I met with the pastor this week to discuss the mission and purpose of the church. We discussed many things to help the church grow and to make known to the world that Jesus is coming soon. We mulled over outreach ideas, mission statements, etc. One of the things that stood out in my mind was a flyer he had for an outreach seminar. The speaker laid out a four part process to effective outreach programs. The first step in the process was to develop an identity. This got me thinking about the identity of the Adventist church and more specifically this church.
Identity is much more than a name. This week the world mourned the passing of Ronald Reagan. I watched and listened to the reports and testimonies of those who knew him personally and those who knew him only in name. All were touched in one way or another by his life and career. He was not only Ronald Reagan actor, governor, and president. He was the “Gipper,” the “Great Communicator.” The man who helped bring to an end the cold war, to tear down the Berlin wall, and as many people said helped restore their faith in America. Those who knew him personally said he was a man rooted deep in his faith and who cared genuinely for the welfare of all mankind. He has been heralded as one of the greatest presidents ever to take office. I noted that the scandals that marred the final years of his presidency were mentioned only briefly because the accomplishments far outweighed the mistakes.
During this time I thought of another president who died a few years ago and how the world marked his death. Richard Nixon died about a decade ago and while there was the normal press coverage, it did not attract the attention of the entire world. Nixon was and still is, seen by many as a disgrace and a crook. I won’t go into all the ways I could counter those remarks only that most of the accomplishments of later presidents were started by Nixon as well as many of the agencies and policies many rely on today. How differently people view these two men. One is ranked in the company of FDR and Lincoln, the other seen as a blemish on the presidency.
Identity is much more than a name and goes deeper than who we are to our friends and neighbors. Our identity is not only defined by what we do when others are watching, but also by what we do in secret. You may remember the Ohio highway sniper. He still lived at home with his mother, who had no idea he was capable of such heinous actions.
Who are we the Adventist church more specifically the Leitchfield SDA? When people here the name Adventist what do they think of, or do they know the name at all? Are the prophets of doom or heralds of hope? Are doing the job we have been commissioned to do or are we sitting on the sidelines waiting anxiously for someone else to do it? Are we a living, growing church or are we like so many churches today dying off and falling by the wayside?
We live in strange times. The economy, we are told, is on the rebound, yet many cannot find jobs. The crime rate is the lowest it has ever been, yet we can’t have enough deadbolts on our doors or mace in our pockets. They say we are living in an age of reason in a civilized world, yet men and women are dying every day for an ambiguous cause in the Middle East; genocide is a way of life in many parts of Africa; and we live with the fear the color coded terror system will jump. We live in a time when science and technology are opening new and better ways of life for millions, but the main complaint is that life is too hard. We have more spare time now than ever before in history, but families are drifting apart. Every town has agencies set up to help those controlled by drugs or alcohol, yet addiction is one of the primary problems in the United State. Why? Because we have forgotten who we are. We have for one reason or another discarded our identity completely, or we have masked it over so only a few know who we are, or we have given in to the misconceptions of the world or the stereotypes others have established. Because it is easier to give in than to maintain and proclaim who we are.
Many have said the church is full of hypocrites. We, by our actions, acknowledge this and prove them right. When we hear that claim, we do not go to prove them wrong, or to find why they believe this way. We ruffle our feathers, turn up our noses and say we didn’t want “that” kind of person here anyway. If we do not show them that not everyone is like the ones who hurt them in the past, they will have no alternative to their belief that the only people we care about are ourselves and the rest of the “perfect” members of the church.
Contrary to popular belief there is no shortage of people searching for God, searching for hope. Looking for something to fill the voids in their lives. What we must give them is the road they seek. What usually happens is they are shown a road to the land of disenchantment. They can come and hear the greatest sermons, but if all they have to look forward to afterward is the weekly gossip and criticism waiting in the foyer, they will usually sneak out the back door and never return. They get enough negativity at home or at work, church is to be a place of refuge, and we are to be the ambassadors of light. If what they get here is the same as they can get anywhere else, what is the point?
Many view the church as out of touch with reality, old and worn out. Once again we feed right into this belief. We as a church and more specifically as Adventist are announcing that Jesus is coming soon. While we say this is an event to be awaited joyously, we often don’t seem too sincere. Our message of the second coming is not one of over abundant joy, but one of doom and gloom, fire and brimstone, with a little bit of light tucked deep inside the message of despair. Most people already know they have sinned and do not deserve salvation, but the way the advent message is set up is that if you are not doing every thing we say, you may as well put on your tee-shirt and shorts cause its gonna get hot. The message of salvation and God’s love gets lost behind the fear of the days right before he comes. The fear we seem to have and the fear we instill in those we are trying to reach.
People are already scared enough by the evening news. What people are searching for is hope, something to give them a reason to get up in the morning. Something that outshines anything this world throws at them. If there are so many people who believe it is futile to try to get to heaven, to receive salvation, we have not done our jobs. I believe Ellen White said that the figure would be about 1 in 20 who would get to heaven, what is wrong with this picture? Do we read this and say it’s a shame? This is partially our fault. There is no reason why anyone should miss out on salvation, forgiveness, and hope. There are people out there who do not have anything to look forward to because we have not shown them there can be a better life. This is part of who we are; missionaries and ambassadors of Christ. Taking his love and his grace to all mankind.
The belief we are old and worn out is another idea we do not combat rather comply. Most of the time this comment comes from young people. Its usually rebutted with something like “you only want to be entertained.” I say this is the wrong answer. Yes everyone wants to be entertained. Young people want to live. Yet when they come to church they see a lot of people who look like they would rather be someplace else. The youth are given a list a mile long of things not to do because they are bad, but we neglect to explain why they might be bad. So the youth experiments with some of the things on the list to discover why they are so evil and when we found out about it, we lump them in the category where most young people are stereotyped, as delinquents trying to party all the time. Or as my dad likes to put it, burn up the roads.
A young person has his entire life ahead of him. He is still learning about his world and the people in it. But they are often condemned for being young. If we tell them everything is bad, but coming to church is good, then why do we look like we are in pain every time we have to sit through an extra long sermon. This goes not only for the youth, but for everyone. When someone new comes into the church and they see us wishing to be somewhere else, they do not pick up on the good points about finding God, only that it seems to be a hassle to us or something that is too hard or unpleasant to continue. Have you ever tried some of the baby food they make, like strained peas. It is some of the most awful stuff I have ever tasted, yet we tell our kids it is “mmm, mmm, good.”
If you tell someone they are bad or no good enough, eventually they will come to believe it, and act upon it. This goes for the youth I just mentioned and especially for us. I tell the boys I work with they have two options in life. They can either prove people right or prove them wrong. Most people see them as no account punks from the group home. The easy way would be to prove them right by doing anything that violates even the smallest rule. The hardest thing to do is prove these people wrong because they are always watching to catch them in the act.
We have done the same thing as many of the boys at work. We have been told by so many people, pastors, and theologians that we are the church of Laodecia, the luke-warm church. The church that complains that no one wants to come in, but have become too complacent to do anything about it. We have had this drilled into our heads by so many people so many times we have come to accept it. This is not intended to be our identity. We are the messengers of God’s goodness to the world. But because we have been so labeled, we don’t see the point in trying too hard. Most people do not like to have their character insulted. If I told anyone of you that you were liars and thieves, you would be taken aback, but to have an “expert” tell you that you are lazy, and we by our silence and inaction agree to their description.
So what is our identity? Turn to 1 Peter 2:5, “You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” We are living stones. But what does this mean, a stone does not seem to be alive. If you think about it scientifically, without rocks we would not be alive. The largest rock we know of is planet earth. Without this giant rock there would be no land, not much gravity, this planet would be incapable of supporting life as we know it. Rock is the cornerstone of human civilization. From simple tools to the tallest skyscraper we rely on rocks to build our world. We are to be this type of rock. One that enables life to be maintained; one that the world relies upon for shelter and continuation of life. Jesus is the cornerstone, but a cornerstone is not an entire building, it sets the shape and bears most of the weight. We are to build the rest. The house that will be built of us will be a place of refuge a place that gives and sustains life. This house will be filled with the Spirit of God, the ultimate temple, and we the stones will praise him. While I have never heard a rock talk, it can still be something to show beauty. Diamonds, rubies, emeralds do not have to say anything to make their presence known. So should our lives be, that we would not have to say anything to have people know us. You know a diamond from a piece of coal not because someone tells you, but by its appearance. The world should know us as God’s chosen people not by a name, for the name Adventist is not a sure fire ticket into heaven, but by the force of Jesus shining through us in our actions and our demeanor.
In the Old Testament, the temple was part of the fabric of the identity of the Jews. Jesus says we will not only build a temple for Him, but we will be living pieces in that temple standing as a beacon to the rest of the world, telling them that God lives here, in our hearts and minds, and that He is our commander and chief.
Just as we were fashioned from the dust, making us part of the living rock that is the earth; so too we are part of the ultimate living stone, Jesus Christ, making us part of Him, part of His power and part of His love. One stone by itself cannot do much, but many stones built upon each other and locked into the cornerstone of Jesus can become a house that can withstand the storms the world throws at us and be a shelter to those in need.
We are not to be some flimsy temporary shelter, but an everlasting building, a symbol a landmark, showing the world who we are. In the Old Testament, the Jews were the worshipers of Jehovah, we can be so much more. We can be not only followers of Jesus, we can be temples of the Most High. How much more pronounced can an identity be? We must establish ourselves so that there is no question as to whom we belong, who we are part of, and thus who we are. When people see us they should instantly recognize us as Joe or Jane in whom dwells the spirit of God.
We are not only temples, but priests to the Lord. As priests we are to be like the moon is to the sun, reflecting the light, reflecting the holiness of God. We are not only to show the goodness of the Lord through our lives; we are to teach others how to live the same, building them into stones strong enough to support other stones in God’s living temple.
Does all this sound a little too abstract, let me see if I can make it more tangible. I can tell everyone I meet that I am Napoleon
Bonaparte; but this is not who I am. Likewise, I can tell the world I am a Christian, and many may still wonder if I am telling the truth. But if I am filled too overflowing with the power of the Holy Spirit, people will not have to ask who I am, for they will know by the sight. There are buildings that one can easily recognize; hospitals, courthouses, schools. Are we, as temples of the Lord, containers of his power, are we as recognizable.
