Before its Time
John 7:1-12
Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz
1 After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him. 2 Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near. 3 Therefore His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. 4 “For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” 5 For not even His brothers were believing in Him. 6 So Jesus said to them, “My time is not yet here, but your time is always opportune. 7 “The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil. 8 “Go up to the feast yourselves; I do not go up to this feast because My time has not yet fully come.” 9 Having said these things to them, He stayed in Galilee. 10 But when His brothers had gone up to the feast, then He Himself also went up, not publicly, but as if, in secret. 11 aSo the Jews were seeking Him at the feast and were saying, “Where is He?” 12 There was much grumbling among the crowds concerning Him; some were saying, “He is a good man”; others were saying, “No, on the contrary, He leads the people astray.” 13 Yet no one was speaking openly of Him for fear of the Jews.
Timing is a crucial aspect of success for a project or a movement. In 2011 I was appointed to a church in the city of York, Pennsylvania. As with many United Methodist churches, the members were old and of the same race. During the 1960s and 1970s, people exited the city into the suburbs. However, a lot of people still came to their city churches. Over time some of the churches closed in the city and moved to the suburbs. The church I was appointed to was on the west side of York.
My District Superintendent told me that the church leaders wanted to expand into the city. Since the church was in the city, it made sense. I had some experience working with unchurched people since I was unchurched until I was 35 years old. I assembled a group of dedicated Christians who wanted to see contemporary worship started in the church and was directed to attract city folks. The group was very successful, and within one year of starting, they had approximately 150 persons in worship. That might sound small to you, but for York, PA, it was outstanding.
The church’s reputation in the city was that it was a high middle-class-only church. Changing that reputation was extremely difficult, but it was possible, and the new worship proved it. The worship attendance grew steadily until one day, the older members of the traditional worship started to notice. This group said they were ready to let the city in, but it turned out to be lip service. Sadly they did everything they could to destroy the effort, and after 18 months, the worship shut down. The church’s reputation returned to what it was.
The work that my team did was what every church should be doing. Churches should have the reputation of being open and available to every person. Looking back at that ministry effort, I now accept that it was the right thing to do, but it was before its time. A couple of years later, the replacement pastor decided to revive what the team had started and become somewhat successful. Years later, the church is becoming diverse. In other words, the timing was right.
Unfortunately, the timing included the understanding that if this church continued in its attitude to the community, it would eventually close. Hey, it worked, and the ministry is reaching people who never knew Christ. I was told I planted the seed, and it was watered and blossomed. Ok, I can buy that. I still see it as the timing became right. I will not get into how things changed, but circumstances changed.
Timing is everything at times in a church. The people must be ready to expand their ministry, or the attempt will fail. The problem is that I was told by the people who got angry when it happened that they wanted the additions. I firmly believe that they did not think that I could have created the environment to bring the city folks in.
How can you tell if the timing is suitable for a new ministry or a change to the church? After 22 years, I can look back and honestly tell you that I am not sure how to be 100% sure. Sometimes it is a gamble. An excellent seminary instructor spoke about creating a new ministry and said that if 85% of the people and 100% of the leaders agree, it is God-driven. I will add from experience that the 85 and 100 must speak from their heart. In the United Methodist Church, well in my area, I have seen churches tell the District Superintendent what the DS wanted to hear.
From this narrative in John’s Gospel, we learn that Jesus knew when the timing was right for him to bring the message from the LORD to the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. He did not fear for his life. His main concern was doing what God wanted him to do in God’s time. The apostles were not yet trained to take over the ministry in this Gospel when Jesus was gone. Jesus was known, but his total influence was not there yet. So, he waited.
Notice that Jesus still went to Jerusalem even though he said he would not go to his brothers. Not going with them allowed him to go to Jerusalem as the Torah requires and not be recognized. He still fulfilled his allegiance to God by following God’s word. It was a significant risk! Yet he took it. That brings up the question of how much trouble we take to fulfill our commitment to Jesus? I bring this up because it is in this narrative, even though it is not the main message I am talking about. Please just think about it.
Back to the point being discussed here. Is it time for the church to create some new ministry? Is it time for the church to end some ministry? By the way, when you hear, “we tried that before,” offer the response, “perhaps it was not the right time to try this.” A failed ministry attempt could be as simple as it was not the right time. Learn from the past but not let it block your present or future.
One thing for sure is that the churches better start doing something. It is time to become more aggressive. Cancel culture has been attacking Christianity for some time. It is time to defend Christianity and show society that cancel culture or any other movement it tries will not end Jesus’ church. It will never snuff out Jesus Christ. This requires all Christians to act. It is time for the church to activate all of its members. It is time to reach inactive Christians. It is time to reach the non-Christian. It is time to give our best for Christ.
