The facts depend on a person’s perspective. Listen to the following:
The Metropolitan Insurance Company has published this list:
Reasons/Excuses for Auto Accidents:
(1) “An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my car, and vanished.”
(2) “The pedestrian had no idea which direction to go, so I ran over him.”
(3) “I had been driving for 40 years when I fell asleep at the wheel and had the accident.”
(4) “The indirect cause was a little guy in a small car with a big mouth.”
(5) “The other driver was all over the road. I had to swerve a number of times before I hit him.”
(6) “I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law, and headed over the embankment.”
This is the first in a series of 10 sermons on Building God’s Church. This series was inspired by the book “When God Builds a Church” by Bob Russell, who recently retired after thirty years as the senior minister of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville. This series is not an extended book report. We will be looking at the principles that Dr. Russell identified as they apply to Park.
Why are we looking to Southeast? Someone once asked Willie Sutton why he robbed banks. The answer was “That’s where the money is.” Why look to Southeast? It is not that I think that Park needs or wants to mimic Southeast, but I do think that Dr. Russell knows a thing or two about church growth. Now, while this congregation is involved in a search for new ministerial leadership, it is an opportune time to think about the core principles upon which effective congregational ministry is built.
While we and Southeast share common origins and have much on which we agree, I recognize that Disciples and Independents also have some real differences. Of the ten principles that Dr. Russell identified, there are eight about which there should be no controversy. We would all agree that the church needs skilled leadership, needs to be involved in service, and should strive for excellence. I am beginning and ending with the two principles that raise different issues in a Disciple’s context than they do in an Independent Christian context. Those two principles are truth and evangelism. Today’s topic is truth.
It is amazing that the notion of truth itself has become controversial, but it has. It is a common view among philosophers today that there is no such thing as absolute truth. Truth, they say, is always relative and always contextual. According to this thinking, my truth and your truth may be different, even contradictory, but both views have equal claim to being truth. There is no absolute standard and no universal context. Even physical laws, like the electrical charge of a proton, only hold within the context of our current universe. There must be some universe somewhere else (where somewhere else could be a different place or a different time or a different dimension) where the laws of physics are different. When theistic philosophers point out that the laws of physics seem particularly suited to supporting intelligent life, secular philosophers counter that all possible laws of physics must exist in some universe, so it is not at all remarkable that life evolved in a universe where the conditions happen to be favorable. It is maddening to engage in these dialogues because anything imaginable is put forward as if it were self evident. In a world view that denies that the laws of gravity have a claim to truth, in a universe where everything is the result of random chance, it is not surprising that we have no common ground on issues of morality or spirituality.
But philosophers are unusual sorts of folk by nature. You won’t find many ordinary people making the explicit argument that there is no such thing as truth. However, you do hear people saying that no one has a right to judge another person. You hear people saying things like “I would never live with someone without being married, but I’m not going to say that it is wrong for them. To impose my views would be intolerant. Whatever two consenting adults choose to do is OK as long as no one gets hurt.”
Have you heard that sort of thing? If not, you’ve never watched Oprah. In general, the younger a person is, the more likely it is that they see tolerance as the ultimate virtue and judgmentalism as the ultimate sin. That is the cultural corollary to the philosopher’s notion of no absolute truth.
According to a survey done by Barna Research back in 2001
About 3/4 ’s of all adults in America rejected the notion that there are absolute moral truths. Most Americans believe that all truth is relative to the situation and the individuals involved. Similarly, at least 80% of our teens embrace the same position regarding moral truths. Not only did more than 4 out of 5 teenagers say there is no absolute moral truth, 4 out of 5 also claim that nobody can know for certain whether or not they actually know what truth is.
Only 6% of teens, and 9% of born-again teens believe in moral absolutes.
One of the key claims of Christianity, and indeed of every theistic faith, is that there is a single ultimate reality. There is an absolute truth. Some things are intrinsically evil and others are intrinsically good. One basic mission of the church is to proclaim that truth. That mission is most urgent is a society that is adrift on a sea of relativism, yet proclaiming truth is often a challenge.
There is an odd paradox within our society. When we as the church take a strong moral stand, we can expect to be roundly criticized, yet people expect us to take a stand. A church that merely echoes the current culture might not be subjected to the same criticism, but it is viewed as irrelevant, which is worse. People actually want the church to stand up for something, in spite of the culture. They just get upset when that something calls their conduct into question.
Today, the church in America is in trouble. Church participation is declining at a rate between one and two percent a year. That is on an absolute basis, not as a percentage of population, As a percentage of population, the situation is even more disheartening. While the overall trend is decline, that decline is not universal. Some groups are growing, while the sharpest declines are being felt among the so called “main line” protestant denominations. In case you didn’t catch it, that means us. It is congregations like us who are truly at risk.
I recently read a book called Exodus, by a journalist named Dave Shiflett. The book looks at the movement away from some churches and the growth of others. One thing that makes this book interesting is that the author does not have a particular bias here. He describes himself as an itinerate Presbyterian.
Which churches are growing? Some are obvious. Evangelical Christian groups are doing well. So are Mormons. Others are more surprising. Percentage wise, the Greek Orthodox Church is doing very well. The big winner, in terms of raw numbers, is the Catholic Church. Each year, more than 200,000 people in the US convert to Catholicism. To put that in perspective, in four years time, the number of people who become Catholics exceeds the total number of people who are members of the Disciples of Christ. That is surprising because we hear of so many problems within the Catholic Church.
I want you to think for a minute about how many unpopular positions are held by the Catholic Church. Do you think that the people who are joining that group do so because they agree with that church’s stand on contraceptives, or divorce, or the role of women in the church, or the authority of the pope? I doubt it. In fact, on some of those issues, a majority of American Catholics disagree. Obviously, there are some situations in which disagreement with the church’s position causes people to leave. For example, when a person marries after a divorce. But most often, people accept that they disagree with the church as they continue to be part of it. As a whole, they actually respect the fact that the Church holds out a high standard in the face of society’s pressures.
The opposite is true as well. The denomination that most closely reflects society’s virtues of tolerance and nonjudgementalism is probably the Unitarian Universalists. They can be counted on to echo the concerns of the culture, but are they busting at the seams with new converts? No, they are struggling to survive. A church that stands for nothing is destined to die. That is just the way it is.
Do not misunderstand me. I am not saying that we should proclaim counter-culture views as a sort of contrarian’s way of gaining a niche market. What I am saying is that our natural impulses to soft peddle and water down our views is misguided. We will not gain popularity by mimicking the views of the culture. We should strive instead to speak the truth and to act with love and integrity. If we do that, and avoid being obnoxious, we will be respected. We will be respected even by those with whom we disagree.
So far, all denominations are in the same boat. We are all tempted to compromise our values to accommodate the culture. But there is a reason that some groups have been more successful at resisting this temptation than others. Those groups with a tradition that recognizes a strong authority are less easily tossed about on a sea of relativism than groups that embrace a variety of views. That is why we, as a Disciples’ congregation, face a different issue than a congregation like Southeast. We both come from a tradition that has rejected creeds and ecclesiastical authority. The difference is that Independent churches have tended to see the elders and the ministers in their role as guardians of the spiritual wellbeing of the church, as having the authority to interpret Scripture and decide what the local church will teach as truth. Disciples, on the other hand, have placed on each individual member the responsibility to interpret Scripture themselves. No one is naïve enough to think that everybody at Southeast agrees with what Bob Russell says on any particular issue, but it can be taken for granted that he is, in fact, speaking for that church. Most of the time, when I, as a Disciples’ minister, voice my view, it is not the Disciples’ view or Park Christian’s view, it is only my view. There is no assumption that I speak with the authority of the church.
I’m not complaining. I am not suggesting that we change our approach. I am just pointing out the reality of the problem that we face. How can we, as Disciples, speak with clarity and authority when we hold various opinions ourselves? Does the din of the debate within the church drown out our message to the world? Will people who come to the church for answers find the comfort they seek when the church offers them a smorgasbord of views from which to choose?
I think that the key is for us to stick to the standard that we, as Disciples, have agreed will be the sole authority on matters of faith. We need to emphasize our commitment to the New Testament. An uncompromising commitment to Scripture is part of our heritage, but it is more than that. A commitment to Scripture is the key to our future.
Too often, we have talked about our position that people should read and understand Scripture for themselves as a matter of liberty. We need to turn that coin over and emphasize that it is a matter of responsibility for every member.
Here is an example of the kind of message that links individual opinion to personal responsibility. This is what we need to be saying. “We call ourselves Disciples and Disciple means student. With us, it is not enough for you to come and blindly follow. We have a higher expectation from our members. The ministers and teachers will guide you, but in the end what matters is what you believe for yourself. You need to spend time studying Scripture. You need to spend time in prayer. You need to use your God given good sense and you need to allow the Spirit of God guide your understanding. We are a congregation of people who are serious about seeking God. If you are serious about your search, you have come to the right place.”
Again, I am not talking about a marketing approach. We really do need to change the culture, not just of Park Christian Church, but of our entire denomination. We have room to encompass a variety of thoughtful opinions, but we can not embrace any position that is not rooted in a sincere effort to understand the best way to apply the timeless message of God in our current culture. Without a core commitment to the New Testament, we really don’t have anything worthwhile to say. The old adage is that people who stand for nothing will fall for anything.
The passage we read earlier takes a very high view of Scripture. Listen again.
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness
The word translated here as “God breathed” is a word that Paul seems to have made up. Because of that, it is hard to say precisely what he meant. In Greek, it is a combination of the word for “God” and the word for “breath” so you can see where the translation came from. However, I think that it misses the mark. The same Greek word is used for both “breath” and “spirit”. I think a better translation would be “All Scripture is permeated with God’s Spirit”. Talking about Scripture as “God breathed” emphasizes the past. It is about where Scripture came from. Talking about Scripture as “permeated with God’s Spirit” emphasizes the present. It is about what Scripture is. Scripture is the primary place where we encounter the Spirit of God speaking to us. The same Spirit that permeates Scripture is alive in us and communicates God’s message to our hearts. That is how Scripture remains the vibrant living Word of God. We can, and should, place our feet on that solid ground.
At this moment, when the congregation is looking for a new minister, one of the key requirements needs to be that this person has the background, the commitment, and the ability to lead a congregation of students of Scripture. Are their sermons rooted in the Biblical texts? Are they able to take the words from the Book of Books and apply them to our daily lives? Do we feel the Spirit of God speaking to our hearts as the eternal truth of God is announced boldly? Just as important, do we feel the grace and compassion of God as we, as broken people, are made whole?
But what about the cultural notion that firms positions are exclusive and intolerant?
I have no doubt that we will hear that criticism. Still, it is our conduct that will determine if that criticism is justified.
People often interpret a call to personal responsibility and morality as an infringement on liberty. That should not be the case.
I want you to imagine something with me. Imagine that we had a great cliff near our town. Each and every day, there are people who fall off that cliff and are injured or die. Do you have the image? Ambulances just park at the bottom of the cliff because they know that they will be needed before too long.
What should we do as a community? Of course we want to do what we can to care for the injured and to comfort the families of those who die. That should be done, but is that the extent of our obligation? Is that the most loving thing that we can do?
Obviously we need to do something about that cliff. Maybe we need to build a fence at the top. Does a fence restrict a person’s liberty? Yes. Is it intolerant? No.
We live in a world full of people engaged in behaviors that risk, not only harm to themselves, but harm to others. Part of the church’s job is be there at the bottom of the cliff helping to pick up the pieces. But we have a larger obligation than that. We also need to be at the top building fences and warning of danger. That is the loving thing to do.
There is one other truth we must never forget. “There, but for the grace of God go I.” Each one of us is where we are, not because of our merit, but because of God’s forgiving love for us. We need to speak the truth, but we must never show a lack of respect to others. We will never be in a position to look down our noses at others if we are on our knees ourselves.
That is the core truth that we at Park Christian Church must never forget. This is a place where hurting people can come and find love. No matter the past, they are welcome. We will give them space and grace to grow. Here they will find the true meaning of forgiveness – forgiveness from God. They can come, and heal, and then grow in their own understanding. We will all grow together.
