“ON-STAR” – PART ONE
Teaching Christians to Navigate in this Culture
John 10:10 - ©Dr. Larry L. Thompson (2006)
Introduction:
Some time ago a member from another church said, "Our church looking for a really great year…and it appears the year we’re looking for is 1961. If it ever comes back, we’re going to be ready to take this culture by storm." His reason for saying this was that 1961 was a "golden age" in church attendance. Church attendance was at an all-time high that year. As Southern Baptist we had a goal that carried this slogan, “A million more in ’64.” Going to church was considered the right thing to do; the patriotic thing to do; the family would wake up on Sunday morning, pile into the station wagon, and attend church together. Even parents who didn’t attend church were urged to send their children. J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI, urged American parents, "Send your children to Sunday School so they won’t end up in reform school!"
While statistics tell us that in the past 45 years since that "golden age", our national average for church attendance has been on the decline. This is surprising, since there is every indication that interest in spiritual things is at an all-time high. There are 78 million unchurched Americans today. That means about 33% of the American people don’t go to church at all, yet more than 87% of the American people say they believe in prayer, and more than 50% pray on a daily basis. These numbers tell us that there are millions of people in this country who are interested in knowing God, but not interested in Church.
Why aren’t they? Andy Stanley, Atlanta pastor said, "People don’t go to church because they’ve been to church and they can’t find what they’re looking for." That statement may seem harsh, and while it may be true in many churches I am thankful that while we aren’t perfect, we do have a commitment to allowing the truth of God’s word to be proclaimed to meet the needs of this culture in which we live. The overwhelming majority of people in this country ARE LOOKING FOR GUIDANCE AND APPARENTLY MANY HAVE NOT FOUND IT IN THEIR LOCAL CHURCH. ONE OF OUR CORE VALUES FOCUS ON THE TEACHING OF SCRIPTURE WITH AN UNDERSTANDING THAT GOD HAS PROVIDED THE DIRECTION WE NEED FOR THIS DAY IN WHICH WE LIVE. TODAY WE BEGIN A NEW SERIES ENTITLED, “ON STAR” FINDING ANSWERS TO LIFE’S DIFFICULT QUESTIONS.
I came across a survey from the Barna Research Group tells us the three main reasons why Americans are not going to church today. I want us to look at those reasons and then examine our own lives and ministry and insure that we are on target to continue to provide a meaningful ministry for the next hundred years: The three main reasons people don’t go to church:
1. The Services are Boring
2. The Sermons are Irrelevant and not meeting the needs in my life
3. The People are not Friendly
Time magazine quoted a young adult saying: "It’s not that our generation doesn’t believe in God. We just don’t believe in the church because they don’t have the answers." Sadly, that is a lie from Hell. God’s word is the guidance you need in your life today, directed by His Spirit and living according to His perfect will for your life. Sadly, we live in a generation that has bought into the lie that the church is not speaking to the real issues of the day. However, we do have something to say, we do have the answers and we have a book that can help you navigate through every question or need you have in life. Do you that Jesus gave you this promise… “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10 (NIV) FINDING THE GUIDANCE THAT LEADS US TO THE PLACE OF LIVING IN THE FULLNESS OF LIFE IS OUR GOAL.
In order to have that fullness of life you must understand what God’s word
Instead of proclaiming this wonderful message of hope our world by-and-large perceives the church as not a place to discover answers but instead a place of judgment. Dr. John Bisagno warned my generation of pastors, “We’ve been judging the world and talking to ourselves, when we should be judging ourselves and talking to the world!”
How can we do that? How can we speak to the world? How can we insure that our church remains "user-friendly" in reaching people for Jesus Christ and providing answers for the difficult questions they face? There are three truths that I am going to recommend as we begin this ON STAR SERIES. These are the Three Truths we will continue to employ as provide biblical navigation to a desperately lost culture.
1. CONNECT WITH OUR CULTURE (Col. 4:5)
“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.” Col. 4:5
This is rather obvious isn’t it? Isn’t this what all churches are trying to do? We are trying to help connect to our culture for the purpose of being able to connect our culture with Christ? While I believe we are doing an admirable job of connecting to our culture I am certain we can improve.
When I read surveys like that of George Gallop who said: “When asked what is your most boring activity?” The number one answer was, “Going to church!” They obviously didn’t include most of you in the survey! I heard the Comedian Gallagher say, "Growing up and going to church was the weekly reminder that there is something in life worse than school."
There is no need for people to have that impression. God is not boring, and worshipping Him isn’t boring, and being in His presence isn’t boring and understanding the truth of His word is not boring. If people find church boring it’s not God’s fault! It is our responsibility to communicate the truth of the gospel to this culture but it’s difficult to communicate the truth if we have never made an attempt to connect with our culture.
EXAMPLE OF CONNECTING TO OUR CULTURE: Last week we welcomed back our missionary family, the Swierenga family, which has taken their entire family and spent a year out of our county to live in Costa Rica for the sole purpose to learn Spanish. Why did Jim, Linda, Aaron, Abby and Jake make this commitment? Because they knew in order to have an eternal impact on the people groups they work with they needed to be able to communicate, to understand their language and their culture.
We must be certain to insure that we are speaking a language that connects with this culture. Just like the Swierenga family, we need to be instructed on how to speak to this culture with the truth of God’s word in a language they can understand.
The litmus test of every aspect of every ministry of this fellowship must be: does it help us help people connect with Christ and live in the truth of God’s word? EXAMPLE OF CHC HEALTH FAIR; Pageant; STUDENTS; Premarital Classes; Divorce Care. Is our music helping us reach people for Christ, and is there something we should do to make it better? Is our order of worship awkward and dull, or does it flow with the power of the Holy Spirit? Is there something we can do to improve our order of worship? Do we place enough emphasis in each service on prayer, on the Word, on fellowship? Is the preaching relevant and helping people connect with Christ? We simply must take seriously our responsibility to connect with our culture so we can help our culture connect with Christ. This is what Paul referred to when he said,
“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.” Col. 4:5
A second priority we must adopt as a church has to do with proclaiming God’s truth to provide guidance so people can navigate in this difficult and many times confusing culture.
2. TEACH THE TRUTH (2 Tim. 3:10-17)
Explain the text and application as it is read.
“You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11 persecutions, sufferings--what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:10-17
Have you ever noticed how people cringe when they hear the word “sermon or preach?” Unfortunately, many times it is used in the negative, “don’t preach me a sermon!” I heard about a minister who was thrilled to have been invited to speak at the local high school’s Baccalaureate service…until he found out how he had been chosen. Each member of the selection committee attended a different church on a specific Sunday and timed the message with a stopwatch. The preacher with the shortest sermon was invited!
Do you know what I have noticed about preaching in America? Many people don’t expect a message to be uplifting and encouraging. FOR SOME REASON, THERE ARE EVEN SOME PEOPLE THAT THINK IF A MESSAGE ISN’T NEGATIVE IT’S NOT BIBLICAL. But that’s just not true, we’ve read the Bible, and we know how it ends. God wins. Everything works out.
Paul warned Timothy and he warns us that this world is a terrible place and there is so much wrong with it that at times it may seem unbearable. Sin is destroying the fabric of society. That is the truth and that is bad news. But we have been called to proclaim the truth; to teach the truth that is called, “the Good News!” The good news is Jesus Christ came into the world to save us.
“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst.” 1 Tim. 1:15
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
We have been called to TEACH THE TRUTH: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10 (NIV))
THERE IS NO AMOUNT OF BAD NEWS THAT WE FACE IN OUR CULTURE THAT POWER OF THE GOSPEL CANNOT OVERCOME. Our message to the world is not one of doom and gloom, but one of hope. God loves you and wants to not only give your eternal life but to also provide answers so that while you live in this world you can live a successful and abundant life. That’s good news!
Our culture has the impression that WE believe there are millions of people out in the world committing sins and having a tremendous amount of fun in the process, and what we want them to do is to stop having fun and start coming to church. THAT IS A DISTORTED VIEW OF REALITY AND IT IS NOT BIBLICAL TRUTH. The true fact is that millions of people in the world are committing sin, living their lives outside of the boundaries God has given us to protect us. The truth is that millions are living outside of the boundaries; living without guidance, without direction and without purpose. They’re not having much fun, at least not in the long-run. If you believe the statistics then you know their lives are falling apart. Their relationships are a mess. They’ve become emotional wrecks.
Our culture is a living proof of this biblical truth: "The wages of sin death." We must proclaim the whole gospel to them. We need to tell them that GOD DOES SPEAK TO THE ISSUES THAT CONFRONT OUR CULTURE and we need to tell TEACH the TRUTH; The Truth that provides the answers to their difficult questions; the truth that frees them to come out of their uncertainty and misery and into everlasting joy and abundant life. Even though we teach the truth that "the wages of sin is death” we also teach the whole truth… “But the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Rom. 6:23 There is no amount of confusion, ambiguity, pain or uncertainty that this culture faces that the TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL CAN NOT OVERCOME. WE HAVE THE GUIDANCE SYSTEM; THE TRUE GUIDANCE FROM OUR CREATOR. WE MUST COMMIT TO CLEARLY TEACH THE TRUTH.
In order to be the church God has called us to be, to provide the GUIDANCE and DIRECTION that our culture is seeking, we must finally…
3. PRACTICE THE P.O.P (Col. 4:5-6)
Surveys reveal that many people stop going to church because, they say, the believers were the barrier; they were unfriendly. AT FIRST BAPTIST WE NEVER WANT TO BE A BARRIER TO OUR CULTURE BUT A BRIDGE THAT BRINGS THEM TO CHRIST! That’s why Paul urges us,
“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Colossians 4:5-6
ILLUSTRATION: Letter written by young adult
Dear Pastor: “I moved to South Florida in my early twenties. Immediately I began looking for a new church home. I first attended the church of my denominational affiliation. The first church I visited, no one spoke to me but an usher. The second church I visited, no one spoke to me, period. The third church was only slightly different. On my first Sunday, no one spoke to me, but that afternoon one of the ministers came by and invited me back to church. I attended another service there. No one spoke to me but later in the week the Minister to Single Adults came by and invited me to a Single Adult function. I attended, and even though I am reasonably outgoing, I had a difficult time making friends with anyone. It was a pretty tight knit group and I obviously didn’t fit in. I ended up sitting quietly by myself that evening. I had decided to give up when the Music Minister dropped by my house one evening and asked me to sing in the choir. I said I would. I attended choir practice three Wednesdays in a row and sang in the church choir three Sundays in a row. Still, I had not had any kind of substantial conversation with anyone, beyond telling people my name. It finally dawned on me that the only people who were speaking to me were the ones who were being paid to do it! Here I was: lonely, living in South Florida, a new city, eager to make friends, and even motivated to find a church home, but each church I visited seemed too self-absorbed to welcome outsiders. Pastor, when I quit attending that church I never heard a word from anyone until they contacted me a year later asking for a contribution to their new building program! I just wanted you to know that a work associate invited me to visit First Baptist and my experience at FBC has been so very different; I have felt love, been accepted and really received…it has been two years now and I don’t even consider this a church, it’s my family.”
I want to challenge our church to continue to make a commitment that we will understand that we were all first time guests once; we all looked for someone who would reach out to us and welcome us; someone who would be truly interested in who we are and would invite us into their world.
This is where our P.O.P Strategy comes into play. For a quick review let me again remind you. P.O.P. stands for “PARTNERS ON PURPOSE.” We partner together as pastor and people to help reach our community for Christ. We have a definite plan in that partnership. Let’s review that plan…
• IDENTIFY THE PEOPLE ON YOUR PATH
• INVEST IN THE PEOPLE ON YOUR PATH
• INVITE THE PEOPLE ON YOUR PATH
• INTRODUCE THE PEOPLE ON YOUR PATH
• INSTRUCT THE PEOPLE ON YOUR PATH
I want you to think about your personal influence in this church. Let me approach your influence from a different perspective. You may think, “I have very little influence in my church” but I want you to reconsider... There is an area of our church where you have tremendous influence; more than I will ever have. You can single-handedly show the world that this is a friendly church that has made a difference in your life and you can personally encourage others to join you. Think of how different the perception would have been to that single adult if just one person had taken the time to INVEST in their life?
Our culture is facing some very serious questions; questions that have been clouded with confusion and contradictions. THE CULTURE IS IN DESPERATE NEED OF A MORAL COMPASS THAT WILL PROVIDE LIFE CHANGING DIRECTION TO THESE DIFFICULT ISSUES. Over the next four weeks we discover in this “ON STAR” series the TRUTH we can TEACH regarding three of the most current crisis we face in our culture. However, the only way our culture will hear this truth is if you are willing to PARTNER WITH US and look for the people on your PATH and invite them to join you.
Conclusion
In order for us to be the church that God wants us to be, we must strive to have dynamic, uplifting services. And I give you my word that I will do my best to preach the Bible faithfully, and present the good news of the gospel week by week. But the real key to our success as a church requires more than just entertaining people for an hour. We must connect with people and help them make a life changing connection with Christ providing them the TRUE GUIDANCE THEY NEED TO FACE THE CULTURAL CRISIS AND PROVIDE DIRECTION FOR THEIR FUTURE.
