor, then spent several minutes challenging and testing the idea before deciding it was truly God’s message and not his imagination. Two related expansive visions, one of our worship parade passing the sick and depressed, inspiring them to turn tools, weapons and crutches into their own instruments of worship; the other of this circle of makeshift musicians drawing crowds to hear the word of God.

I urged them to hold on to these visions and use them to shape a worship experience that would be inviting to their unchurched friends. I told them my visions of a recurring drum circle of youth, and a “third service” tapping something beyond the traditional/contemporary divide.

Sometimes I think the noninstrumental Church of Christ is on to something — musically, not theologically. But on this night, I am reminded of the power of music to capture and tap imagination. I remember how I felt when worship music was inclusive and encouraging, and I long for those days again.

I don’t know if there has been a permanent change in our youth group, but I know that I have a revived appreciation of the power of worship to connect us to God. I pray we can find ways to strip the elitism that has turned worship into a show, and restore the sacred jam session that makes each of us a different person, one who dares to dance among the prophets.

The Wages of Sin

“For the wages of sin is death” … the evidence surrounds us. It shows itself in pelicans struggling under a coating of oil, arteries blocked by a layer of cholesterol, highways littered with the aftermath of driver distractions and impairments.

A special curse settles around those who think that life is fair and we all deserve what we get. Consider the pelican. This swamp of “sin” that we so cautiously label flows over the innocent and the guilty alike. Each generation’s innocent vice has a legacy in its mortality statistics. Believe it or not, the wages of sin is death.

To me, the equation is a definition. “Sin” is sin because it leads to death. Thus the sin of eating pork falls to cooking technology, only to rise again with enlightened dietary guidelines. The nuances of Mosaic Law are lost as the plague loses steam or the mode of transmission shifts.

Too many people have been driven from church by the concept of a kill-party God, a Deity somehow offended by the concept of human enjoyment. Others fail to see the mercy of Christ in so-called followers who delight in declaring, “I told you so!” Still others see the death that comes from practices and attitudes that believers might excuse as not specifically prohibited.

Addiction recovery was underground at my church. AA meetings were held at arms’ length, happening off to the side, after hours. There was, and still is, a subset of members who “tried one” cup of coffee, never touched a cigarette and settled down with one lifelong partner. But even in that subset, every family has someone who’s doctor shopping for pain pills, babying an overtaxed liver or taking a sabbatical in rehab.

I had a friend, a soaring violinist, the equal of any concert musician I’ve ever heard. He played at my installation service. Despite his humility and encouragement of others, there was no disguising his talent, that it was head-and-shoulders above anything else in the room.

My friend was both a Christian and a “Christian.” He was active in another, more conservative church, one with exacting standards for deacons and membership. He was a member in good standing, probably a deacon, a good boy in Sunday School.

My friend died of an overdose of inhalants. We never knew. He had been sober for years, a 12-step soldier in NA for years. He was also a non-participant for many more years of sobriety — and a few weeks of relapse.

It has been said that AA and 12-step recovery programs are the biggest development in western spirituality since the Protestant Reformation. Luther rejected the Pope; 12-steppers rejected religion in all its trappings, including the priesthood. It’s truly a priesthood of believers in a Higher Power that goes unlabeled, peer-to-peer ministry, sinner-to-sinner therapy. If you want to talk spirituality with Boomers and X-ers, you’ll find common ground with more people quoting the Big Book than quoting scripture.

But a funny thing happens on the way to sober living. All this Higher Power talk leads some people back to the faith of their fathers. Jesus takes on the Higher Power role and does a darned good job of it. The bad news is that the church and Sunday School take on the role of small groups, with mixed results. Too often, the pastor becomes the sponsor without knowing what the sponsee has been through.

My friend found a church, but he lost touch with his recovery community. He had no sponsor to call, no meeting to attend where he could confess his sins and find absolution. So he fell off the wagon and died.

The wages of sin is death. That doesn’t mean that my friend deserved to die. Nor was it entirely his sin that caused this death. Some people knew and said nothing — can’t embarrass my friend in front of the church, can we? Some chose to ignore the telltale signs of intoxication; others were relieved when he started skipping the worship service. Still others survived similar struggles in their own lives and kept them hidden, trying to fit in with the never-a-sip, never-a-puff sainthood.

Sins all around, and their wages is death.

About half of my hospice deathbed vigils have been with people who were too young to die but too burdened by addiction to carry on. My generation knew that our drug of choice was slightly better than tobacco and booze, then translated “less harmful” to read “harmless.” Our children listened and found their own intoxicants. People who were too embarrassed to ask the pastor for a good rehab center have nowhere else to turn for a decent memorial service.

Morality for me is a matter of life and death, but that’s again definitional. It isn’t about impressing me, or God, for that matter, or honoring God by hitting some arbitrary, ceremonial standard. It’s about living another day.

Oh, no, we don’t talk about these things. What’s the big deal about putting a buzz on? “Be careful that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.” I’ve shredded my buzz permit for the sake of those who think if I can do it, it must be ok. Because for them, if not for me, it might cause trouble.

My friend is honored every week at a fellowship meal. The meal follows six simultaneous small group meetings, which follow an hour of worship and 12-step lessons or testimony. No one is put down for their particular “sin” because all of us have sinned. Recovering addicts find a safe worship environment where they aren’t led into temptation by those who take lightly the power of “sin.”

And those teatotalers? They’re learning to speak 12-step, to turn their lives over to a Higher Power, to accept people as they are. We learn that redemption is real, that no one is scarred for life.

“… but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Where wrath, judgment, prejudice and the Law have failed us, the grace, mercy and humility of Christ prevail. Love does indeed cover a multitude of sins!

Emerging from, as, & into church

I confess a hint of envy as I walked into the little Disciples church, a narrow sanctuary of hardwood and brick tucked into downtown Lake Worth, Florida. The little building had nowhere to grow, with barely an alley separating it from the commercial development crowding in around it. I imagined it could be a welcome refuge to downtowners seeking a moment of solice.

I was there to meet the regional minister for our first discussion of licensed ministry. He was there for a church transformation meeting. The elderly congregation no longer matched the demographics of its neighborhood. I saw a low-overhead oasis; the congregation saw shrinking coffers, rising power bills and nowhere to park.

How sad it was to learn of that church’s closing. They eventually settled on a vision, selling the building and setting up trust funds to support Disciples missions from now on. And the building is once again a thriving little church — though not a Disciples church.

Another Disciples church had offered refuge for a group of musicians who simply wanted to praise God without rehearsals, agendas or collection plates. They let us use their Log Cabin youth building on Saturday nights. When I finally sat through a Sunday morning service, I found the unfettered Gospel, a kindly pastor and a small but welcoming congregation. I joined, got my license, spent five years assisting the kindly pastor, and became senior pastor when he retired four years ago.

I’ve always had a thing for storefront churches. I remember jamming at a storefront church gathering where 25 people raised the roof and broke firecode capacity. It was an urban translation of the little country churches scattered around my small hometown. I had friends having storefront church in a bar. But when their pastor became unaffordable, I was already committed to a church, and grateful for the oversight, accountability and benefits package.

The Log Cabin gospel jam appealed to my storefront church sensibilities. I still think the out-of-business church could have thrived as a storefront church, welcoming in the passers-by alongside the retired commuters who were its last members.

That storefront church in a bar tired of going without a pastor, had trouble paying the rent and grew weary of the weekly setup/breakdown routine. I invited them to join our church, but they were already serving people who had rejected traditional church.

There was no way I could change worship styles at our church. Our mark of distinction was preserving the organ/choir worship style in a community where one by one, many churches were hitching up the rock-n-roll horse, trying to keep up with the megachurches.

So, we started a second service with a worship combo instead of the choir, collection boxes instead of the plate and intinction instead of little cups and trays. It’s not that simple, but those differences illustrate the direction of the service. Now the little storefront/bar church congregation happily worships in a worship-ready building as members of our church. The traditional members who once wondered about “those people” now see them as fellow members, volunteers, supporters and good Christian friends.

How sad that one group would struggle to keep a building while another struggles to find for affordable worship space. Isn’t the sanctuary empty most of the time? Oh sure, you could rent the space to some other denomination, but wouldn’t you rather share the freedom of Discipleship and diversify the church? Wouldn’t you rather share your sanctuary with people who also share the burdens of maintenance, missions and ministerial salaries?

My advice to all those closet emergents toughing it out in the established church: Talk to your pastor, deacons and elders. Let them know that there are new tribes of believers who would love the freedom of a Disciples church — if only it weren’t so “churchy”! Tell them those tribes love the Lord and have a passion to share Him in new and vibrant ways.

I think every church, especially every Disciples church, should host one or more services featuring the kind of music “we don’t like.” Those that no longer match the demographics of their neighborhood should conduct a service that does. Encourage your youth to conduct their own service. Then, encourage cross-service attendance and talent sharing, so everyone can discover what we have in common.

That “mainstream” church I serve was established 52 years ago in a trailer park rec hall. Members still speak fondly of sweeping up beer cans and mopping the floors to prepare for service. They can relate to tales of transforming a bar into a church and back week after week. They can relate to running from church “their” way and trying it “our own” way because that’s exactly how they started 52 years ago.

God’s church — give it away! Give it to your children, your neighbors, your friends. But stick around to share as needed what you’ve learned. One Lord, One Table, and in this case, one pastor and one building. One Body, many parts.

A Tweet from God

Tropical Sands Christian Church has an interesting mix of people. We have people who established their musical taste long before the Beatles, and those who are too young to name a single Beatles tune. (And the very fact that I selected that band tells you where I fall in that spectrum.) We have members who don’t know we have a website, and others who think that printing a paper newsletter is for dinosaurs.

Today, just having a website is not enough. You need a Facebook page and a Twitter account, and there are probably other significant social networking services that I’ve neglected.

Facebook is a social networking website that lets people post photos, links and updates. If you list someone as a friend on Facebook, their updates will display on your news page, and vice versa.

Say what you will about the trivia that passes for news on Facebook. Between my wife and my daughter, it gives me easy access to more photos of my new grandson than any wallet can hold.

I use Facebook to stay in touch with most members of our youth group and many other members of the church as well. The easiest way to contact other churches is to find the pastor’s Facebook page. If you want to friend me on Facebook, you’ll find my page at Facebook.com/pastor.joel.tucker. And to keep track of our youth group, go to Facebook and do a search for “That Youth Thing” to find their Facebook page.

Twitter takes that simple concept and narrows it down one step further. On Twitter, you’re given 140 characters to post an update. If someone “follows” you, your Tweets, as these updates are called, will show up on their page.

I post church news and other tweets on Twitter.com/TropicalSands. I don’t find very many church members on Twitter, but I do find a lot of Disciples ministers, schools and churches posting news updates on Twitter.

I like the structure of a Tweet — 140 characters, no more. In my view, people are cheating the system by including a web address to a larger article. A Tweet, like haiku, should be a self-contained idea, and not an introduction to a larger article. A pure Tweet is self-contained. And then there’s the perfect Tweet — a self-contained idea that is exactly 140 characters long. I love the challenge of structuring Twitter posts to be pure and perfect Tweets!

Recently, a Tweet led to a blog that challenged Disciples to write a statement of faith in under 250 words. I responded that we should raise the bar with something even shorter, that a 140-character Tweet was big enough for a well-written statement of faith.

I came up with the following: “Emmanuel, God with us. The Creator, most exalted, became the Lamb, most humbled. That’s how to love, how much He loves, and how big love is.”

But I continued playing with the format, typing various ideas and scriptures into the character-counting Twitter input panel. I was astounded to discover that the classic English version of the most popular Jesus quotation was in itself a pure and perfect 140-character Tweet! It goes like this: For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Who knew that John 3:16, taken from the popular King James Bible, would be a perfect fit for one of the internet’s most popular and exacting social networks, some 400 years after its translation?

I get a feeling that God knew. I’m sure God cracked a smile when the Twitter developers said, “140 characters. That’s enough.” It’s all the creed we need!

It reminds me of an ingenious mission statement, written decades ago for Tropical Sands but still Tweet-ready with 61 characters to spare: “Our mission as Disciples of Christ is to Profess Faith, Proclaim Hope, and Practice Love.”

Lion of Judah, King of Israel

I preached this sermon on October 29, 2006, and guess what — the vision came true! A 53-year-old church still satisfies even charter members with traditional worship, draws young families with contemporary worship and children’s church, and builds a new community on a recovery ministry. With 150-200 worshipers on Sunday and 60-90 at Celebrate Recovery, Tropical Sands Christian Church thrives because the old supports the new — and vice versa! The premise is simple: If you want to settle down in the grasslands of Judah, you have to help the other tribes take the Promised Land!

The Bible is our story. It is not merely a story about the children of Israel, because all people are basically the same. We all have the same passions, potential and shortcomings. The Bible is not just a book of history, because people haven’t really changed much in the last 8,000 years. Adultery, thievery, murder, and, yes, bravery, intelligence and faithfulness, are no more or less common in the book of Genesis, than they are today.

The Bible is the inspired message of God to mankind, for all generations. The writer of Hebrews illustrates this with a thousand-year-old Psalm that looked back six centuries to a timeless truth. That truth applies as well today as it did 2,000 years ago. Let’s hear the Word of the LORD.

So then, as the Holy Spirit says, “If you hear God’s voice today, do not be stubborn, as your ancestors were when they rebelled against God, as they were that day in the desert when they put him to the test. There they put me to the test and tried me, says God, although they had seen what I did for forty years. And so I was angry with those people and said, ‘They are always disloyal and refuse to obey my commands.’ I was angry and made a solemn promise: ‘They will never enter the land where I would have given them rest.'”

My fellow believers, be careful that no one among you has a heart so evil and unbelieving that he will turn away from the living God. Instead, in order that none of you be deceived by sin and become stubborn, you must help one another every day, as long as the word “Today” in the scripture applies to us. For we are all partners with Christ if we hold firmly to the end the confidence we had at the beginning.

— Hebrews 3:7-14 (GNB)

So what is the story being told here? In Numbers, Chapter 13, When Moses led the children of Israel to the Jordan River, they sent spies across to search out the Promised Land. The spies come back saying yes, it’s a great place, everything God said it would be. But the people who live there are giants, and we are like grasshoppers in their eyes. Joshua and Caleb said no, we’re strong enough, and the LORD has promised us that land. The people rebelled, and in his anger God swore that generation would never enter the land. That generation lost the promise because of hard hearts and a lack of faith. Instead, they went back to the desert and roamed like nomads for 40 years.

600 years later, the writer of Psalm 95 repeated the story to say that God still had a promise for the people, and that they could hear His voice and seize the promise, or reject it out of fear and return to the desert.

The Psalmist and the writer of Hebrews, are telling us that throughout history, there’s a promise of God to be fulfilled, and God will punish those who rejected His promise. Fulfill the promise, or spend decades in the desert.

In 1958, Tropical Sands Christian Church was chartered to spread the Gospel and make Disciples in northern Palm Beach County. We could have said, no, the housing costs are enormous there! We like it right where we are. We’ll never make it! But we didn’t say that. We obeyed God, we crossed the Jordan River and took the Promised Land. And for 48 years, we’ve been living in the Promised Land. But the Word of God remains true as long as it is called Today. There were other Promised Lands along the way — new locations, new ministries, and new pastors. And since it is still called Today, there must be Promised Lands to seize today as well.

In 1958, this church had 50 active members. Now, it has about 90 active members. At one time, we had close to 200. Did we fail to cross the Jordan River when we let our youth program fall to the wayside? Did we fail to cross the Jordan River when we stuck with old programs and lesson plans that suit us fine but failed to speak to the next generation? Are we failing to cross the Jordan River when we let our elderly miss church because their eyesight fails and their licenses expire? We do a great job of feeding ourselves, but aren’t we supposed to be feeding others as well? From where I stand, we are once again looking across the Jordan River. We have another chance to reach baby boomers, another chance to reach young adults, and an opportunity to keep seniors active longer. Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.

We have a Celebrate Recovery program starting next year, and we all know that a lot of us Baby Boomers and Generation-X’ers are either doing drugs or trying to kick the habit. Is that a Promised Land we’re ready to take, or just a program for those other people? We have a young adult program going on Sunday afternoons, and we all know how those young adults like to rock-n-roll and get creative. Is that a Promised Land we’re ready to take, or just another distraction from the real service? We’re trying to keep our contemporary service going Sunday evenings. Is that a Promised Land we’re willing to fight for, or just another tick on the electric bill? We have half-empty cars driving by seniors in need every Sunday morning. Is ride-sharing a Promised Land we can seize, or a nuisance that doesn’t fit our busy schedules?

Looking over Jordan to the Promised Land, I see a church with 150 people every Sunday mornings, a few dozen every afternoon and 50 or 60 every Sunday night. In the Promised Land, we have a lot of kids running through the halls, a packed house every Tuesday night and more teenagers hanging around than we can keep up with. In the Promised Land, we stop on the way to church and share the ride with our brothers and sisters.

To me, that looks like the Promised Land. To a lot of you, it looks like the church you had 20 or 30 years ago. Let’s at least agree that it is not the church we have today — not anymore — and not yet.

“Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts…” A soft heart looks for ways to share the Gospel with more people. A hard heart says I’ve got my church, and that’s all that matters. Some of us may have hard hearts, and others might not hear God’s voice. But there’s another issue that might have us stuck in the 80-plus bracket. Maybe we’re just so happy where we are that we don’t want to cross the Jordan River!

There’s a parallel to that one, too. In Numbers chapter 32, after 40 years in the desert, the children of Israel came back to the river Jordan. The tribes of Gad and Ruben and the half-tribe of Manasseh came to Moses and said, “You know, the land over here is pretty good, too. There’s plenty of grazing land, and we have a lot of cattle. What say we just settle in over here and let the rest of you take the Promised Land.”

Moses warned them about what happened last time, so they came up with a good plan. They said, “Not only will we help the others take the Promised Land, we’ll lead the charge.” That suited Moses and God just fine. And that is why we’ve heard of the land of Israel and the land of Judah. The children of Israel took both sides of the Jordan River, Israel on the west and Judah on the east.

Some of us are looking across the Jordan River, and we see souls to be saved for Christ. There’s a battle to be waged, because it is going to take work to launch Celebrate Recovery, to kick our youth program up a notch, and to make Sunday night a viable service. But some of us like things just fine the way they are; we don’t want to change and don’t need to work any harder to have the friendly little church we want. We’re perfectly content to settle down where we are, on this side of the Jordan River.

“For we are all partners with Christ if we hold firmly to the end the confidence we had at the beginning.” What was that confidence we had in the beginning, way back in 1958? That we could win souls for Christ! Are we holding firmly to that confidence, or have we changed the game plan? If we are still partners with Christ, then our focus must be spreading the Gospel and making Disciples.

Like Judah and Israel, the East and West banks of the Jordan River. We can have new members, new ministries, new services, and still have our Sunday morning service just like it is. But if we don’t take the Promised Land, if we don’t serve God with new members and new services, then we will fade like so many churches that have died out before us. If we want to hold on to the green pastures here in Judah, we have to take the Promised Land as well.

It’s an interesting problem, but a promising solution. If we’re content with church exactly like it is, then we have to help it grow. Otherwise, our earning power won’t keep up with our expenses. But if we use the strength we have, the strength of our resources, ideas and talent, we can hold onto everything we love about church and still open the doors for more people and new Disciples.

On the other hand, if we just abandon what we have for something new, we won’t be strong enough to go for it. We won’t have the talent, or the resources, or the ideas we need to make it happen. We can’t take the Promised Land without the tribes of Judah, and we can’t keep Judah unless we take the Promised Land!

We are strong enough to grow Sunday Morning, and launch Celebrate Recovery, and revamp our Youth Program, and grow our Sunday Night service, and maybe ramp up our elderly ministries, too. The question is, are we willing? Is everyone going to pitch in and help? Is everyone going to latch onto the vision? The vision is not a threat to what we have; it is the salvation of what we have!

I think that’s what Jesus was saying when He said that the one who has will get more, and the one who has not will lose even what he has. When it comes to church, it’s use it or lose it. Use it to save souls, or lose it to time and the wrecking ball.

Jesus said that the tree that bares fruit will be cared for so that it bares even more fruit, but the tree that bares no fruit will be pulled up and burned. Will we bare fruit? Will we grow, and add new ministries? We can do this with faith, courage and effort. And not only can we, we must. Those of us who love it here in Judah must lead the charge to take the Promised Land of Israel.

Today, if you hear His voice — the roar of the Lion of Judah, and the commands of the King of Israel — do not harden your hearts. Bare fruit. Lead the charge. Take the Promised Land.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Joel Tucker

Epilog, 2010: Our traditional church Elders serve dinner each Tuesday at Celebrate Recovery, and they love it! We have a nursery full of babies on Sundays and Tuesdays, and a growing teen group on Wednesday nights. Sunday morning rocks at 8:30; at 10, we don the choir robes and crank up the organ. The financial struggle has turned into expansion plans to make more classrooms and youth activity space. My plea: Stop trying to scrap one generation for the next. Instead, remind your church of its mission — to win souls — and give them ideas for how to support the next “tribe.” (It helps to remind them that the next tribe will help pay the bills.) I’m telling you, this Bible stuff really works!