When I and Thou become Them and Us
Sermon by
Thomas F. Bracewell
Opening Statement
One of the truly great preachers who was a product of the Alabama West Florida conference, was Dr. Andrew Turnipseed. Dr. Turnipseed was among the forerunners of the age of reason in this conference and it cost him his pulpit at one of our great churches in Mobile. Because he was willing to speak out against
racial injustice in the late fifties he found himself ostracized by his local churchmen and the religious and political leaders in Alabama. The Methodist conference in New York state offered him one of the great pulpits in metropolitan New York and reluctantly he moved from Alabama to the Abig apple@. He and his family left the burning crosses and hooded terrorism of the Klu Klux Clan, the fire bombings of churches and killing of innocent children, but they carried with them the heart and soul of the Methodist people they had loved and cared for in Deep South.
When my dear fiend and mentor Bishop W. Kenneth Goodson came to the state in the early sixties, a delegation of concerned ministers met with him to urge that Andrew Turnipseed be brought back to Alabama. While the Turnipseeds were in New York, their daughter was killed in a terrible accident. That, along with the battles fought in the segregationist South, all but broke the spirit of this great man. Bishop Goodson offered Dr. Turnipseed an appointment in one of the small circuits so prevalent in the rural south and this great preacher came home to a much more simple life than the one he had left some years earlier.
Andrew Turnipseed was a preacher for our time. He was on the program at Annual Conference to open the morning session with the traditional Morning Prayer. The place was packed with clergy and lay-people anxious to hear what this great man was going to say in this prayer. He walked over to the pulpit with great dignity, bowed his head and with that great orator’s voice began the prayer with, "Oh Holy God, have you read the Montgomery Advertiser today?"
One of Andrew Turnipseed’s last appointments in our area was at Bethel United Methodist church in Dale county Alabama. I was serving a nearby appointment at the time and we invited Dr. Turnipseed to preach our revival services in the mid-seventies. There were more preachers in the congregation most nights than parishioners because every young minister, and some not so young preachers as well, wanted to hear this great man preach. One particular thing I remember from those series of meetings was a sermon with the theme "The Last Words Of a Dying Church are Much in the way that Buber shared some insights with those struggling with Christianity’s head on collision with the twentieth century, there is a need to address some particular problems that are ripping Methodistism apart as we stand on the doorstep of the third millennium. On one side are many well meaning liberals who are assured that the key to solving our problems revolve around the social issues of the current time. The other extreme are the conservatives, both traditionalist and evangelicals, but lumped together by liberals under the derogatory label of "fundamentalists". This term was first used in America about the turn of the century, and at that time had a fairly definite meaning. However it has now become a vague term of abuse, just as the label "Left wing liberal" and "Bleeding Liberal" are abusive. Our first move as church people of all shades it to learn an new respect for one another. We can show spiritual maturity through not trying to find a label for every person we come in touch with within the fellowship of the church. Secondly we need to renew our roots. A tired and dull church makes for a wearisome and unfocused theology. Yet a church with a sense of purpose and identity might well give rise to some really exciting thinking. I recall most vividly those words by Dr. Turnipseed as he preached on the last words of a dying church. Yet, as we gather here in this sanctuary today I wonder if we see this place as a source of spiritual renewal or as just a safe haven from the world around us. Methodist have always tried to find a balance on the preaching of the word and the liturgy and traditions of our Anglican heritage as passed on to us in the Wesley legacy. I often remind fellow Methodist the we were not part of the Protestant Reformation but rather the Anglican Revolution. Too much of ritual with out spirituality seems to set our teeth on edge and leaves many of us running for the nearest exit. We as Methodist have always taken pride in our churches role in founding many institutions of higher education in the world. Yet we are one of the most neglectful of all churches in teaching our own church history. I really believe that before we can hope to go anywhere through growth and renewal we need to get a better understanding of who we are and where we came from. How are we able to express our selves to others if we are not sure of our own beliefs and heritage? It is not simply enough to believe in the word, to sing and to pray and to preach. We have to be more aware of our own church history and the basic tenants of its’ beliefs in order to make much of an impact on our community, our nation or the world. How many of us know or even care on where our church stands on modern day issues? Finally we tend to become polarized in the grander scope of things by allowing ourselves to get into the "Them and Us" mind set. "Them and Us" are okay in situations when we are competing against another extremely competitive or hostile group. In a football game it is "Them and Us", Florida is a them and Georgia a definite us. In Olympic competition it is "Them and US" as in USA, in World Wars, International Conflicts, and some righteous causes it is "Them and US". But in the life and experience of the Church and the Faith of Jesus Christ it is can only be ..."I and Thou". Too many situations that are clearly "I and Thou" relationships have been allowed to become "Them and Us". Spiritual maturity dictates that even when we disagree we never forget the people are clearly human beings and not objects. The church has become wearied of the parade of novelties that promised the moon but delivered green cheese. Contemporary preaching, contemporary liturgies, and weak pastoral care are littered with such fantasies. The basis of our faith is rooted in the scriptures and in our own understanding of church history only as it can be applied to the present day. Listen carefully is the silence of our nearly empty church sanctuaries and you will hear the whisper, "The last words of a dying Church are, we have never done it that way before." The key to renewal is found in personal faith. Faith comes in two styles. In the first place faith may be understood as the body of Christian beliefs, the faith which is believed (Fides quae creditur). Evangelism is an invitation to all people to master their own faith, to be prepared to give an answer to everyone who ask you to give the reason for the hope you have. But there is also faith in the sense of the faith which believes (fides qua creditur). Defining this kind of faith is notoriously difficult. Faith in this sense of the term is basically trust. In every church we are called urgently, today, to renewed faith in Him who sends us to proclaim the message of God’s love. Evangelism thus leads directly to renewal, at both personal and corporate levels. It invites us to deepen our commitment of the Christian faith but it is rooted in both the word as found in the scriptures and the liturgy and traditions of our founding fathers. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit... Amen
