I recently witnessed a special event, and was very impressed with how many Baptists there were in it. Everywhere I looked, I saw Baptists; every time the announcer identified anybody, I heard the word, "Baptist". It was one of the most sectarian occasions I’ve seen in a long while.
There was a preliminary meeting, and both the person who presided and the one who spoke were Baptist preachers. When we got to the main event, the people who offered prayers were Baptist ministers. The choir that sang came from a Baptist church. The soloist was the daughter of a Baptist leader. The gentleman who presided, I happen to know, was a Baptist layman. And, to top it all off, the two principal persons, the individuals for whom this event had been organized, are both Baptists, one of them even having preached from time to time in Baptist churches.
This was, without doubt, one of the most Baptist events I have witnessed in a long time. What was it? The D. C. Baptist Convention? The monthly Ministers’ Conference? Some kind of mutual admiration society? Not at all. I am speaking about the inauguration of the President and the Vice-President of the United States! It was a Baptist event! You heard and saw, among others, Jesse Jackson and Tony Campolo, Billy Graham and Gardner Taylor. With music of the choir of Immanuel Baptist Church of Little Rock and by Santita Jackson. And what’s-their-names - Bill Clinton and AI Gore, Baptists both.
I won’t even mention that if you stayed with the full coverage you saw remarks by Newt Gingrich, another Baptist! Some of you don’t want to hear about him!
But it was a remarkable display, and, frankly, if I were a member of some other Christian church, or if I were a member of some other, non-Christian faith, or if I had no faith affiliation at all, I’d be worried. I’d be worried that these crazy Baptist folks were taking over. I’d be worried that they were getting too successful.
Today, Baptist Identity Sunday, when we focus a while on what it is to be our brand of believer, I want to emphasize how privileged we are, and therefore how responsible we must be. I want to focus on how much has been given us, and thus on how much we need to give back. We are blessed. But for what purpose?
We have come to the third and last of our studies of Joseph. Joseph’s story has encouraged us to dream bold visions for our life together as a church. We have taken as our theme Joseph’s grand statement to his brothers, "God has sent me before you to preserve life."
Now at last we come to a poignant moment in Joseph’s life, when he and all his brothers are standing around the deathbed of their father, Jacob, and are waiting for Jacob’s blessing. Picture it; here is Jacob, full of years, having weathered lots of disappointments and yet also having seen God at work in many ways, about to die. He goes around the room, speaking to each of his sons, and telling them exactly what he thinks about each one. One of the privileges of old age, I guess, to say exactly what you think and not worry too much about whether folks like it! He goes around the room and finally comes to that special son, Joseph, and Joseph’s two sons:
To the tribe of Joseph he says, "I now give to you one portion more than to your brothers." A larger inheritance, a larger portion.
I
God has given to the tribe of Christians called Baptists one portion more than to our brothers. But before we shout hallelujah about that, let’s remember, "Whom God has given much, much is required."
One portion more than to your brothers. It seems to me that God has given the tribe called Baptists one portion more of evangelistic zeal; one portion more of missionary compassion; and one portion more of personal freedom. Let’s take a quick look at these things.
A
God has given us one portion more of evangelistic zeal. Wherever there are Baptist Christians, they care deeply about reaching out for more people. Baptists want to see the Kingdom grow. They expect their churches to grow. They spend money and time on finding those who need to know Christ, and they put forth a witness, so that others may know. Baptists are unashamedly evangelical. As this Scripture says of the tribe of Joseph, "Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the wall."
We have wanted to be fruitful, and we’ve run those branches over all kinds of walls to be evangelistic! The walls of racial segregation, the walls of social class, the walls of educational difference ... all the things that people use to divide themselves from one another. We have ignored all those walls and have insisted that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God", and that all need Christ. We are unashamedly evangelical.
So much so, in fact, that they make jokes about us. I remember some years ago that the Kentucky Baptist Convention employed somebody to do some statistical studies. He "cooked" his numbers and came up with a startling conclusion. Said he, given the present rate of slow population growth in Kentucky, and if the rapid growth rate of Baptist churches keeps on going, by the year 2000 there will be more Baptists than people in that state! Well, I guess that just shows that sometimes statistics are nothing more than an exercise in fiction! But it also points to our evangelistic zeal. No matter how large we are, how prestigious we are, how much we are doing: we are true to ourselves only when we are passionately evangelistic and care about bringing every soul into fellowship with Christ! We have been given one portion more of evangelistic concern. "Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the wall."
B
Second, I believe we Baptists, this tribe, have been given one portion more of missionary compassion. We care about others, their needs, their pain and their plight. And we do something about it. We don’t just talk or write policy papers or wring our hands in despair. We think we need to do something redemptive whenever we see a human need.
To the tribe of Joseph Jacob said, "[Joseph’s] bow remained taut, and his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel." Joseph’s one portion more was a commitment to caring, to vigilance, to protection. His bow remained taut -he was a protector; and his arms were made agile -- to embrace the hurting; by the hands and the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel. It’s an image of a caring people.
We Baptist folk are among the few who have not given up on missions. Did you know that? Are you aware that some of the great Christian fellowships in our world have quit sending missionaries to the far corners of the globe? It’s true. They say it’s too expensive. They say the Christians in these other places can take care of themselves, and don’t need any help. Some of them even say that it isn’t necessary to send missionaries, because you can get to God in other ways than Christ! Yes, some say that! Missions is a shrinking enterprise with some Christian groups!
But let me tell you what we Baptists are doing! Let me tell you how Baptists feel about this one portion more! We Baptists are out there in the farthest corners of the globe, looking for people who have never heard and never responded. Do you know that we have researchers working for our mission boards and for the Baptist World Alliance, identifying nations and peoples around the world where the gospel has never been taken? Do you realize that 90% of the world’s preachers and Christian workers are in the parts of the world where there are already lots of Christians, and so we Baptists are working hard to get some of us to go to the remote, lonely, tough spots, where Christians are few and far between? There are many such places. The countries of the former Soviet Union, for example; in some of them there are almost no Christians, of any variety, at all. In the interior of China, which contains one out of every five of the world’s people, and something like 300 ethnic groups -- some of those groups of people have never even heard the name of Christ, and have no Bible in their language. That’s where Baptist energies are going. That’s where the Baptist missionary compassion is being channeled.
Some of you know my constant prayer is that God would raise up missionaries from out of our church. And I know some folks have questioned that. I know that some folks have suggested that that’s not where the minds of our young people are. But I tell you, I will keep on hoping and praying, preaching and pushing, because that’s just who we are. That’s who we are, we Baptist tribe. We have been given one portion more of missionary compassion. Someone else said to me, "You may have to be the answer to your own prayer, because I don’t see anybody else doing that." Well, you never know. This past week I was doing e-mail correspondence with the young man who is going to bring our Ash Wednesday message. He is serving in Brazil and his brother is serving in Equatorial Guinea, West Africa. Scott Freese wrote, "We need missionaries to the university campuses; we need people with experience in campus ministry. How about you and Margaret?" Hey, wife-mate, how would you like to retire to Brazil or to Guinea?
Shake off my prayer if you will, but I am a Baptist and I cannot help it if God has given this tribe one portion more of missionary compassion. "[Our] bow remains taut, and [our] arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel."
C
One portion more of evangelistic zeal, one portion more of missionary compassion, and, finally, one portion more of personal freedom. Personal competency. The bedrock of Baptist belief is that each and every one of us is free and competent before God, each and every one of us is responsible to God, each and every one of us has infinite worth. We have been given one portion more of spiritual freedom.
Our Baptist spiritual heritage is one which has often been attacked and derided. We are thought of as impossibly fractious, incurably contentious, and insatiably hungry for a fight. The world thinks we are slightly crazy, and has even made up little jokes about us - you know the kind: "Wherever there are three Baptists discussing some point, there will be at least four opinions in the room!" "You can always tell a Baptist, but you can’t tell him much." You know the kind of thing.
But I tell you, I’m not laughing! That is our great strength! That is our witness. Where we are attacked, misunderstood, and maligned, that is our greatest blessing. Jacob spoke to the tribe of Joseph, "The archers fiercely attacked him; they shot at him and pressed him hard …[but] the blessings of your father are stronger than the blessings of the eternal mountains, the bounties of the everlasting hills; may they be on the head of Joseph, on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers."
We are set apart. We have spunk and spine. We Baptist folk have just been given one portion more of stubborn soul freedom than some others, and I want to encourage it. Every member of this church is important; every one is entitled to his or her judgments; every one is empowered to speak and to be heard. The week before last, two people confronted me about things I had failed to do for them; just brought me up short where I had not met their expectations. Was I hurt or insulted or irritated? Far from it! I thought it was one of the greatest moments I’ve experienced! When people feel strong enough, free enough, powerful enough, to confront the pastor or any church leader, then they are being good Baptists. They are using their one portion more. Thank God!
Forrest Heeren, the retired dean of the School of Church Music at my seminary, liked to tell about what it was like when he served on the staff of a church near Redstone Missile Arsenal in Alabama after the Second World War. The church had enlisted a number of the German scientists who were working on our missile experiments, but these people didn’t have anything like a Baptist experience. They didn’t know what to make of all this debating and voting on things. They were used to "following orders!" But we have one portion more of personal freedom.
Jacob said to Joseph, "I now give to you one portion more than to your brothers." Thank God that He has given to the Baptist tribe one portion more of evangelistic zeal, of missionary compassion, and of personal freedom.
II
But I thank God that He has given one portion more to that little corner of the Baptist tribe that meets at Piney Branch Road and Aspen Street. I thank God that here, among us, there is vision, energy, insight, potential, and compassion. So much.
We have been blessed with evangelistic zeal, comprehensive compassion, and personal freedom. All of the things our Baptist tribe, like Joseph, has received in such abundance, we too have received. It is for us, now, to pour our energies into those things. Whom God has given much, much is required.
A
This community has not been evangelized. There are many out there, within close reach who have not responded to Christ. Now I know that there are some things we are not likely to do. We are not likely to do big, brassy, high-pressure evangelism. You don’t like it and I don’t either. But week after week, as visitors come to our worship and I meet them, they say, "I am a friend of so-and-so. I’ve heard about your church from this or that member, my friend, my cousin, my co-worker." You are beginning to touch people in a natural, relational way. This past Friday night, there were some forty teenagers here for the youth lock-in. I asked Rev. Arnold, "Where did they all come from?" He said, "Out of the woodwork". Well, he knows and I know that they really came from the contacts our kids made with their friends. Praise God, you are beginning to use the contacts you already have to speak a word for Christ. I want to invite you to find that one portion more of evangelistic zeal and to speak lovingly to somebody about Christ. I’m not asking you to go out on the street and stop strangers. I’m not suggesting that you hand out tracts in the Safeway aisles. But I am insisting that we bear a responsibility for those with whom and among whom we live, and that God has given us, already, that one portion more of evangelistic concern. Whom God has given much, much is required.
B
This community has not been evangelized, nor has this community’s list of human needs been exhausted. I’ve said my piece already about missions overseas, but look at missions right here, in these few blocks. Missions means being comprehensive in compassion, it means caring about the growth of every person. Missions in Takoma means caring for children; we need to see more of you volunteering to tutor our after-school program youngsters. They are walking right into our building five days a week and are waiting for some help! Missions in Takoma means getting involved with youth; I talked this week with a Neighborhood Watch worker about the crime problem, and told her what had been happening on these Wednesday nights with the Takoma Alliance Supporting Kids. She said, "Well, some of us have noticed that the young men up and down the street are more polite than they used to be." Folks, "polite" may not be everything, but it is something! Missions means getting involved with youth.
Missions in Takoma means building a single adult ministry that will empower this important group of people. Missions in Takoma means extending the ministry of marriage enrichment to families in distress. Missions in Takoma means making this building a beehive of redemptive activity. I am persuaded, stubbornly persuaded, Baptistly persuaded, that ministry to the human needs of people, young and old, single and married, red and yellow, black and white, all precious in His sight, that is the key to this church’s future. When I see all that we have, I know it is one portion more than many, many churches. Whom God has given much, much is required.
C
This community has not been evangelized, nor has this community’s list of human needs been exhausted. But I must finish by saying that this church’s potential, this church’s power of personal freedom has only barely been tapped. We are a people with ability, strength, insight, and knowledge. We are a one portion more" kind of church, and I know we can do what God is calling us to do.
I wish sometimes you could look over my shoulder and listen to me in some of the places I go. I’ll be sitting in a Baptist Convention committee meeting, and the conversation will turn to some task that needs to be done, some important call that needs to be answered. Guess who pipes up to say, "There’s a man in my church who can do that!”? I’ll be in some community conversation, and we’re talking about some issue in the life of this city. Guess who raises his hand to say, "There’s a woman in our church who knows about that!"? I tell you, we are a one portion more kind of church.
Then let us not shrink back from whatever God has called us to be and to do. We have the brainpower for it. We have the money for it. We have the skills for it. I talked the other day with a person, representing a group interested in using computers for ministry with youth, and when I ticked off the people in this church who are programmers, systems engineers, artificial intelligence experts, all the rest, he just about jumped out of his shoes with excitement. We’ve got one portion more.
I just hope that in the days to come, when the ideas flow thick and fast, and needs are brought to our attention, I just hope that God has given us in our hearts, one portion more. One portion more of obedience. One portion more of courage. One portion more of cooperation. One portion more of the comprehensive compassion of Christ. Oh yes, of Christ.
I cannot make you do ministry. I cannot force you to go anywhere. But I can persuade you with every fiber in my being, I can pour myself into serving others, and most of all, I can point you to the example of Christ.
Of Christ, with one portion more than anybody else. Of Christ, who though He had everything, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant.
Of Christ, who, though He was the Master of everything, tied a towel around himself... poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet.
Of Christ, who was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; of Christ, who surely has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; of Christ, who was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; of Christ, endowed with one portion more than the rest of us, but by whose bruises we are healed.
Oh, Baptists; Takoma Park Baptists; oh, men and women, young people and children, we have received so much. Can we, in Christ, accept and use our one portion more? Whom God has given much, much is required.
"Do not be distressed or angry ... for God sent me before you ... to preserve life."
