His name was Simon, but his friends called him Peter. If we translated his name into our language we would probably call him “Rocky” or “The Rock.” Peter was one of Jesus best students—one of his closest followers. He had heard most of Jesus sermons and parables. He had been present for most of Jesus’ miracles. Peter was an FOJ—a friend of Jesus.
Peter prided himself on his devotion. He loved Jesus. He believed in what Jesus stood for. He was convinced that God had anointed Jesus for a special purpose. Peter made this declaration one day while Jesus and his disciples were traveling through Caesarea-Philippi.
Jesus asked: “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
They responded with all the typical answers: “Some say you are John the Baptizer. Others say that you are Elijah. Still others say that you are one of the prophets come back from the dead.”
“Interesting,” Jesus said. “Now I have another question for you. Who do you say that I am?” The disciples had probably anticipated the question, but they still unsure how to answer. Everyone, that is, except Peter. “You are the Christ!” Peter declared, “You are God’s anointed!”
What a wonderful insight. Peter knew just who Jesus was and what his ministry was all about—or did he?
About a week later Jesus sent out for a prayer retreat in the mountains—inviting James, John, and Peter to accompany him. After several hours of prayer—just about the time the disciples were ready get some sleep—something amazing happened. Jesus was transfigured—that’s a fancy word that simply means that his appearance changed. His face developed a glow. His clothes became as bright as the flashing of lightening. It was an awesome experience. Not only that, but the disciples discover that Jesus was not alone. Joining him on the mountain were two ancient Jewish heroes—Elijah and Moses.
Now this was not a typical, normal, everyday experience—even for Jesus. Something special was happening. The disciples understood this. The appearance of Elijah and Moses confirmed the identity of Jesus as the Messiah. The transfiguration was a revelation of the presence, power, and glory of God. It was an epiphany experience—an eye-opening appearance of God.
How did Peter and his partners respond to this magnificent sight?
Listen:
Excuse me, Mr. Jesus, if its okay I’d like to say a few words. To begin Jame, John and I would like to thank you for letting us see this marvelous sight. We feel blessed to be here! And now that we’ve witnessed all of this I believe I know what we are suppose to do. We need a building program. We need to build a great church to commemorate this fantastic event.
Peter’s reaction is interesting. He has witnessed a revelation of God’s glory. What’s the first thing he wants to do? He wants to build something. He wants to erect a new sanctuary. He wants to build a new education building and fellowship hall. He wants to create a new institution. Peter wants to build a great church.
Peter’s not alone. This past week I did an inventory of the books in my library—specifically looking at the books related to evangelism and church growth. They were all pretty much the same. Each contained strategies, ideas, and techniques designed to help the church grow. By growth these authors meant that the church should have dynamic pastoral leadership, pumping programs, prosperous finances, a good location, adequate parking, ample space, accessible facilities, and attractive landscaping. One author identified these aforementioned traits as the “keys to an effective church.”
Can you see the similarity between this author and Peter? Both fall into the same trap. Both believe that the primary purpose of the people of God is to build a great church. Jesus, however, is not concerned with whether his people build a great church. Instead he was us to be a people who “reveal a great God.”
In an article titled: “Why I DON’T Want to Build a Great Church”, Neal McGlohon, Leadership Consultant for Baptist Metrolina Ministries, writes:
Everyone would probably agree that a great church is one that reveals a great God, but we often get sidetracked and our focus and actions don’t match that belief, or goal…As a result, we scramble and strive to reclaim or multiply our “greatness.” We get burned out and frustrated trying to build a “great church,” …by trying a new program, returning to a old program, hiring more staff, trying new staff, being driven by innovations, being driven by traditions, changing locations, adding facilities, etc. (In the process) we find ourselves more committed to church (the organization) than to Christ Himself. Renewal will only come as we go back and build a foundation on the Biblical truths and values that help the people reveal a great God.
There is a tremendous interest in our society in spiritual matters. This declaration is supported by overwhelming research. In recent polls 92% of all Americans say that they believe in the existence of God—that’s the highest percentage ever. In addition, religion books have become the fastest growing segment of book publications in our society. Our societies interest in religion can even be seen in the media. Who would have imagined a few years ago that a show like “Touched by an Angel” could be rated number one in its time slot. Yet despite this overwhelming interest in spiritual matters, worship attendance in the United States is only 37% (the lowest figure since WWII). The fastest growing statistic in church life today is the number of churches that are in decline or closing. In the city of Charlotte nearly 75% of all churches are in a period of decline. We are in a time when people are looking for answers to spiritual questions—but they are not looking to find those answers in the church.
People in our society no longer equate church with God. Instead they equate church with church because all we are doing is “church.” They don’t see the church revealing a relationship with a Great God as much as revealing religious rituals and traditions.
The people in our society aren’t interested in a “great church”; they are hungry for a great God! They don’t look for a crowd of people imparting Biblical information to each other, but they crave a community of people imparting the life of a great God to one another.
Do you see the difference? Can you see a difference between what happened in the person of Jesus at the transfiguration and the way Peter responded to that event? The very face of Jesus brought to light the power and presence. He became a compelling portrayal of God’s glory. On the day of his transfiguration Jesus revealed a great God. Peter responded by pushing around a few rocks and trying to construct a new sanctuary. He wanted to build a great church.
Listen to Peter’s words again:
Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.
Did you notice the brief editorial comment that Luke adds after Peter’s statement. In parenthesis Luke writes: (He—Peter, The Rock—did not know what he was saying.)
Peter—rock solid to the core—didn’t have any idea what he was talking about. I’ve started feeling that way about some of the so-called church growth experts. I know that their intentions are good—but I also know that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I’ve seen it too many times—pastors moving from one church growth technique to another, from one strategy to another—all in a attempt to build a great church. It happens in many congregations as well—the people move from one pastor to another—all in a attempt to find the right person with the right idea to build a great church. Folks, I have had the opportunity to see, hear, or read about almost every church growth strategy or program in existence today. Do you know what I discovered? Most of the who promote these programs, Like Peter, simply don’t know what they are talking about!
Do you know what the greatest church growth tool is today? The greatest church growth tool today is a community of people “fleshing” out God in their relations with one another and their ministry in the world. It is a community of people acting out certain core Biblical values like grace, forgiveness, acceptance, and celebration—and in so doing revealing to the world a great God. The spiritually hungry of our world are not looking for religious traditions and institutions—they are looking for a community of faith that is being transform by the grace of God.
They are not looking for a great church—they are looking for people who are revealing a great God.
So how do we reveal a great God to a spiritually hungry world. Look back at the text (verses 35). We see Peter—offering his blueprints for the building a great church. As he is doing so a voice is heard from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him!”
The first thing we need to do in order to reveal a great God to a spiritually hungry world is to “listen” to Jesus. Now this means more than simply using our physical sense of hearing in relation to the words of Jesus. We do that all the time. We hear the preachers on radio and television. We hear the Sunday School lessons, the Bible studies, and the Sunday morning sermon. We hear the teaching of Jesus as we read the New Testament. We are real good at hearing. The Greek word used in this verse, however, is not talking about hearing—it is talking about heeding. When the voice of God from heaven says, “Listen to Him!” the clear implication is that the disciples of Christ are to obey the teaching of Jesus.
Folks, its not enough for us to receive each week some new and interesting facts about the Bible. It’s not enough for us to acquire more information about God. Its not enough for us to obtain the latest in theological data. We ought not be content with receiving a weekly intelligence briefing in matters related to the Bible. God does not want us to “hear” the words of Jesus, he wants us to “heed” the words of Jesus. To reveal a great God to a spiritually hungry world we can’t be content to read the Bible to get information—we need transformation. We need to listen to Jesus!
In a society that says that teaches security and stability can be found in financial gain, the church can reveal the greatness of God by heeding the words of Jesus which say: “Go, sell what you have, give it to the poor and you will have riches in heaven. Then come and follow me!”
In a word of vengeance and violence we can reveal the greatness and grace of God by heeding the words of Jesus which say: “When somebody strikes you on the right cheek, turn also to that person the other cheek.”
In a culture that teaches people that the only way to get ahead is to step on others, we can reveal the greatness of God by being transformed by the words of Jesus who said: “In God’s kingdom the first will be last and the last will be first. The greatest among you will be a servant to all!”
Listen to Jesus. The first and greatest way to reveal a great God to a spiritually hungry world is to allow yourself to be transfigured—changed—by the world of God. We don’t need more information about the Bible, we need to be transformed by the Bible.
Let me tell you one of the most powerful stories I’ve heard recently about the difference between receiving information about the Bible and being transformed by the Bible. Neal McGlohon shared this story with me not too long ago. The church Neal attends is just about four years old. Their meeting place is in a demographically poor location. They meet in a unattractive facility. They part on a gravel parking lot. According to all the experts, this church should be experiencing zero growth. In the last three years they have grown from about 100 in worship services to over 750.
In recent days a number of person in the homosexual community have been converted due to the ministry of this church. The church is lovingly and compassionately ministering to these individuals as they come out of the homosexual lifestyle. In a recent worship service one of the leaders of the church—a man with a good job, a wife and children—ask to share a testimony with the congregation. It turns out that fifteen years earlier, prior to his conversion, he had been a part of the homosexual lifestyle. In the process of his conversion God had taken away those urges and his life had been changed by God’s grace.
This man could have stayed silent about his former lifestyle. Nobody in the church knew about his past. Nevertheless he shared with the congregation how God had saved him and freed him from homosexuality—and how he know felt God was calling him to make a difference in the lives of these men who were now being converted to the Christian faith. Why would a man share such a thing with His church? It was because his life had been transformed by the word of God. It was because he was a part of a church that was not concerned with establishing the type of reputation that that builds a great church. Instead they are focused at being a people who reveal a great God.
To reveal a great God we need to be people who are being transformed by the word of God. “This is my beloved Son,” the voice from heaven declared. “Listen to Him!”
We also can reveal the greatness of God by the ministry we offer. No sooner did Jesus return from the mountain—return from the moment of his transfiguration—then he was in the middle of a ministry situation. A father had brought his young son to be healed of a terrible illness. The text says that Jesus healed the young boy. Following this miracle, the text says something very interesting. It says that the people “were all amazed at the greatness of God.”
How do we reveal the greatness of God in our world? By giving ourselves away in ministry, expecting nothing in return. A couple weeks ago I watch a television news story that told about two United Methodist congregations in Charlotte—one white and once black—that participated in a pulpit exchange. The purpose was to help break down the walls of race that sometimes divide even Christians. The report gave excerpts of the sermons preached by each minister. In his sermons the black minister said something that has stuck with me. He said, “The church is one of the few—of not the only—institutions in society that exist more for the benefit of those who are not members than for the benefit of those who are members.”
Think about that. The primary reason to church exists to minister to the world and share the gospel of the kingdom. We exist more for the benefit of those who are not members than for the benefit of those who are members—or at least we should. Our purpose is not to survive. Our purpose is not to engage in programs to entertain the interests of our members. Our purpose is not to build a great church by promoting activities that serve the wants and desires of our members. We exist to proclaim the good news of God’s kingdom. We exist to minister to the needs of those outside the church, never expecting anything in return. If we loose that focus then we cease to have the right to call ourselves the body of Christ.
This is a reflection of the spirit of Jesus, isn’t it? Do you remember what Jesus said of his ministry. He Jesus said, “The Son of Man has come not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Do you know what he said about the ministry of His church? He said, “Whosoever want to follow me, let that one deny self, take up the cross, and follow!” The church exists to give itself away for the sake of revealing a great God to a lost and needy world. When that attitude prompts all of our mission and ministry, then those to whom we minister (like those to whom Jesus ministered) will be “amazed at the greatness of God.”
God has been speaking to me a great deal about what it means for me to be a pastor. I use to think that it was my job to build a great church—to have all types of ideas, programs, and activities that would attract new members, entertain current members, increase a church’s income, and construct a new facility. My main goal, like that of Peter, was to “build a great church.” You see if I could build a great church then I could then see myself as a great pastor and successful preacher. I stand before you as one who needs to repent of this attitude. My job is not to bring in more money, establish a new growth program, or improve the institutional infrastructure of the church. My job is to “prepare God’s people for service, so that the body of Christ might be built up…attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
Together we have a similar challenge. You see it is not the calling of the members of Patterson Avenue Baptist to build a great church. Instead we are called to reveal a great God to our needy world. We are called to show the world God’s love, God forgiveness, and God’s grace. We do this by allowing God to transform our lives as we minister in Jesus name.
