Creekside Church Sermon of June 1, 2003 "All the Right Stuff " Acts 1:15-17, 21-26	Rev. David Bibbee
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In advance of the upcoming fifth anniversary Piscatorial Pursuits fishing camp that Dan Petry and I will lead at Camp Mack, I 'm going to share a tid-bit from one of my presentations. I will talk about a class of fishing lures called "jerkbaits." The title of the presentation is: "Jerkbaits; You Don't Have to Be One to Fish One." I will also talk about fishing the edges with an emphasis upon "looking for things that are different." Look for where sand bottom turns to rock, or where small rocks change to boulders, or where a straight stretch of a weed line turns, forming a point or a pocket, or where there are small fallen trees in the water with a large one with lots of branches extending into deeper water. Paying attention to what is different spells the difference between catching fish and getting sunshine and fresh air.

When reading the Bible, we should also pay attention to the things that are different - the logical, strange, or out of place in the stories it tells.

In today's text from Acts, the resurrected Jesus has spoken his final words to the disciples. "You will have power when the Holy Spirit comes, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." That is a lot of territory to cover! With that he hailed a cloud and disappeared into the sky. What a moment that must have been. The disciples stood there, their necks craned back, their mouths gaped open at the glory-filled mystical moment.

How would you have responded? Would you have fallen to your knees? Would you spontaneously praise and worship God? Would you tell everyone who would listen to what you had just seen? The disciples called a business meeting. Dramatic events inspire dramatic responses, right?. Jesus disappeared into the stratosphere, and before you knew it, Peter was passing out agendas and telling everyone to quiet down so the meeting could start on time. This is what I mean by finding something different and out of place.

Peter said, "We have a short but important agenda this evening. As you know, when Judas expired it left an unexpired term on our twelve-member board. The personnel committee rought two candidates for our consideration. One is Justus. That's Justus spelled J-U-S-T-U-S, not justice, with an i-c-e. The other is Matthias. Both are qualified, having been with us since the start. Both have seen Jesus after the resurrection. On paper, they both look good, but we need to take it to the Lord in prayer. Andrew, you lead our prayer, and Bartholomew, you'll cast lots."

Mathias was the new number twelve. What is this uninteresting account doing sandwiched between the drama of Jesus' ascension, and the rush of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost? After Jesus' departure, the disciples were on their own. They had to find a way to continue the witness. They needed a structure to hold them together and leadership to guide the church into the future.

Now as then, the church needs leaders who understand the Biblical foundation and traditions upon which the church is built, and at the same time take risks that are necessary for the church to respond to the needs of now and grow. Matthias brought new vision to the disciples. Changing the world required leadership that was willing to change.

Some of you might think that since this sermon is about leadership, you can check out since you are not a leader. Some of you who have been or are currently leaders may think you have the "leadership thing" figured out. Neither of you have an excuse for not listening. There is only one direction leaders can go, and that is forward. If you want to keep the church as it is, hire security guards. If you want to go back to the way it was, get a historian or an archivist, not leaders.

The church must have leaders and willing workers who can distinguish between containers and contents. The contents of the message remain the same - Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. But to have a voice in a changing world, we can't do it the way we have always done it. The content is constant, but the container is always changing.

I want to share with you some "Rules of Leadership" to guide us through the course before us. They come from pastor Anthony Robinson, and though he addressed them to pastors, they are applicable to all leaders and disciples.

First, pastors are no longer responsible. I thought that would wake you up! For Brethren, the speed at which we change has been as fast as a herd of stampeding turtles, with one notable exception. In the span of about twenty-five years starting just before 1920, the church shifted from the free ministry (lay leaders who ran the church but worked in other occupations), to hiring professionally trained pastors. It was a complete reversal. The Brethren shift to paid professional pastors was faster than any other denomination.

Over the years, this "Pastor as professional minister" model has created flawed thinking. The pastor does not "do" ministry "for" the church. You are the ministers. Pastors preach, inspire, dream, lead, train, and encourage, yet you have your work as ministers… the work you promised to do the day you were baptized. When people tell pastors, "Somebody ought to be doing such and such a program," pastors have been conditioned to hear, "I should be doing that." We are at a time when ministry needs to be given back to the disciples. In stead of saying, "OK. I'll do it," we are learning to say, "That sounds like a great idea. It sounds like something God is calling you to do."

Second, when transformation begins, so does trouble. When change is proposed and acted upon, conflict is a given. Emotions get stirred up. People feel threatened and get angry. It's the job of pastors and leaders to work for peace, reconciliation, and nurturing relationships within the congregation. But sometimes in the name of keeping the peace, we stifle the Spirit.

When I hear married couples say, "We have never had an argument about anything in all the years we have been married," I am tempted to say, "That's too bad. Apparently neither of you cares very deeply about anything." The absence of productive conflict in the church means nothing is changing. It means we are preserving the peace. It means business as usual. But blessed is the church that experiences conflict as it seeks to change, for it shall be blessed with new life."

Third, not everyone will say yes. For too long I had the idea that it was the pastor's job to get everyone in agreement on a proposal, and then vote on it before moving ahead. The disciples didn't vote on Matthias. They prayed and cast lots. Casting lots was like rolling dice. Stones with symbols painted upon them were shaken in containers and the ones that popped out decided the matter. It wasn't a holy crap shoot. It was done to minimize human influence in the decision.

I squirm when I think of opportunities that have been lost because of good-intentioned, but unrealistic desires to have consensus on the important matters we have faced. No matter how thorough, how careful, how logical, and how good an idea is presented, not every one will go along with it. The best we can ask of those who have reservations is to trust the decisions that have been made. The wisdom of a decision can always be evaluated. Keep this in mind - the impetus for transforming change most often comes from those who are few in number and willing to take risks. The longer it takes, and the longer it has to go through the channels, the more their energy and enthusiasm slips away.

Closely tied to this is a fourth leadership rule . Robinson calls it, "Counting the yeses." There is something about taking risks that most of us share in common - we don't like taking them. It isn't often that a new ministry gets a ground swell of support at first. It takes time for new ideas to catch on and take hold. Not everyone will be won over, and that's all right. What is important is counting yeses. Focus on support we do have, not on what we don't.

The fifth leadership rule is: Be persistent, or, as I like to put it, "Meet resistance with persistence." Growing up I hated brussel sprouts. We didn't eat them often, but often enough for me to throw a fit. I tried everything to get out of eating them. I remember saying, "If I get sick and throw up on the table it's not my fault." Little did I know how complete the sprout indoctrination was, until years later when going through cafeteria lines. If there were sprouts, I would get them. A voice inside said, "Eat them. They're good for you."

It's a funny thing. Now I love them, especially since I have found good ways to fix them. It took time, but I eventually grew to like the vile little vegetable.

Change inevitably creates resistance. It is a hard-wired response, especially when those changes have to do with how we worship and serve God. We think, "God remains the same and so will we." But Easter challenges this thinking. "Everything has changed since the resurrection." There is no following Jesus without being transformed by him. The Holy Spirit's job is not to safeguard our way of doing things. The Holy Spirit brings enthusiasm, the strength to dare doing what we would never try on our own, and above all, new life.

It didn't seem very exciting-- that business meeting where Matthias was named the new apostle. Don't let the seemingly mundane matters of the church fool you. With Jesus' departure, the church was his body on earth. New leaders were needed to share and declare Jesus gift of new life.

Many years ago in Columbus, Ohio, a man named Lee Frayer was working under the hood of a car at the Frayer-Miller Auto Agency. As he looked up from the hood he was greeted by a kid with a big smile on his face. "Mr. Frayer," he said, "I'm looking for a job and I want to work for you." "Well, I'm flattered," Frayer said, "but I don't need anyone in the shop right now, but if you'll leave your na--."

The young man quipped, "I'm not leaving my name because you need me and you'll never regret hiring me." Frayer gave it some thought but said, "You've got lots of spunk kid, but I'm sorry, I can't afford any more help right now." "That's OK," the boy replied, "I'll just come to work. You don't have to pay me. Maybe, after a few weeks you'll see what I can do and business will pick up and we'll talk about money then." Then he went on his way.

The next morning at 7:00 a.m. the boy showed up for work. Frayer hadn't even arrived yet, but the kid went right to work. He picked up a broom and started sweeping. Frayer was impressed, so much so that at the end of two weeks the kid was on the payroll.

Years later the boy became one of the country's premiere race car drivers. Years later he was recognized as one of the nation's more talented and courageous pilots. Years later he founded Eastern Airlines. Eddie Rickenbacker understood the power of persistence.

I hope these thoughts will get you thinking, and talking, and above all, acting. To the congregation I say, "Trust and support your leaders." They are dedicated, insightful, and ready to roll. To our leaders I say, "Give your best for the church's best; be courageous, lead where the Lord leads. Model for the church what being a disciple is all about."

God has given us all the people and power we need to create something great. Let's not just "lean" on the church for what we want, but "lift it up" as we promised at our baptism. Let's expect trouble along the way. Let's listen to all, then decide, and get moving, though not everyone is in agreement. Let's count the yeses and not squelch the enthusiasm of those who are willing to risk for the sake of a better present and future. And let's not cave into discouragement when resistance comes, but claim the Holy Spirit's strength and discover the power of persistence.

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