Creekside Church Sermon of September 28, 1997 "Is Our Way the Only Way?" Mark 9:38-41	Rev. David Bibbee
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Linda Petracelli is a United Church of Christ pastor who grew up in a strict Catholic school. Sister Mary Roberts Cecilia was the epitome of strict, and one day she preached to the children that everyone, including and especially the Lutherans and Episcopalians who were not Catholic, were going straight to hell. That afternoon, Linda's mother greeted her with the customary after school question, "What are you thankful for today, dear?" Linda replied, "Today I am thankful that Sister Mary Roberts Cecilia is not God."

Today I am thankful for all those whom God is not. I am thankful God is not Catholic, Southern Baptist, independent and fundamental, or Brethren. I am thankful that you are not God, and you should be thankful I am not God. The reason is found in a verse from the hymn, "There's a wideness in God's mercy". It goes, "But we make God's love too narrow by false limits of our own, and we magnify its strictness with a zeal God will not own." It seems in our nature to take the truths of God and tailor them to our specifications so that what fits us becomes the standard by which we judge others. Our way of understanding, experiencing, worshipping, and serving the Lord becomes the only way.

One day John came to Jesus all hot and bothered. "Teacher, we saw a guy casting out demons in your name. We didn't know who he was or where he was from. He didn't use the words we do. He used a completely different order of service. We told him in no uncertain terms to cease and desist from this activity because he wasn't one of us."

You should know what happened prior to this event which influenced the disciples' response to the unknown exorcist. Jesus had sent them out to do the same thing, but they were unsuccessful. They had seen Jesus do it a hundred times. They used the same words, held their hands the same way, but nothing happened. Do you suppose they may have been envious of the unknown successful man? Somebody said that envy is, "the consuming desire to have everyone else as unsuccessful as you are." If we can't do it, then he shouldn't either.

Of course they didn't come out and say it that way. It came out, "We didn't know him. His form was flawed. He didn't have a license to practice exorcisms in your name. He wasn't one of us." But Jesus said, "Don't stop him. No one can use my name for good and then cut me down. If he's not an enemy, he's an ally."

I sat in the pew in pain, listening to one of the worst excuses of a sermon I had ever heard. The preacher's interpretation of the text was way off the mark. His mannerisms were irritating. He was preying on people's emotions, plucking at their heart strings like a cheap guitar. He violated every rule in the book, and I disagreed with virtually everything he said. As I sat there I thought of what I could do if I was preaching that text. How can these people bear listening to this guy week after week? Then I looked around and saw a couple of people crying. After the service was over I overheard people talking about how meaningful the message was. So much for my opinion. I guess his way didn't have to be my way to get the job done.

Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name and told him to stop it because he wasn't one of us. He didn't do it like we do." But Jesus said, "Don't stop him. If he's not an enemy, he's an ally."

One of the featured speakers at the Caring Ministries 2000 Conference last month was a renowned surgeon who uses prayer and meditation and emphasizes spiritual resources in healing. He has worked extensively with cancer patients, and through a combination of traditional medicine and spiritual disciplines, has witnessed remarkable recoveries and personal transformations in his patients. Prior to the conference I received a letter from a church urging the planning committee to reevaluate including this speaker. It said, "To have him there would dilute and jeopardize our cornerstone belief in Jesus as God's son and the Bible as God's word. The speaker is closely aligned with the New Age movement."

Awhile back I told you about a Christian radio broadcaster's attack on highly respected Christian leaders including Tony Campolo, Richard Foster, and Eugene Peterson. In his eyes they are not allies in Christ. They are the enemy. He labeled them "New Agers in Christian clothing." Groups before whom they were to speak cancelled their engagements.

Promise Keepers is an movement that is calling Christian men to rekindle their commitment to Christ, family, and church, and to work at breaking down the walls which divide the races. Next weekend John Berkebile and John Sternberg will be traveling to Washington D.C. for the "Stand in the Gap" gathering which will hopefully bring together in excess of one million Christian men. You may have read that NOW, the National Organization of Women, is protesting the event. But I also want you to know I received a letter from the pastor of the Wakarusa Bible Baptist church, encouraging me and other pastors to warn our people about the Promise Keepers movement because, he says, it has been infiltrated by, you guessed it...the New Age movement.

How quick we are to oppose what we do not understand. "Teacher, we saw some guy casting out demons in your name. We told him to stop it because he wasn't one of us." How like Mark's description of the disciples we areþtaking the life-changing gospel which crosses the boundaries of language, theology, race, denomination, and categories of conservative, moderate, and liberal, and reducing it to size...our size...the size of our partial understanding of God's word and Jesus' truth.

In the past, I've made remarks about some church, some leader, or Christian author only to have the person I'm talking to say, "That church, that book, or that leader was responsible for me becoming a Christian...it changed my life, made me a better person." Too often I stand there like a dummy trying to figure out how, forgetting that God is big enough and the way, truth, and life of Jesus is broad enough, and the Holy Spirit is powerful enough to reach people through a style other than my own. Then the hymn goes off in my head, "But we make God's love too narrow by false limits of our own..."

This text is a mirror. In John's complaint we see ourselves. We get smug and critical of other Christians not like us, especially when they are successful. "Well yes...that church is growing, and we're not. But that's because we are more progressive, better educated, more willing to take stands on issues that aren't very popular these days." Nice try. When we are not successful it's easy to pick on the method of those who are. "We told him to stop, Lord."

When John told Jesus about the unknown exorcist, notice what Jesus didn't do. He didn't go to check him out. He didn't give him a theology exam. Didn't ask him if he was Bible believing or born again. Jesus didn't inquire about the man's method, his credentials, or denominational affiliation. It was enough to know he was ministering in Christ's name. That seems to be it. "If he's not an enemy, he's an ally, so God bless him."

The disciples had to adjust their thinking about who belonged to the mission. Maybe their way wasn't the only way. In John's gospel, Jesus said, "I have other sheep that are not of this fold." The people Jesus will use to spread his message will be as varied as he needs them to be to touch as many lives as possible. The message this text conveys is that when Jesus rebukes the disciples, he is rebuking our attempts at limiting God. Ultimately, the question of who's with him and who is not comes down to the final product.

A husband and wife got into a fight over the name of their first born. She wanted to name him after her father. He wanted to name him after his. Getting nowhere, they went to their Rabbi to resolve the dispute. "What is the name of your father?" the Rabbi asked the husband. "Abijah." "And what was your father's name?" he asked the wife. "Abijah." "Then what's the problem?" the Rabbi asked in a confused tone. "You see, Rabbi," said the wife, "my father was a scholar and his father was a horse thief. How can I allow my son to be named after a man like that?"

The Rabbi pondered this delicate problem. He didn't want one party to feel it had won and the other that it had lost. So finally he offered a solution. "This is what I suggest. Name the boy Abijah. Then wait to see if he becomes a scholar or a horse thief, and you'll know after whom he was named."

The only way to know if one is an enemy or ally of Jesus, is the final product. Is anyone helped? Is anyone healed? Is anyone led to God? Should we be picky, critical, embarrassed, or refuse to acknowledge those whom through Jesus is known, if Jesus has no problem with them?

I want to tell you about J.P. Freeman. When I was in college, J.P. ran the Mainview Tavern. Life was one big party for J.P., and there was little he hadn't done or at least tried once. Alcohol got to be a big problem for him. Then a change began. Under the influence of some Christian friends, J.P. found the prospect of becoming a Christian more and more appealing. His growth was gradual. I remember one December when the Mainview's front window had the message, "Keep Christ in Christmas" painted on it in large letters. Not long afterward J.P. sold the Mainview. Now he work's for Manchester College and pastors a church. He's the same live-wire personality, but now there is a different sparkle in his eyes.

His church meets in a pole barn structure on the outskirts of North Manchester. Their style of worship is different from ours. It's a free-spirited, free wheeling come as you are style. They don't sing hymns to organ accompaniment. They use drums, guitar, base and keyboard. Lots of clapping and swaying. Ship them to Elkhart to worship with us and they'd feel lost. Some of them would think a call to worship was a phone call inviting you to church. They wouldn't know what to do with our order.

J.P. is out there preaching and pastoring in Jesus' name. No college or seminary degree. No credentials. "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name. He's not one of us." Last month I had a conversation with J. P. "How's church going?" I asked. "Fantastic! This Sunday we're having our twenty-seventh baptism of the year." "No one can use my name to do good and in the next breath cut me down. If he's not against us, he's for us." Jesus said. "I have other sheep not of this fold. By their fruits, by their substance and not their style, you'll know them."

I walked away wondering when we last baptized twenty-seven people in one year?

Is our way the only way?

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