(To the reader – this sermon was begun while I was inside an appliance box.)
The theme of the most recent issue of YMI Update, our national youth ministry leadership newsletter, was "Out of the Box." Included in this particular issue were several stories about congregational youth ministries who are attempting to reach out to their communities by breaking “out of the box.” One story came from the South Meridian Church of God in Anderson, Indiana.
Mark Krenz, the youth pastor at South Meridian wrote, "Late last fall, to help our students "think out of the box,’ we put them in a box - a cardboard box to be exact. On a Saturday evening in November when the temps dipped below freezing, our kids, wearing donated coats huddled around barrel fires, prepared to spend the entire night outside sleeping on concrete and cardboard.
During the course of this "Lock out" they got a taste of the harsh reality of being on the street. While shivering, they also heard from a panel of homeless men from our local shelter sharing about the reality of homelessness, pain, and the hope of Christ.
During the night, church members dropped by to offer an occasional blanket or cup of hot chocolate. When dawn finally broke through we entered our sanctuary for Sunday morning worship; smelly, cold, tired, and tattered. Our elderly church members were quite surprised!
This was the launch of our Youth’s Church on the Street ministry. When it comes to community ministry, we finally put our program where our mouth is. Instead of expecting the community to come to church, we decided to take the church to the community. Once a month, instead of our regular Wednesday night youth worship and talk, we close up shop and head into the community."
Krenz went on to say, "The effect on those we minister to and the effect on our youth has been tremendous. And, if you expect our numbers to be down on those nights, guess again."
"When it comes to community ministry, we finally put our program where our mouth is." I like that statement. I think that it is something that many churches are doing and, as they do so, they are helping to advance God’s kingdom. They are reaching out!
Community ministry is one aspect of the second of the Church’s five purposes that we are examing this morning - outreach. What is outreach? Why is it important? What is the purpose of outreach? We will answer these questions. But first, I want to get out of this box!!
Now before we examine several Bible passages related to outreach, there are a couple of exercises that I want us to do. The first thing I want us to do is to answer a question in a unique way. On the communion table is a black marker. I am asking for six volunteers to come and write their answer to the following question on the box. And this is the question, "What are barriers to outreach?"
Second, I am asking for three additional volunteers to solve a puzzle. There are three copies of this overhead on the communion table and I am asking for three people to try and solve this puzzle. Here are the instructions: Place one of the markers on one of the dots, and then, without lifting the marker from the transparency, connect/cover all nine dots with four straight lines. Where are my nine volunteers? (Give a couple of minutes for this exercise while continuing.)
While our volunteers work, I want the rest of us to reflect on this question: "How do we overcome barriers in our lives?" First of all, we have to admit that they are present in our lives and ask God for help. Second, we have to be willing to do something about it. Then we also have to ask God to help us do something about it. Admitting there are barriers, problems, or challenges in our lives is one thing, making the decision to do something about them is another thing.
Third, we have to begin brainstorming solutions. There may be several different ways to overcome the barriers and we have to put all of them in front of us. Again we ask for God’s help and direction in this regard. Fourth, we have to commit to a course of action to over come the barrier and ask God for wisdom, strength, and courage, among other things, to do something. This is true for us individually as well as congregationally.
Now, let’s see what our first group of volunteers wrote.
(Share answers)
Now, let’s see how our puzzle solvers did. (Share overheads) Now, here is one possible solution to this puzzle. (Show the puzzle). I’ll have more to say about this exercise in a few minutes.
Now, let’s examine three barriers to outreach and then examine three solutions to overcoming those barriers. Then, we will consider a purpose for outreach.
The first barrier is just plain fear.
It has been said that Dr. J Wilber Chapman, an evangelist of another generation, once stated that the New Testament records tell of forty people, each suffering from the same disease, who were healed by Jesus. Of this number, thirty-four were either brought to Jesus by friends, or He was taken to them. In only six cases out of the forty did the sufferers find their way to Jesus without assistance.
The author of this story went on to say that, "Of the vast number of people who find their way to Jesus today, most of them reach Him because the friends of Jesus are concerned about the welfare of their souls."
Let’s take a look at one such story that is recorded in Mark 2 beginning with verse 1 and ending at verse 12.
(READ THE PASSAGE)
Keeping in mind Dr. Chapman’s statement, let’s look at the paralyzed man’s friends. As we go through this passage we notice:
1. In verse 3 that there were four of them and they did not come alone. They also brought a friend who could not walk. So they did not come for themselves. They came for a friend.
Outreach is about others. It is not about us. We have been brought to God by the influence and prayers of others. But, it does not stop there. We are to carry on in like manner to help others come to God and we cannot let fear stop us.
Jesus did not call the disciples to follow Him and forget about others. In His final moments before His return to heaven, He gave them very clear instructions that they were to "go and make" disciples - responsible followers of Christ and members of His church.
2. There is also an implied observation in verses 1 and 2 that create the conditions for the actions of verse 3. Here it is:
Jesus is doing something for people! People who have been seriously ill or without hope have been healed or experienced a hope as they have encounter Jesus. He is in our area, let’s go find Him, maybe He can help us!
And as we read in verse 2, they flocked to where He was so that there was no room for these four men to get in.
3. What drove these four men to dig through the clay roof, as described in verse 4, was they were possessed with a drive and a hope that only Jesus could help their friend now. It was their faith in Jesus that drove them to reach out in what could be called a "fanatical" way.
Were these four friends filled with fear and hesitant to reach out to Jesus on behalf of their friend? NO!
But, there was a group in this passage in which fear played a role in their response to what took place. In verse 5 we note that Jesus was moved by the four men’s faith and then made a statement that shocked the religious leaders, "My son, your sins are forgiven." In fact, the religious leaders called it "blasphemy." "Who but God," they say in verse 7, "can forgive sins!?"
Now what is "blasphemy?" According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary it is the "act of expressing lack of reverence for God" and "irreverence toward something considered sacred."
Well, Jesus’ response, as we notice in verses 8 and 9 is to raise the ante by asking, "Which is easier to say to this one who is in such a terrible condition? You’re forgiven or rise up and walk?"
And of course, Jesus commands the man to get up and walk and he does. But, there was fear in the response of the shocked religious leaders in the audience. And this fear kept them in check. It kept them adhering to something that we will address in a moment, a fearful grip on traditionalism.
Now there are other kinds of fear that can and do block individuals and churches from reaching out. Here are just a few:
A. Fear of rejection. Jesus had something to say about this kind of fear. Basically it was, "when you are rejected for reaching out in my name, it is me, Jesus, that is being rejected."
B. Fear of people’s anger. This is a very common fear and Jesus faced it as well. Sometimes He faced it in the disappointed voices of those who had hoped that He would have acted sooner, like Mary and Martha with the death of their brother, Lazarus.
Sometimes Jesus faced anger in the disappointed expectations of someone like the rich young ruler who truly hoped that He would some how "earn" to eternal life.
We do encounter voices of anger and frustration with God as we attempt to reach out. But, we cannot let that anger stop us from caring and sharing. For many times there is tremendous pain behind that anger and we have to take the time to listen, carefully and caringly listen to that anger before a person is open to God.
C. Fear of being laughed at. Christians have been laughed at and made fun of for centuries. We should not be surprised in this day and age when Christianity, and those who sincerely try to follow it, are made fun of.
D. Fear of doing it wrong. I am really very serious when I say from time-to-time, "Hi, I’m Jim and I’m a recovering perfectionist."
There is a fear in perfectionism that has no place in our lives. For as we read in 2 Timothy 1:7 "God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline."
We may use the wrong words or phrases sometimes, but if the intent of our heart is right as we reach out, that will be clearer than what we say.
Now, there is a second barrier that we must also face and in this passage we have reviewed there is evidence of it in the responses of the religious leaders. It is the barrier called traditionalism.
There is a place for traditions in our lives. We need traditions. We need events and celebrations that help us stay steady and give us meaning as we move through live.
But, the problem of Traditionalism comes when we confuse the means of ministry with the ends of ministry. In other words, the "how" of what we do becomes more important than the "why" we do it. The methods are more regarded than the results of the methods.
Let’s go back to the exercise of the nine dots. This exercise has been used in a variety of settings to point out that we often put a “box” around the dots and attempt to solve the puzzle that way! A “self-imposed restraint” some have called it. One type of self-imposed constraint is traditionalism.
Traditionalism keeps a church from thinking outside the box when it comes to outreach because there is an assumption made - because what has worked before, worked before, it still should work. But, that is not always true.
In Grand Rapids, Michigan, just five minutes down the road from our sister congregation that I served, stands Calvary Church.
The wonderful pastor of that church is Ed Dobson. Ed Dobson came to Calvary Church in 1987 after serving with Jerry Falwell at Liberty University.
Not long after Ed arrived at Calvary an elderly member who had a family member that was dying of AIDS approached him about funeral arrangements. Ed Dobson began to build a relationship with this AIDS patient and eventually did his funeral. This led Dobson to start a ministry to AIDS patients.
It also created a challenge for both the church, a conservative church with a fundamentalist heritage, and the gay and lesbian community in Grand Rapids who was convinced that nothing good could come out of such a church. Talk about "outside of the box” thinking!"
But, Ed Dobson and Calvary Church did something else that was “out of the box.” They started a Saturday night worship service that was totally contemporary in its format. Dobson even dressed in blue jeans and changed his preaching style to help reach a younger generation of people for God.
Ed Dobson and Calvary Church did not give up the truth of the Bible, nor the historic Christian faith, nor ignore the reality of the human condition that needs to be change by the saving grace of God. What they did change was how they expressed the faith – they did so in ways that made it understandable – and the took the church out into the community by creating an environment that made it easier for people who were interested in the Christian faith and what it had to say to come to church.
Traditionalism is perhaps the largest barrier to outreach in most churches. It is as old as our faith and it is something that we must intentionally overcome, as Jesus did in Mark 2 and other places, and as Ed Dobson and Calvary Church have done.
The third barrier to effective outreach is a misunderstanding of evangelism. To help us understand this barrier let’s look at I Corinthians 3:5 – 9 a passage that I believe is critical in understanding what evangelism is.
(READ THE PASSAGE)
Please notice what Paul is saying:
1. Verse 5 - Who is Apollos and I? We are only servants. Evangelism is about servants of God sharing the Good News of God. It is not about the servants.
2. Verse 5 – Paul also says, "God caused you to believe, [for] each of us did the work that God gave us." Evangelism is the work of God through servants of God, that’s us, who do their part.
3. Verse 6 - "My job was to plant the seed, [and Apollos’ job was to water it], but it was God, not we, who makes the seed grow," says Paul. Evangelism is a process. Some people come quickly to Christ, others take longer. That is not our problem. That is God’s problem. Our job is to do our part, the one that God assigns us to do.
4. Verse 7 - "God [is the one] who is important because He is the one who makes the seed grow." Outreach, reaching out to people for God is God’s primary responsibility. Our responsibility is to do our part in the process. Some of us are planters, others of are tillers, and others of us happen to be in the place of harvesting. But it is God who makes it all happen.
Now, all of us are called to be witnesses of the hope that is within us as stated in 1 Peter 3:15: "And if you are asked about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it." And this witness is part of the process of evangelism.
To sum up, evangelism is a process that includes all of us: those who tell the story of faith and redemption, those who re-explain it, and those who have the privilege of helping another person understand and accept God’s mercy and forgiveness through Christ. And we evangelize as we care, as we reach out through a variety of ways and means - Sunday school, FW Friends, youth group, church fellowship events, small groups, and personal invitations.
This chart popped into my mind as I was writing this last segment and I share it, as we conclude this morning, with the hope of helping us understand how the cycle of fear, traditionalism, and misunderstanding can be broken and the barriers of outreach can be overcome in the following ways:
The power and authority of God’s love overcomes the barrier of fear. As it says in 1 John 4:17 - 19, "And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the Day of Judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we are like Christ here in the world. Such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear." Then verse 19, "We love each other as a result of his loving us first."
Now John is speaking to those who are already believers. But we are also very clearly commanded by Jesus to love our neighbor as ourselves and I would suggest an additional meaning of ourselves in the "Great Commandment" passage as plural, meaning "us," the Church. Why? Because outreach is about loving those who are still "out there!"
Effective outreach comes as we learn, with God’s help, to love. Effective outreach is loved-based, not guilt or duty-based. Outreach based on love is an outreach that is authentic and caring and is designed to offer love, encouragement, and support that Jesus so clearly demonstrated in His time on earth.
As for traditionalism, obedience is an important way to overcome this barrier. Why obedience? Obedience to God requires both individuals and congregations to move toward people with the message of Christ and to let go of any hindrances which that movement from happening. Why? Let’s look quickly at Mark 7:1 – 23.
In this passage, Jesus challenges and calls into question the traditionalism of the Pharisees who were concerned about the lack of adherence by Jesus’ disciples to their practices. In verse 5 they ask Jesus, "Why don’t your disciples follow our age-old customs? For they eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony."
Jesus responds back with a discourse that what is truly important to God is not the customs, the traditions, of faith but the condition of the human heart. He says, obedience to God, and the transformation that comes from such obedience, is more important than the traditionalism they advocate because God is more concerned about the condition of the human soul.
Finally, a way to overcome the barrier of misunderstanding evangelism is plugging in to the right kind of power. This is where our series’ text, Acts 2:42-47, comes in. The church is growing as we read in verse 47, "And each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved."
Notice it says, "the Lord added" not Peter, not Andrew, not James or John, it was God who added to the church. But, we have to begin at the beginning of chapter 2 to understand how the Lord added to the church.
The beginning of the chapter is about the coming of the Holy Spirit, as Jesus had promised. Then the story turns to the movement of power in the disciples and their audience as the Holy Spirit acted and people responded.
How the Holy Spirit worked was by using people who were open and obedient to God to tell their story of what God had already done. And then through the Holy Spirit, people responded to that story and found God and all that God offered them - forgiveness and a new way to live!
The outreach, the evangelism that took place that day was a partnership between the disciples and other followers of Christ and the Holy Spirit. But, it was the power and work of the Holy Spirit that made things happen. When we choose to stand in the power and strength of the Holy Spirit real and honest outreach is possible because we are partnering with God! And God is interested in reach out and bringing people to Him!
So, what is the purpose of outreach? To paraphrase Mark Krenz: “It is taking the God of the church into the community to make it possible for the community to personally experience God’s forgiveness.”
In the chart found in our bulletins this morning, please notice the words "purpose," "focus," and "significance" found in the highlighted segment. They are very important words in regard to our purpose of outreach. People are looking for a focus for living, they need a purpose to live for, and they are seeking significance in their lives. Where are they finding it these days?
You and I know that there are many ways to satisfy these deep human hungers. You and I also know all of those ways come up short. But, you and I also know there is another way - through Christ, who loves us and cares for us deeply - that can only help us experience deep satisfaction and significance in life.
And how have we discovered and experienced the deep satisfaction and significance in our lives? As people in our lives - family and friends - got out of their box and reached out to us, loved us, shared their lives with us, prayed for us, told us over and over again the story of Jesus, and finally, as we responded in faith to that story, helped us step across that line from spiritual pain and decay to spiritual life and hope and become a part of God’s kingdom.
Here is the diagram from last Sunday. Please notice that outreach, evangelism, is at the home plate space. Outreach is helping people come home to Christ.
This morning, I am challenging us through the power, strength, and direction of the Holy Spirit to get out of our box and help people come home to Christ. Amen.
