November 4, 2008
Dear St. Paul’s Family.
I have three questions for you.
In the last ten months, I have come to know that there are three simple questions that require answers from every church. A congregation should be able to go to their pastor and hear concise, complete, answers to these questions. And those answers should be understood by every member for a church to be vital, growing, and healthy.
1) What is our mission, and how will we fulfill it?
What is the central operating principle around which we will coordinate our activities, order our structures, prioritize our resources, and gauge our effectiveness? What is the one thing that we need to make sure we do well, at the expense of everything else we might do?
Without adequately answering this question, a church can be busy and active, without truly accomplishing anything of lasting value to the kingdom of God. It is like a giant rowboat, in which all the oars are paddling at different paces and various rhythms. There’s a lot of activity, but no movement. There’s a lot of energy, but no direction. The ship stays in place or spins in circles, but never moves forward. A clearly stated, widely-internalized mission and vision unifies a congregation and enables it to align its energies.
2) What is a disciple, and how will we make them?
It was the final commandment from Jesus to his disciples: “Go therefore,” he said, “and make disciples of all nations.” Make no mistake about the gospel’s careful wording here. People need to become disciples of Jesus Christ, and God has empowered the church with the ability to make them. The phrase, make disciples is actually a single word in Greek, meaning to teach or to instruct. It is the duty of every church to engage others in on-the-job training to become disciples of Christ.
But before a disciple can be made by a church, it must be defined. You don’t build a house without a blueprint, embark on a journey without a defined destination, or cook a dish without a meal in mind. Disciple-making must be an intentional process, in which the expected outcome is understood. What does it mean to be a disciple in this particular church? What is expected of me to be a disciple in the context of this community? What must I do, and what will I become? Without answers to these questions, a church merely makes members, but not disciples.
3) Who is our neighbor, and how will we love them?
The gospels tell us in three different places that the greatest commandment is to love God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Luke’s version advances this with the question, “Who is my neighbor?” and follows with the parable of the Good Samaritan. It is a story with an unmistakable conclusion: we must see those around us as our neighbors, not as outsiders, and we must love them, regardless of the cost.
A church must determine to reach out to its neighbors near and far, loving them in the way the Samaritan loved the man on the street. Whether those neighbors are across the street or around the world, whether their needs are physical, emotional, or spiritual, our task is clear. Simply, to love them.
These three questions demand answers from every pastor and every congregation in every church. Without a clear sense of its mission, an intentional process of disciple-making, and an ongoing desire to serve its neighbors in love, no church can be healthy and growing, and achieve its God-given task of building the kingdom.
SO, HOW DOES ST. PAUL’S ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS?
Ten months ago, when your 20/20 Vision Team began its work of listening for the long-term strategic plans of this church, it organized its energies around finding answers to these three questions. The result is the 20/20 Vision Plan, a comprehensive set of strategies that include proposals for new programming, personnel, facilities, and resources in order to be the church God wants us to be by the year 2020 and beyond.
More importantly, it offers clear and complete answers to all three of these questions.
It outlines a very clear statement of mission, vision, and values. It defines discipleship and outlines a path for individuals to experience the life transforming love of God in their lives. And it sets out a bold plan for reaching out in concern and service to others in the community and the world.
If you weren’t here last Sunday to hear the presentation by the 20/20 Vision Team, I invite you to stop by the office for a copy of the plan, or I can e-mail you a copy of the full booklet. Study it, prayer over it, and ask all your questions to a member of the 20/20 Vision Team in the upcoming week. And then, join us next Monday night at 7:00, when we will gather together for our Charge Conference and vote to adopt these recommendations.
It would be no understatement to say that these next three Sundays may be the most important sermons I have preached thus far in my brief tenure as your pastor. This week we begin both our stewardship campaign and the process of adopting this new vision for our life together, with a sermon called, “God’s Love in Action,” titled after our new mission statement and based on the parable of the Good Samaritan. I invite you to be in prayer for this church over the next three weeks, as it discerns its adoption of the vision plan and its financial commitments to God for the next year.
These are truly exciting times to be a disciple of Jesus Christ here at St. Paul’s. Now, as always, it is great to be the church. Come along for the ride!
Grace and Peace,
Magrey
The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA 51012
Ph: 712-225-3955
http://www.cherokeespumc.org
Luke 10:25-37
25 Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’
26 He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’
27 He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’
28 And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’
29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’
30 Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.
31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
33 But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity.
34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.”
36 Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’
37 He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’
TODAY’S ELECTION
As you exercise your civic privilege to cast your votes for the leaders of our day, take some moments to pray for God’s guidance and strength to be on all our elected leaders during these challenging times. And include in your prayers a request for God’s spirit to bring healing for the deep divisions that have emerged throughout our country from the polarizing activity and inflammatory rhetoric that have emerged throughout these last several months.
INGATHERING THANK-YOU
Thank you to all of you who helped make last weekend’s Ingathering another success. Much gratitude goes to all of you who supplied and made kits, packaged boxes and loaded trucks on Saturday, and sent them off for delivery on Monday. You truly helped make a difference to people all over the world.
THE NEWSLETTER BY E-MAIL
Due to a recent upgrade in our computer system, we need to update our information to include anyone who has ever received or now wishes to receive our monthly Dome newsletter by e-mail. Please send your information to Linzi Gum at lgum@cherokeespumc.org if you have been or would like to be included on that distribution list.
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