After Jeremiah had bought his field, God
said to Jeremiah, “I will give them one heart and one way, that they may
fear me for all time, for their own good and the good of their children
after them.”
If we as God’s people will engage in
deepened discipleship then God will give us one heart and one way. It will
be for our good and for our children’s good. If you will catch my vision
and understand my passion, it will be like buying the field at Anathoth.
Not a Florida swamp mess. Nor a Brooklyn Bridge hoax. Rather, it will be a
sign of confidence in the God who is not finished with us yet.
Multiplied Ministries
I also believe that the way ahead for
our church lies in multiplied ministries. We have some wonderful
ministries, but we must multiply them. Here are a few ministries that many
of you might not know about.
·
We host a cancer support group on a monthly basis.
·
We purchase Bibles for International students on a regular basis.
·
We have on-going ministries to the shut-ins through the Home Bound
Committee, SS classes and deacon ministries
·
We provide snacks for Boys’ and Girls Club.
·
Many of our members volunteer at the Help Center, Meals on Wheels and ECM
hospital.
·
We support the Spanish clinic that meets on a monthly basis with people
and money.
·
Individual Sunday School classes are involved in multiple ministry
projects.
·
We serve in partnership with the Lauderdale County Children’s Policy
Council to provide parenting classes designed to help individuals be
better parents.
·
Our ladies provide lunches for BCM noonday lunches.
These are wonderful ministries but there
must be many more. Every person associated with this congregation should
be engaged in at least one ministry that reaches out and touches the lives
of people on the outside of these walls. We need to multiply ministries
because Christianity was never intended to be confined behind the walls of
a structure even if the structure is dedicated to God. We must multiply
our ministries not only for the sake of the world around us, but also for
our own sake.
As some of you know and
all of you need to know, I have a burden to reach and connect with the
next generation. In order to do that, we must think outside the box. We
must color outside the lines.
Multiplied ministries could include
tutorial programs, an after-school enrichment ministry or a support group
designed to meet a specific need. It could include a place and space for
the next generation to come listen to music and be exposed to the claims
of the gospel. We must be careful not to duplicate ministries already
offered by others but be creative and find a way to demonstrate the love
of Christ to our city in tangible and practical ways.
I don’t have the insight or the details
into all that can be done, just the vision. But I know that the people of
First Baptist can dream big and allow God to show them ways to color
outside the lines and multiply ministries.
Let me tell you the story of a young
girl who grew up in a church like First Baptist. She finished college and
entered the work force and prospered in her job. Yet, she felt the call of
God in her heart so she enrolled in seminary and trained for ministry. She
successfully served on several church staffs but God was calling her into
a field of ministry virtually untouched by anyone. She and her prayer
partners sought the heart of God and He answered in an unexpected way.
They were led to a place called “Roll-up
One”, an exit gate outside a woman’s prison facility in their city. There
God spoke to them and said, “These women have no where to go except back
to the streets and a life of crime. You want a place to minister. How
about them?” By faith they began a ministry to
serve women in crisis, equipping them for lives of wholeness and hope. The
name of their ministry is called “The Next Door.” They
chose that name to describe the place which
would be the next stop for residents who leave prison and begin their
journey from prison to productive citizenship.
In fact, that girl grew up
in a church exactly like First Baptist. She is Linda Leathers and she
learned to dream big in this place. I just know that there is another
person in this place like Linda Leathers who has the faith of Jeremiah and
will buy the field at Anathoth.
Do you see that we must creatively
multiply our ministries? We must multiply them because there are all sorts
of needs around us that are virtually untouched. There is a high school
that needs a Christian presence. There is a college that needs our light.
International students who need to see and hear a message of love and hope
to carry to their homeland. There are families with heartache brought
about by divorce or family tensions. There are people all around us with
the distress of joblessness, the agony of drug abuse, the sorrow of
bereavement. There are people around us who are desperate for a word of
counsel on how to raise their children, how to manage their resources, how
to build self-esteem, how to overcome destructive behavior. If they cannot
turn to us, where can they turn? We ought to be there for them. And we can
be there!
But we need a Linda Leathers who, like
Jeremiah, can hear the voice of God, step out by faith and buy the field
at Anathoth.
Every time we turn our lights on it
should be a beacon of hope to the surrounding area. I read about an artist
who painted a wintry scene of a cabin covered with snow. His wife
commented, “The scene is very beautiful but makes me feel cold.” He made
two changes and everything was different. He placed a light in the window
and wisps of smoke coming from the chimney. Now the cabin was inviting and
offered hope. Multiplied ministries means multiplied hope!
And, I see that for our sake too. You
and I need to serve others! God has given gifts of discernment and energy
and resourcefulness and wisdom to every one who is a part of this
congregation. We dare not waste it! We dare not ignore it! You and I must
not shun our place in the body of Christ. I intend to work for the day
when every person associated with this church is involved in at least one
serving ministry. It’s for your own good because you are never anymore
like Jesus than when you gird yourself in a towel and serve others.
Do you remember a slogan we use at First
Baptist?
Every Member is a Minister.
Every Minister has a
Ministry.
Every Ministry is
Important.
When we seen step out in faith and begin
to multiply our ministries it is like buying the field at Anathoth. Some
will think it a Florida swamp; you’re getting into messy territory that
you can’t wade through. And some will think it just a Brooklyn Bridge,
pie-in-the-sky thing: that kind of person won’t come here. Well, let’s buy
the field at Anathoth and find out!
Winsome Worship
I believe we need to find our way
through to winsome worship. What is winsome worship? It is a pattern of
worship that begins on earth as an offering to the heart of God. When He
accepts it, and God doesn’t accept all worship, it returns to earth as a
sweet sacrifice. It is then that it appeals to people, draws them, fills
them, anoints them, and empowers them. The last thing that worship needs
to be is an experience at the opera or a hootenanny at the Grand Ole Opry.
The truth is that no one way of worship
will fit everyone and that is OK. Authentic worship is a gift that can be
wrapped in many packages. What we do on Sunday morning may work for some,
but it does not work for others. We can not be all things to all people.
You may feel glorious singing “How Great Thou Art” with organ and choir
and robes and candles, but there is a generation out there now which is
different from that. Very different! They relate to fast-moving images and
dramatic stories. Because many of you have been conditioned to do so, you
enjoy a three-points-and-a-poem sermon delivered in a formal group
setting. Your only requirement for happiness is that it be short. But the
truth is, we are facing a generation that is more relational than that and
they enjoy dialogue and less formality. Every generation learns in a
different way. There is nothing wrong with that. We must understand that
and use it, not ignore or defy it.
I know of nothing that
brings heated debate in religious circles more than the issue of worship
style. I have been in some ministerial settings when pastors disagreed on
the subject so fervently that I expected a fist fight to erupt at any
moment! We, as the Church are living in times
that are strenuous and yet opportunistic. Rick Warren said, “It is safe to
say that you will face in the future new problems and new pressures, but
also new possibilities.”
We like the thought of facing new possibilities
because that is intriguing and stimulating. However, we don’t like the
idea of problems and pressures because that is drastic and draining.
I am not a prophet but you better
believe me when I tell you that the church as we know it will not be
recognizable in twenty years. You can argue with that, resist that, even
defy that but change will occur regardless. Every aspect of societal
infrastructure is experiencing major change: education, banking, retail,
communication, travel, etc. Religious institutions move slower than all
other aspects of the social order but even we are not exempt from the
impact of change.
As a church we have experienced needed
changes in our worship style; too much change for some of you and too
little change for others. Please hear me, please hear me: It has never
been my desire to turn our Sunday service upside down and inside out,
though I do ask for the privilege of continually trying new venues of
worship. Nor do I intend to lead you into some excessive fanaticism. But I
do understand that true worship is more than art appreciation. It MUST
involve the heart as well as the head. And I do intend to press forward
and support in every way winsome worship; the creation of a worship
experience that reaches heaven and brings home
to every generation the presence of Almighty God in power and in joy.
We need to advance with winsome worship.
I suppose to some of you that may sound
like a sales pitch for a Florida swamp; impossibly murky. Or to others
like a Brooklyn Bridge, a pipe dream that cannot be done. But I tell you
that unless we pursue winsome worship with all our heart then in a very
short period of time we can erect a white picket fence around this place
and sell tickets saying, “Come see what 1963 looks like!”
I intend to pursue winsome worship in my
personal life and I encourage you to do the same. And I intend to see us
pursue winsome worship as a congregation.
Missional Involvement
We must make an intentional effort to
invest ourselves and our resources in a way that accomplishes the Great
Commission. That is easy to say but hard to do because we tend to spend
our resources, money and energy, on ourselves. This is really where faith
comes in; this is truly where we will need to buy the field of Anathoth.
I have felt for some time, and it’s good
to hear others say it too, that we are too tied up in official structures
like committees, and that we need to free people to be and to do what
their passions call for. We need to become a permission-giving church
instead of a confining church. We’ve found out that placing people on
committees that does not match their passions, gifts, skills and
experiences is a waste of time. In the past some of our committees have
been like that; folks are coerced into service and then do what they do
without much passion. But when you ask them to serve on a ministry team
and give them permission to find their own gifts, they flourish. I have
asked this before and very little happened but I am going to ask that we
re-examine and simplify our church’s infra-structure to reduce
administration and increase ministry.
To be a missional Christian means that
you pray and think creatively about the way you use your time.
Occasionally, we have too many things happening in competition with one
another. When church members have to leave one meeting early in order to
attend another one, we have not been judicious in our use of time. Have
you noticed that we rarely ask you to come to this facility other than on
Wednesday and Sunday? There is a reason for that. We want to honor your
time commitment to family and career pursuits. I want to press forward
with a plan to convert our midweek prayer service and Bible study time
into a church-wide training and equipping track. There will be always be a
place for everyone as I see us taking blocks of four weeks, six weeks, to
train our officers, train workers for ministry, train our teachers, equip
ourselves, children and youth too, for Kingdom service. Just doing what
we’ve always done in the past is not going to get the job accomplished in
the future. We need to rethink our use of time.
To be a missional congregation means we
must continually assess the way we use our resources. I am going to
challenge us to look at our physical facilities and to address the needs
and the opportunities we have around us. This sanctuary building, the 1954
educational building are in good shape, structurally sound and for the
most part functional. The Chapel needs some changes to be more versatile
and usable. The Old Library building needs immediate attention. We were
told by city officials that we could NEVER own that building because of
legal issues and stipulations when the land was donated to the city.
Therefore, we built a master plan that did not include that building.
Then, abruptly and totally be surprise, we were offered that building in
the midst of a major renovation project. We bought it for the future and
now the future is here.
I am going to work with our Future
Planning Team to accomplish a comprehensive study of the needs and
possibilities for this entire property including how we can use all that
we have immediately as well as in the future. I am going to ask that we
spend the necessary time to dream and plan, plan and dream so that we
become a church on mission in Florence, Alabama.
To be a missional Christian means that
you be disposed to be a missionary where you are and willing to go
wherever He leads. I remind you that Jesus said, “But you will receive
power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
(Acts 1:8)
I remind you that the term “missions”
should be more than a noun. It should be a verb in all of our lives; hence
we use the term “missional.” It is more than something you do; it is who
you are. Your mission starts the moment you walk through your door and
enter the mission field. You could deliver a First Love package to a new
resident in your neighborhood, get involved in a Shoals World Changer
project or become a part of a CLBA mission team to Arequipa, Peru, or
volunteer to work at the Help Center or travel to Chiquimula, Guatemala.
The opportunities are limitless.
Does that all sound like a Florida
swamp, so much mud that we can never touch it? I just want to remind you
that under that three feet of water there is earth. Rich earth. It is land
that if we can drain off the mess will produce great growth. Owning a
swamp in Florida is not as bad as it might seem. Walt Disney bought a
swamp near Orlando and turned it into Disney World! Sometimes you must see
beyond the mess and see the miracle, beyond the water and see the wonder.
Does all that I have said sound like I
am trying to sell you a piece of the Brooklyn Bridge, an impossible dream,
a misty wispy nothing? Does it all sound like the ranting of a huckster
just trying to take your time, talents and treasure and give you nothing
in return? I hope not because to me, I am asking you to buy the field at
Anathoth. That takes faith. It takes commitment. It takes confidence in
our Sovereign God.
God said to Jeremiah, “See, I am the
LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too hard for me? … They shall be
my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one
way, that they may fear me for all time, for their own good and the good
of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with
them, never to draw back from doing good to them; and I will put the fear
of me in their hearts, so that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice
in doing good to them, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness,
with all my heart and all my soul.”
Conclusion
Many people have heard of
the outstanding exploits of Charles Blondin, considered to be one of the
greatest funambulists (aerialists/tightrope-walkers) of all time. “The
Great Blondin” amused and amazed thousands of people as he made his way
over Niagara Falls on a slender rope stretched from shore to shore.
This he accomplished first on
June 30,
1859, then
a number of times, always with different theatric variations:
blindfold, in a sack, trundling a wheelbarrow, on stilts, carrying a man
(his manager, Harry Colcord) on his back, sitting down midway while he
cooked and ate an omelet.
He never faltered or
failed. Blondin had a secret. As he made his way over the rope, he kept
his eyes fixed on a large silver star which he erected at the far end. The
star was the center of his attention and guided him to the other side.
We too need a star to
capture our focus. The prophet Jeremiah had a star: “Ah, Lord GOD!
You Yourself made the heavens and earth by Your great power and with Your
outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!” (HCS) That should be
our focus as well as we journey by faith.
·
My desire is that we see beyond ourselves, beyond our circumstances and
have the faith of Jeremiah and buy the field of Anathoth.
· My challenge is to see that our
confidence in God increases so that we declare "Ah, Sovereign LORD, you
have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched
arm. Nothing is too hard for you.”
·
My prayer is that God will “give [us] one heart and one way, that
[we will] fear God for all time, for [our] own good and the good of [our]
children after them.”
That desire, challenge, prayer will not happen
unless we focus on Him and make everything about Him, not us. Paul
declared, “For from him and through him and
to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.”
(Romans 11:36 NIV)
