Creekside Church Sermon of January 11, 1998 "We Confess" Revelation 2:1-5	Rev. David Bibbee
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Last month on public radio some movie critics were asked to pick their favorite film of all time. It only took a moment for me to pick mine. I loved it as a kid and I love it still...The Wizard of Oz. It had many memorable moments; one when Dorothy and Toto were sucked into the vortex of the tornado and dropped in a place that looked nowhere like home, and when Dorothy came to in that unfamiliar place she said, "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."

It's not unlike what we feel with February 1st looming before us. We are at a place in the one- hundred-five-year history of this church that we haven't been before. We're trying to get our bearings, deal with our feelings, and discern God's directions because the decision will determine the future, not simply concerning where we are, but who we are. The prospects are frightening, disorienting, and exciting-emotions which are typical whenever big challenges are met head on. Over the next four Sundays leading up to the council meeting, we are going to look at what I consider are important touch stones in this process. Following God's lead into the future calls for a clear vision, a specific mission, and an intentional decision. But before we reflect on these areas, I want to share a foundation of essential assumptions upon which all we say and do shall rest. Here's my list:

1: There is one foundation for the church, and that is Jesus Christ. He has a vested interest in it. It is, after all, his body. There is a plan and purpose for it that will not fail.

2: We are invited to be part of that plan, and His purpose will be realized, with or without us.

3: The church matters. This world is full of technological marvels and at the same time is pulling apart at the seams. Hurt, hostility, and spiritual poverty will increase, and there is no place under heaven that better offers meaning, healing, and hope than the church.

4: What happens outside the church plays a major role in determining what happens inside. We are affected by factors we did not create and are not our fault.

5: Repeating yesterday's solutions or trying to improve upon them will not work. This is a new day with new challenges. You can't drive forward looking in the rear view mirror.

6: Holding steady will not work. We should appreciate our traditions and preserve what is best, but not be hamstrung by them. If we are content with the church as it is, we can expect numerical decline and shrinking resources.

7: The genius of the church over the centuries has been its ability to adapt and change to share its message. The only non-negotiable is Jesus Christ and the foundation of scripture. To be the church in the future will require new ways of packaging old truths.

8: God is calling us to himself and a new future, and we need each other to hear the call.

9: We have strength on which to build. I wish you all would have come to our prayer meeting last Sunday night. Cary asked us to recall special moments that have happened in the church. We were on a roll telling stories of how the care and concern of Christ was present in times of need, the lengths that love went to draw people in the circle of faith, the high moments of worship, the ways in which the church came together in tough times and showed that the faith which binds us is greater than our differences.

This is what it's all about. As I listened I was struck by those strengths upon which the church for tomorrow must be built. But strengths aren't the whole story. If we were doing everything right, we wouldn't be facing the situation we are today. This is why before we mention vision, mission, and decision, we must offer confession. We can't just tap dance on our strengths and tiptoe around our weaknesses. We must drop the disguise and confess the ways we have fallen short.

In the second chapter of Revelation, John writes on behalf of Christ to the church at Ephesus. He praises their hard work and patient persistence; their pursuit of truth and the desire to expose false teachings that diluted the good news. In the face of persecution they didn't wear down. A strong church! "But this I hold against you." The text says. "You've walked away from your first, early love." When they first became Christians, the Ephesians were passionate people. Love burned bright in their relationships with Christ and each other. In Acts 20: 32 when Paul said goodbye for the last time, it says they all wept and hugged and kissed him because they would miss him and his word.

They were a strong church. Orderly. Orthodox. Sound teaching. Honored their outreach allocations. Kept up the church property. But the gauge on the love tank was on empty. Unless they repented ASAP, their light would be taken from them.

Let's assume we know what a letter from Jesus would say about our strengths. But what gives him grief? One area in which we have dropped the baton is evangelism. Not wanting to be rude and intrusive about sharing our faith the way some do it, we have opted to say nothing at all. Oh, a handful of us have worked at it, but over the years the church as a whole has not been thinking in terms of sharing faith and being intentional about reaching beyond the confines of this building. We felt we didn't need to. Growth wasn't a problem back in the early sixties. You had two worship services. But what has happened since then? Your kids went to college and didn't move back. Church growth by making babies couldn't replace those who were moving on and passing away.

About eight years ago Olden Mitchell preached a sermon in which he documented the steady statistical decline in membership and attendance at Elkhart City. He said that unless steps were taken to stop the slide by learning to reach out to others, it wouldn't be very long until this church that was once large would be small. Shortly after I arrived I heard about that sermon. I could tell that some of you didn't like it very much. It was hard to swallow...because it was true.

We have been given the best story of all time. The God of the universe wants a relationship with everyone. In Jesus, God shows us that before anything else, above all else, beyond everything else, God loves us. But we've kept it a secret from others, and I think, even from ourselves. The gift does nothing that is not shared. We must confess that where evangelism is concerned, sharing Jesus Christ in word and deed, we have been keepers of the aquarium, and not fishers of people.

Another cause for confession has been a "maintenance mode of ministry". Along the way there have been efforts that have made a positive impact, but from my perspective, we've been content with a "hold it steady, repeat what you've done before and wonder why it doesn't work" approach. The prevailing mood seems to be characterized by contentment. Somewhere along the way our thinking got confused and we forgot who the ministers are and where ministry takes place. The staff aren't the ministers, you are. Ministry doesn't happen "in here" but "out there." Pastors do not do ministry for you. They edify, equip, and encourage you to do it, out there in your neighborhood, at work, and at school...where the hurts, hungers, and needs are.

How many of you have heard yourselves saying in regard to identifiable human needs, "we should, we ought, we must."? How long will the Lord say, "Whom shall I send?" And we respond, "Here am I! Send somebody else."?

This isn't "feel good" stuff, I know. Breaking out of denial is tough work. Without confessing what's wrong, there is no chance for change. If any of you are still with me, we've come now to the principle cause for confession which I believe is tied to our problem of speaking up and reaching out.

I've heard some of you say the decision is not whether we shall remain at Benham and Wolf or relocate. The real issue is all about soul. You say that we're looking for a geography fix to a spiritual issue. You say that what's really necessary is spiritual renewal. You say we need to be reintroduced to God. Identify our hungers for what they are. We need to learn to practice God's presence through prayer and other spiritual disciplines which will bring coherence and purpose and reorder our priorities and make us alive, attractive, and outgoing. Then we will be a new church. I agree. Forget the "FIELD OF DREAMS"..."Build it and they will come." Moving won't change us. Staying won't change us, only our desire to be different and God can change us.

But this doesn't mean we should table our decision. Location is an important factor for our future. We cannot wait to complete a spiritual renewal project and then decide because the numbers and resources may be insufficient to make the changes necessary for either option. Concurrent with a decision on location must come a commitment to the spiritual life. Regardless of the choice, we need to realize we aren't in Kansas anymore. We will need to do church differently. More will be asked of us, and more will be given, but not without a recovery of the one essential element...passion for the PRESENCE. If the sum total of our spiritual union with God is limited to showing up on Sunday and doing a stint on a committee, then we will no more be vital, vibrant Christians than sleeping in a garage can make us cars.

When he visits kindergarten classes, Robert Fulghum asks, "How many of you can draw?" All hands shoot up. "What can you draw?" "Anything!" "A dog eating a fire truck in a jungle?" "Sure." "How many can sing?" "We all sing!" "What if you don't know the words?" "We'll make them up! Let's sing now!" "How many of you dance?" It's unanimous. "What kind of music do you like to dance to?" "Any kind. Let's dance." "Now?" "Sure! Why not?" "Do you act in plays? Yes! Play instruments? Yes! Write poetry? Yes! Do you read, write, and count?" "Yes, yes, yes!"

For children everything is possible. But Fulghum observed that if you try the same questions on college students, only a small percentage will raise their hands. Those who do qualify their answers. "I only play the piano." "I only draw horses." "I only sing in the shower." When asked why, they say they don't have the talent, they're not majoring in the subject, they haven't done it since third grade, or worse, they're embarrassed for others to see them sing, dance, or act.

Fulghum says, "Imagine then the same question asked of an older audience. The answer: 'No, none of the above.'" What went wrong between kindergarten and college and old age? "I have seen what you have done. All your hard work." Jesus said to the church at Ephesus. But I hold this against you...you've lost your early love. You have circled the wagons and drawn inward and grown tired and timid. You have forgotten who you are.

Years ago one of the prolific composers of black gospel music was writing lyrics by an open window. Groping for a line, he closed his eyes. Just then a leaf blew in and landed on his paper. When he opened his eyes his pen was on the leaf. A leaf between the pen and paper. It inspired a metaphor for a hymn..."Nothing Between"..."Nothing between my savior and my soul." It's time to name what is between and keeps this church confined. It's time to turn around and go back-not to old ways, but to an old flame - an early love.

At our Wednesday prayer meeting we were asked what God thinks about our church. Betty Kelsey offered a beautiful response. She said, "God sees us bigger than we see ourselves. God wants us to see him bigger." Confession isn't meant to clobber us, but to change us, open our eyes, to see that God is bigger, to see that we are bigger-to know that there is something MORE...To be the best we can be.

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