Set Free to Serve -- A Sermon

This sermon was preached on Thursday, September 16, 2010, at Northwestern Christian Church in Detroit, as part of a three day revival.  The CWCC choir joined me in sharing a message of freedom and service with this congregation pastored by my friend and colleague, the Rev. Eugene James.

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Set Free to Serve

John 8:31-36

Two years ago I went to a pastor’s conference in Chicago, and before I left, someone, I think it was John Lacey, told me that I needed to connect with the Rev. Eugene James while I was there. With that in mind, I had my eye out for this pastor from Detroit, and on that very first day, as I took the elevator to my room, I found myself standing right next to a man named Eugene James. From that moment on, Eugene and I have built a strong friendship and a strong partnership in ministry. We’ve done a lot of talking and a lot of dreaming about joint ventures in mission, and while we’ve done more talking than doing, I know that good things are on the horizon. I am also pleased to affirm Eugene’s calling, along with that of Maggie Mills, to serve as co-regional ministers of the Michigan Region during this important time of transition, because I have great trust in their wisdom and spiritual discernment. So, having said all of this by way of introduction, I want to say how pleased I am to have received an invitation to bring my choir and share a message at this week’s revival.

The theme for the revival is simple and straightforward. If you’re a follower of Jesus, then you have been set free so that you might serve. Over the past several weeks I’ve been taking to heart this theme, and pondering what it is I should share this evening. What is it that God would have us hear from John’s gospel about the message of freedom that comes from Jesus? And what are the implications that can be drawn from this powerful statement:

“You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”

Yes, if you know the truth, which means if you’re willing to follow the teachings of Jesus, then you will be set free. For as Jesus says to his critics: “If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” We come here tonight to hear a word about freedom and service, two words that don’t seem to fit very well together in our society, and yet in Christ, they belong together, even as a hand fits in a glove. But, we must ask two questions: From what am I being set free and where will this freedom to serve lead?

1. The Starting Point

The Disciples tradition, out of which both our congregations emerge, isn’t big on confession of sin. We’re a pretty optimistic people and so we don’t spend a lot of time focusing on sin, especially original sin. But, experience tells us that there’s a dark side to life. There is evil in the land, and we dare not ignore its presence. But, not only is evil present in the land, but all of us at one time or another get caught up in its web. Whether we like to admit it – and it seems as if the people Jesus was talking to didn’t want to admit it – we all have experienced bondage to sin and need to be set free so that we can experience the blessings of God’s presence in our lives. We need to be set free from this web so that we can truly love God and love our neighbors.

If we’re going to be set free, however, we’ll need to know what it is we need to be set free from. Paul pointed out that the Law is there to shine a light on those areas of our lives that are contrary to God’s vision for our lives. Although we can summarize the commandments of God in two very succinct statements – love God and love your neighbor – we need more details. That’s what the Ten Commandments and the other laws do for us – they help us understand how we can love God and love our neighbors.

Sin, to give a simple definition, involves our failure to love God with our entire being and our failure to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. If we’re to be set free from this bondage, this slavery to sin, then we first have to acknowledge that we have a problem – something that Jesus’ audience couldn’t acknowledge. But, as we know from the many Twelve Step programs, you have to acknowledge that you have a problem, before you can get help.

So, what is it that we should confess? What is it that we need to acknowledge before we can be set free by the grace and mercy of Jesus? Could it be a false idol, such as a nicer and fancier vehicle, a bigger house, or fame and fortune? Could it be the kind of self-doubt that keeps us from recognizing that we’re created in the image of God, and therefore makes it impossible to embrace our gifts and callings from God? Could it be anger, jealousy, or unfaithfulness? Could it be the stereotypes, prejudices, and suspicions that separate us from one another?

I must say that I’m deeply disturbed by the growing polarization in our society. I’m concerned about politicians, pundits, and so-called religious leaders who seek to gain power by dividing us from one another. Paul may have said that in Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male and female, (Gal. 3:28), but even the church has failed to live out this promise. Therefore, if we’re to be set free then we must first recognize our condition so that God can begin to transform us into the people we’re meant to be. And then as God changes our hearts and minds, we can better reflect the glory that is God in and through our own lives. Then we can sing with complete honesty that old song: “They will know we are Christians by our love.”

2. Set Free for a Purpose

If we start with the premise that each of us needs to be set free from something, then the next question has to do with the nature and meaning of this freedom. We may all desire to experience freedom, but I doubt if we all define the word in the same way.

As I stand here tonight in this pulpit, I’m quite conscious of the fact that I’m a white pastor of a predominantly white congregation, who has brought an all-white choir, to share a message of freedom in a predominantly black church. I’m a historian by training, so I know the history of our nation. I know about the long struggle for freedom and civil rights that has marked the African American story in this nation. I know the story, but I’ve not experienced it. Therefore, if I’m going to address this theme with integrity, then I must make this confession. Although I can speak to the issues and I can sing the spirituals with gusto, I know that my experience and that of my ancestors is different from the African-American experience. But, even if I can’t completely understand the full meaning of freedom as it is understood in the African-American community, I take refuge in the knowledge that in Christ we are indeed one, and that in him we can experience true freedom.

By making our confession, we’re ready to hear the good news. God has provided us with a road to freedom, a road that leads out of the land of slavery into the land of promise. And the one who will be our guide along this journey is Jesus. Just as Moses guided the people of Israel out of Egypt and toward the promised land, Jesus shall do the same for us. And even though Moses died before he could cross the river, leaving the rest of the journey in the hands of Joshua, the Gospel story tells us that Joshua’s namesake, the one we call Jesus of Nazareth, not only leads us out of slavery but he also leads us across the river.

In the story of Good Friday, we hear the bad news that the Romans had cut short his journey. When they laid him in the tomb, Jesus’ followers thought that it was over, that they’d never get to cross to the other side. But the message of Easter tells us that God has turned aside the attempts of those who would keep the world in bondage. By raising Jesus from the dead, God provided a way for us to cross to the other side of the river so that we might experience true freedom.

The message seems clear; if we will embrace Jesus as our Lord and embrace his teachings, which call for us to love God with our entire being and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, then we will experience true freedom. But freedom isn’t an end in itself. With freedom comes responsibility, which is a message that many of us neglect to hear and embrace.

This is the point that Paul was making when he responded to those who claimed that “all things are lawful.” “All things may be lawful, Paul says, but not all things are beneficial. True freedom isn’t the opportunity to do whatever we want, whenever we want. True freedom means seeking to do that which builds up the entire body. As Paul told the Corinthians, seek that which builds up. “Do not seek your own advantage, but that of the other” (1 Cor. 10:23-243). In difficult times, like this, it’s easy to put our own wants and desires first, and take advantage of our liberties at the expense of others, but the word that we hear from the scriptures is this: Take hold of your freedom, but do so in a way that is responsible, so that the body might be built up.

3. Gifted For Service

When we hear the word freedom in our cultural context, we often hear it in very individualistic ways. This is especially true right now, in this political season. Everybody is looking out for themselves. They want what they think they’re entitled to get, and if that means getting what they want at the expense of others, then so be it! Unfortunately, what is true in the political realm, is often true in the church. Too often we define the church in terms of our individual wants and desires. In the New Testament, however, the church is defined in terms of community. The church is a body, whose members may be different from each other, and yet in Christ and through the Holy Spirit of God, they are made one.

To get a sense of what we’re called to be and do, as people who have been set free by Jesus, we need to look at the fourth chapter of Ephesians. In Ephesians 4 we hear a word to the church about God’s gifts to the church, gifts that are intended to be used for the up building of the body of Christ, so that we might come “to the unity of the faith, to maturity, the measure of the full stature of Christ.” As we continue reading, we hear a reminder that we’re no longer children, who are tossed to and fro by doctrines, trickery, and deceit. Now there’s nothing wrong with being a child, if you’re a child, but if you’re an adult, then childish behavior and attitudes aren’t appropriate. So, if we’re to be truly free, then we must move toward maturity in our faith.

So that we can hear this message clearly, I’d like to read from the fourth chapter of Ephesians (verses 4:1-16).

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

7 But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8Therefore it is said, ‘When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people.’

9(When it says, ‘He ascended’, what does it mean but that he had also descended* into the lower parts of the earth? 10He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) 11The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. 14We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. 15But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

As you reflect these words of scripture, consider the words that begin the chapter:

Therefore, as a prisoner for the Lord, I encourage you to live as people worthy of the call you received from God.

Although he’s writing this letter from prison, he knows that in Christ he is free, and that he has been set free to build up the body of Christ. In hearing this call to freedom, he encourages us to make use of our freedom by conducting ourselves “with all humility, gentleness, and patience.” We’re being called to affirm the oneness of the body of Christ in the way we live our lives.

Having been set free, God has given us gifts for service. In this letter five gifts are mentioned – Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers. Each of these gifts are expressions of leadership in the church, but there are other lists, such as the ones in 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 that broaden the spectrum. Each of these gifts is given to us so that we might be equipped for service to the body of Christ. God gives this gifts so that we can bear witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ – the very gospel that has set us free so that we might serve.

As we move toward a time of decision, I want to pose these questions: Are you ready to be set free? Are you willing to embrace the call to walk according to the way of Jesus? And if you’re ready to be set free, are you ready to take on the responsibilities of a life worthy of this calling? And if you’re willing to take on these responsibilities, are you ready to serve according to the gifts that God has poured upon the church, so that it might be built up? Are you ready to be set free to serve?

 

Preached September 16, 2010

at Northwestern Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Detroit, MI

 

Revive Us Again! Passionately and Progressively?

Cane Ridge Revival 1801

Last week I posted an essay by Professor/Pastor Bruce Epperly entitled "A Passionate Progressive Christian Revival," and in that essay Bruce argued that progressives need to experience a passionate revival.  I was thinking about what such a thing would look like as I participated in a revival at a Black Disciples Church in Detroit last night.  

It was my first revival in a Black church, and I must say -- I came home moved, revived, and restored.  There was music and prayer and preaching.  The guest revivalist, Pastor George Davis, stirred us with his message out of 1 Chronicles 7:14 -- the first of three messages.  The choir and the praise team sang (and that was enjoyable).  And Pastor Rufus Lewis sang "I Won't Complain" in honor of a beloved church member who had died that day.  After the preaching, Pastor Rufus called up the pastors in the house, and several of my colleagues and I went up front, and we prayed with those wishing prayer.  It was a unique experience that was spiritually uplifting.  I must say, I was warmly received and greeted by all.  Indeed, that might have been the most moving part of all -- the warmth of the fellowship.    

So, what would a progressive revival look like?   Would it look like a bible lecture?  Would it stir the souls?  Would it call out from us a deep sense of need for the presence of God?  Would it exude love of neighbor?  Further, if, my congregation were to hold a three night revival with a guest preacher, would the people come out?  As a Disciple I know that our roots go back to the Second Great Awakening.  Barton Stone, one of our founders, was host to the famous Cane Ridge Revival - an event that was anything but a rationalist experience for participants.  So, my question goes forth.  How might the Spirit move in our midst in a way that when we go forth we have been revived and restored? 

A PASSIONATE PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIAN REVIVAL? (By Bruce Epperly)

I have asked Dr. Bruce Epperly, a Disciples/UCC pastor and professor at Lancaster Theological Seminary to write a series of guest postings.  This is the first of those postings.   Keep an eye out for the next offering as it will follow up on this most important piece.

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Recently, I asked my theology students the following questions: “What would you think of Christianity if the only Christian you heard in the public sphere was Pat Robertson asserting that the earthquake in Haiti was the result of divine punishment? If that’s all you heard, would you want to have anything to do with Christianity?” After a spirited discussion, I reminded my class that for most people, especially persons who have not grown up in the church, Pat Robertson, Fred Phelps, Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn, and religious spokespersons who denounce the theory of evolution and evidence of global climate change as demonic are the only Christian voices they hear! Progressive and moderate Christians seldom get a hearing in the public sphere, nor do we often share our witness with passion and clarity.

I spent part of Good Friday in conversation with a pastor who believes that the current political and religious context is calling for a moderate and progressive revival, a 21st century progressive Great Awakening. Yes, I said “revival!” She had been mulling over a documentary, chronicling Billy Graham’s career as North America’s premier evangelist and wondered if progressives shouldn’t initiate such a spiritual revival in our time. Her words, to use the language of my evangelical friends, “convicted” me. They reminded me that we are involved in a type of spiritual warfare and that we, as progressives, haven’t yet gathered a strong team of peaceful warriors to get our message out in the theological, spiritual, political, and public sphere. We seem content with slow decline, when we should be moving forward to take a central place in North America’s future spiritual landscape.

There is a gathering cultural and religious storm in the United States: we see it in the racist and homophobic epithets and death threats directed at members of the House of Representatives; the rise of Christian militia groups; the apocalyptic language invoked by the more radical members of the Tea Party movement, some of which is encouraged by the inflammatory language of media personalities and conservative political figures. Some of this is not new, but the volume been raised and has virtually drowned out the voices of progressive and moderate Christians in the public sphere and on cable television news.

One thing I appreciate about many of my conservative friends is that they are quite emphatic about what they believe. They recognize that the stakes are high, and they want to shape the outcome of the political and religious battles of our time. Perhaps, we progressives need to inject greater passion in our theology and spirituality, so that people will know that there is a Christianity that is open-spirited, welcoming of diversity, spiritually dynamic, supportive of the scientific enterprise whether it involves the theory of evolution, genetic research, or the recognition of global climate change. We need to make our witness known in the public sphere because, more often than not, most people outside of the church are amazed that it is possible to be a Christian and believe that:

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  The universe is fourteen billion years old.
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  Evolution is compatible with faith in God.
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  Humankind isn’t necessarily the center of God’s plan and that other species matter as well.
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  The bible is inspired but not infallible.
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  Faithful persons can have serious questions about their beliefs.
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  Persons of other faiths also receive revelations from God.
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  Non-Christians, atheists, and agnostics can be “saved.”
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  Progressives have a prayer life and believe in divine healing.
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  Persons of faith are interested in saving the earth.
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  God treasures ethnic, sexual, religious and cultural diversity.
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  Persons can disagree without hating one another.
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  The Bible supports an ethic of social concern supports the rights of immigrants and the recent health care initiatives.
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  Jesus’ had female followers and these women were given the Great Commission before their male companions.
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  Christianity is a diverse and multifaceted faith.
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  God is alive, present, and moving in our lives.
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  God wants us to be free, creative, and adventurous.
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  God does not cause earthquakes, cancer, or tsunami.
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  God is into love and not punishment.
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  We have a role in shaping the future of the planet.

A few days ago at the Easter Service at Disciples United Community Church (http://www.ducc.us/) in Lancaster, PA., the members of our open and affirming, progressive, spirit-centered church, shared seeds of resurrection. Their words witnessed to God’s seeds of resurrection growing through:

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  Trust in everlasting God’s care for a relative who died in a sudden accident.
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   Recovery from addiction.
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  The first steps toward universal health care.
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   The movement toward marriage equality.
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   The power of prayer to change lives.
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  A relative coming home after a two month absence.
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   Family reconciliation.
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   A healthy pregnancy.

As my evangelical friends say, “that will preach,” and it preached at Easter in our small community of faith. When we boldly give our testimony, our progressive witness does preach – it is good news of affirmation, revelation, healing, and love that embraces all humanity and welcomes diversity. It is good news that God never gives up even at the moment of death. It is good news that small beginnings can lead to great adventures. It is good news that God loves diversity, cherishes multiplicity, and encourages creativity.

We progressives have a witness that we can be passionate about and can share in heartfelt ways at church, in the public square, and in the media. Nearly a hundred years ago, William James spoke of the “moral equivalent of war,” that is, the willingness for persons to become “peaceful warriors,” energetically and ardently committing ourselves to a great cause. As progressive and moderate Christians, we don’t need to demonize or demean those who take different political or religious pathways, but we need to be strong in our witness, faithful in our quest for justice, dedicated in our spiritual practices, and active in our political involvement. Perhaps, we need our own “revivalists” today – on line, in the community square, in the media, and in our pulpits, for the great cause of healing this good earth and its peoples.

In concluding today’s thoughts, let me ask: What would a passionate, progressive revival look like? Where and how might we get involved in shaping such a revival? What are our “seeds of resurrection?” What words do we need to say and whom do we need to challenge? What role might we play in a theological, spiritual, and political revival today?

Bruce Epperly is a seminary professor and administrator, pastor, theologian, and spiritual companion. He is the author of seventeen books, including Holy Adventure: 41 Days of Audacious Living, a response to Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life. (http://www.bruceepperly.com/)