Oct 03 2009
Pastor’s notes
Praise the Lord. It’s Sunday again….
A change of plans though. I am not going to Nungarin this morning and so, because Bob is a much better musician than I am, he will be tinkling the ivories and I’ll be preaching, and of course, its Communion Sunday so we share the sacrament together as well.
I’m keeping the focus this morning on Jesus – to provide tools for us to know Him better and to be able to share our relationship with Him in a more meaningful way. Last week we looked at who Jesus is for us and we had a great response with people sharing about their own understanding of Jesus in GodTalk time which we put after the sermon. This morning we are looking at the fact that Jesus does not discriminate with regard to whom He loves. In three simple and sequential stories from Luke’s gospel we see first, that He cares about those who are often unloved by the world; second, that He has a deep compassion for those who are in pain and anguish, and third, He even loves those who have been made outcasts because of sin. Our nature is to think that Jesus only loves those who are perfect. But if you read the gospels, as I suggested last week, you will quickly see that Jesus didn’t have too much time for those who thought that they were perfect. His ministry was almost entirely, perhaps completely, focused on those who were imperfect – on the sick, the demon-possessed and the sinners; on ordinary fishermen rather than fancy priests; on the outcasts rather than the inner circle.
Our vision is to live the Gospel to radiate the love of Jesus – if we are going to do that we must follow the way of Jesus. Our lives should be filled with grace towards others, perhaps especially to the marginalized. But so often we think of the marginalized as those who have really sunk to the depths, those who, in our cultural terms, do not share our standards. The truth is that anyone separated from Jesus is marginalized in the sense that they do not know His love and they do not know the Good News about Him.
Our calling as Christians is not to gather ourselves within our ecclesiastic salt cellars (church buildings) and there to gaze at our navels. No! It is to live the Gospel in such a way that we radiate the love of Jesus to each other and yes, to the ones out there. This is going to be a major feature of our Strategic Planning Day on October 24th.
The way in which we become an effective church is predominantly by learning grace. The way in which we are best able to draw others into the Good News about Jesus is by sharing that grace – for “It is by grace that you are saved, through faith, this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” (Eph 2:8) Grace is an amazing concept. It is about a forgiving attitude, it is about servanthood, it is about living for others, it is about allowing God to work in His own mysterious way. And that means that we do not need to help Him nor do we need to impose our way. God works through the gentle whisper, not in the powerful wind, or the earthquake or the fire. (1 Kings 19:11-13)
Prepare yourself to hear the gentle whisper of God on October 24th at our Planning Day. This is planning in a way which you have never seen before. Don’t come with preconceived ideas about the outcome. Come expecting God to speak to us in His way and giving us His direction.
Last week I produced a table in the newsletter which briefly outlined the 12 keys to an effective church. Here it is again …
|
Relational Characteristics |
Functional Characteristics |
| 1. Specific, Concrete Missional Objectives
A defined ministry to reach out and touch the hurts and hopes of people (Objective>Event) |
7. Several Competent Programs and Activities
Programs that serve people and the missional objective (Event>Objective) |
| 2. Pastoral/Lay Visitation in Community
A consequential and regular visitation program by the minister and congregation |
8. Open Accessibility
A good physical location with highly accessible leaders |
| 3. Corporate, Dynamic Worship
A good welcome program, worship that draws the congregation to God and preaching that inspires |
9. High Visibility
Both physical visibility of the church and its news on the community grapevine |
| 4. Significant, Relational Groups
Small groups that create a sense of community |
10. Adequate Parking, Land & Landscaping
|
| 5. Strong Leadership Resources
Leaders who are trained in a relational and caring ministry |
11. Adequate Space and Facilities
|
| 6. Solid, Participatory Decision Making
A structure that lends itself to community involvement in the mission and ownership of the vision |
12. Solid Financial Resources |
The most important characteristics are on the left – they are relational rather than functional. We are relational beings and we are drawn to things which build relationships so the first 6 characteristics draw us together. Relationships however need a framework in which to develop well. These are the 6 characteristics on the right. Good parking (Nº 10), for example, does not create relationships but it does allow us to come together easily. Relational characteristics draw us together, Functional characteristics keep us together. Our task on October 24th (book the date, we need as many as possible to be there) will be to identify our strong points perhaps only 3 or 4, and only then to work on what we can do to strengthen them. So once again, don’t come with solutions … our first step is to identify the questions. More on that in next week’s newsletter.
God love you….
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