Part 1: Know What We're Here For: Maturity Series

One of the deepest joys that I have ever experienced in all my life is the joy of watching our children turn into adults. I guess I always pretty much figured that would happen some day. But then, there were those times when they were upset with each other over the silliest things and the bickering went on and on. And other times when it seemed impossible to get them out of bed and into the school bus, and I wondered if they would ever be able to hold a job. There were times when they seemed so helpless. Give them the simplest job and it would drag out, on and on and on. As they went through different friendships, we liked most of their friends, but then there were some that really concerned us. And we talked with our kids about that, but there comes a point when they are just going to do what they are going to do. And I’m sure I wondered how this was going to end.

And, they’re not perfect yet. They’re each at different stages of the process, but wonder of wonders, they are all gainfully employed and doing well. They are in very different careers, a teacher, an engineer, an artist and a marketer, but they’re all doing well. When we get together they actually enjoy being together. There are no more fights. They even call each other up and talk, just because they like to. Two are married and they are good husbands and they made good choices of spouses. One now has three children and he’s an excellent father. And after all the times when we had to lower to boom on them, and they were so sure that were the meanest parents in town, they even come home and talk to us. They still like us. They even call us for advice. Who’d a thunk it? They’re growing up. We did our job and it worked. It feels great.

One of the things that I think we had going for us is that we had a pretty clear idea in our minds of how we wanted our children to end up. They didn’t have to be just like us. We wanted them to develop their own unique gifts and interests. But we wanted them to be loyal and loving in relationships, to be honest, to be able to think for themselves, to love and serve God. And so we gave them the experiences that would encourage those things. We tried to model those things. We discouraged the things that didn’t fit our vision for what we wanted them to be.

And if a clear vision of what you are trying to produce is important in parenting. It is also important in building a church. Just what is it that we are trying to accomplish here? Is our goal to be a nice, comfortable place to see our friends? That’s awful nice, but the church must be more than that to be faithful. Is our purpose to relieve stress? Is it to keep an institution alive, to maintain the building that our predecessors left to us? Is it to give something to God, to put in our time, so that we can say ‘now I’m good enough. I did my bit by attending church, so now you have to leave me alone, God’? What are we here for?

Some time ago, after a lot of good thought, we made our mission statement for our church. That’s what the officers said we are here for. Can you say it with me? “The mission of the First United Methodist Church of Oak Lawn is to make disciples of Jesus Christ.”

I think we’re getting it into our heads. But I want to be sure that we have it in our hearts and woven into everything we do together, all our committees, all our programs, all our relationships. “The mission of the First United Methodist Church of Oak Lawn is to make disciples of Jesus Christ.”

Today we move on to a new section of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. I consider it a wonderful source for learning how churches grow. And in it Paul makes clear what we are here for. Here he doesn’t use the word disciple. He uses the word, ‘maturity’ and the phrase, ‘the full stature of Christ.’ But he means the same thing. And as we enter the year 2006, as we hope to strengthen and build our church, it will be very important that we know just what it is that we are trying to build.

Please stand for the reading of God’s word, Ephesians 4:11-16.

11 The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. 14 We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. 15 But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love.