A Heart for Ministry
Matthew 4:12-23
January 27, 2008

(Set off alarm clock)

For some of you that’s your favorite sound! You hear the alarm and spring out of bed! You anticipate the promise and potential of another new day! You proclaim, “Good Morning, Lord!” For others of us, that’s one of our least favorite sounds. We hear the alarm, fumble around until we find the clock. We try to turn it off—or at least hit the “snooze” button. Eventually, we crawl out of bed, moan and groan, “Good Lord, it’s morning.”

Some of you are fans of comedian Garry Shandling. One time he commented about his experiences with alarms and wake-up calls in hotels. He says: “Here’s a little tip from me to you as an experienced traveler. “Wake-up calls are one of the worst ways to wake up.” “The phone rings—and it’s loud—you can’t turn it down.” Shandling suggests this alternative: “When I want a wake-up call, I leave the number of the room next to me. Then the phone just rings quietly—and you hear a guy yell, ‘Why are you calling me?’ And you know it’s time to get up—it’s great!”

You might also appreciate this story about another kind of wake-up call. A couple of women who attended church together at one time were also tennis players. Even after one of them stopped going to church, they still remained friends and got together to play tennis. One night after a meeting, the church-going tennis player decided to call her friend schedule a match. She was a member of Christ the Lord Lutheran Church. She called from a church phone in the hallway. Her friend looked at her caller ID and it read “Christ the Lord.” She wasn’t sure whether to answer it or not?

IN TODAY’S SCRIPTURE LESSON, SOME GUYS ARE AT WORK, THEIR CELLPHONES RING—AND THE CALLER ID READS: “CHRIST THE LORD.” Jesus is in Capernaum, an ancient and important farming, fishing, and trading center. The village is located on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, not too far from the sea’s entrance into the Jordan River. Capernaum covers an area of about 15 acres, so it is a significant village in the region. And according to Matthew, this is where Jesus begins his public ministry. Verse 17 sets off the alarm with the words: “From that time….” Jesus begins to preach a message of repentance, of turning back to God—and announcing that the realm of God is near!” Jesus’ message is not just to turn to God, to change direction—but to welcome a new identity, new relationships.

The first four folks to get a personal wake-up call from Jesus are Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John. They are all minding their own business—literally. They are all described as fishermen—although they may have netted enough capital gains to hire some extra help. Jesus calls them to a different kind of fishing expedition—the opportunity to fish for people! And I don’t know about you, but I am shocked that they take the bait so quickly! The Bible says, “Immediately, they left their nets and followed!” How do you do that? You have to be having some kind of serious mid-life crisis to make that move! How do you leave the safety, the security, the steady income? I have to believe that these guys had come to know Jesus—they had to have recognized that there was something special about this man. With a few words, they are hooked! We don’t know what led up to this dramatic moment? But they are willing to let their business flounder—and join Jesus on his journey to proclaim the Good News to the people!

WAKE-UP CALLS! THEY CAN BE SO ANNOYING—BUT THEY ARE ALSO OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN! We’re hearing about all kinds of wake-up calls in the news lately. The stock market is going up and down like a roller-coaster—and the alarm is going off with regard to some serious economic issues. A growing list of environmental prophets are making projections about what will happen to our planet. Political leaders in Kentucky are trying to make us aware of problems we are facing in funding much-needed programs in the Commonwealth. Presidential candidates are asking American voters to pay attention to their particular plans and proposals to bring change in our land.

And some wake-up calls and alarms are going off in our churches. Many have noticed that churches across the country are graying rapidly—without much greening! 75% of all Christian churches are dying or declining. You might do the math and proclaim: “Sure—but let’s be positive!” “That means 25% are growing, right?” “That’s good news?!” “Is your glass ¾ empty or ¼ full?” Well—yes and no—because 24% of them are growing from what some people call the “alumni association” or “migrant worshipers from the other 75%.” Their growth is from people hop, skipping and jumping from congregation to congregation. Only 1% of the churches in the United States—that’s 3000 in over 300,000—are growing because of people who did what Peter, Andrew, James and John did—making new decisions to follow Jesus. Even churches like Willow Creek in Chicago are hearing the alarm! Willow Creek has been one of the most influential churches in the world the past 30 years! Members of frustrated flocks across the country have traveled to the Mecca in South Barrington, Illinois, to model their models and methods. We even had a team from Beargrass wander to the Willow over a decade ago when folks were getting ideas for the contemporary service. And yet, after a multi-year qualitative study of its ministry as well as 30 other churches, Greg Hawkins, executive pastor of Willow Creek, recently released their findings in a book, Reveal: Where Are You?The conclusion of the study? Guess what Willow Creek and the other churches thought they were doing—but weren’t? Making stronger disciples. One of the most imitated, “successful,” churches in the world has issued an alarming apology—“Ooops—we’ve followed the wrong path!”

Maybe it is time for all of us to look at this “discipleship” question more carefully! Leonard Sweet says that too many congregations have become “Lonesome George” churches! One of our church members made a trip to the Galapagos Islands with her grandchildren last year—so she may know about “Lonesome George”—but I suspect many of us don’t. Lonesome George is an 80-year-old, 200 pound, eligible bachelor. But he is also a land tortoise—actually the last of his kind on Pinta Island in the northern Galapagos. He is the sole, solitary surviving Pinta tortoise—and he has become a celebrity of sorts—one of the most studied reptiles on the planet. Biologists and conservationists have tried to get Lonesome George interested in some of his closest genetic relatives. But George refuses to date, much less breed—and no one knows why. Some say his life has been so isolated from any other tortoise he simply doesn’t “get it.” George doesn’t seem to have any sort of “drive” to reproduce.

Sweet believes that we have too many “Lonesome George” churches! He says: “Not to be able to reproduce is the worst crisis any species can have—whether it is a panda bear, a passenger pigeon, a particular church, or a whole denomination.” “In my lifetime, many have gone from mainline to oldline to sideline to offline to flatline.” “According to our text today, what do disciples do? “First, disciples follow a leader, Jesus.” “Second, disciples make more disciples—they reproduce.” “Disciples live and love in such a way that others want to join them in the journey of proclaiming the Good News in the world.”

SO, WHAT’S HAPPENING IN “GREGARIOUS GEORGE” AND “GREGARIOUS GEORGIANNA” CHURCHES—CONGREGATIONS THAT ARE GROWING? Church consultants and analysts like Ed Stetzer and Martha Grace Reese have studied hundreds of churches in recent years that stuck their neck out, avoided extinction, and have experienced a resurrection of sorts! From studies of congregations from a variety of denominations, three faith factors have emerged again and again. Church members have a renewed faith in Jesus Christ and the church’s mission in the world. There is a renewed attitude of servanthood and discipleship—less selfishness and more concern about the community. There is a rediscovery of the power of the spiritual, specifically, the power of prayer. Disciple-making communities are faithful, sacrificial, praying communities! So that’s why church members, staff members, and I have issued a wake-up call for Beargrass Christian Church!

As I mentioned last week during the “State of the Church” address, I believe that the time has come for us to recharge our spiritual batteries and fill up our spiritual gas tanks and renew our commitment to be disciples who make disciples. It is my hope and prayer that all 8 of our adult Sunday School classes, all of our Board members, all of our folks who don’t fall into any of those groups—show up on 2/10 @ 10 in Chalice Hall. Dr. Gary Straub and I will be co-presenting a series called “Unbinding Your Heart!”
Call it a revival!
Call it a renewal!
Call it a revitalization!
Call it a restoration!
Call it spiritual resuscitation!
Call it recovery!
Call it a time of re-cognition!
Call it a time of re-creation!
Call it a liberation for “Lonesome George!”
Call it want you want!
But we are doing it because of the One who called Peter and Andrew and James and John. We are doing it because Jesus calls us to follow him… To be dynamic disciples! And to make dynamic disciples in this world!