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"Commissioning Each Other"
Exodus 17:8-13
Exodus 18:13-26
Luke 10:1-3
A Sermon Preach by The Rev. Douglas M. Donley
May 20, 2001
University Baptist Church
Minneapolis, MN
Well, today is finally here. It’s great to have so many friends and family here from out of town: Gary Harris from Kansas City; Bob Swedien from Dolores Street Baptist Church in San Francisco; Tom and Helen Swedien from here in Minneapolis; my Mom, Judy Donley from Cleveland Ohio; my Dad, Reeve Donley and his good friend Lyn Rothchild from Cleveland; and lots of others who will be here this afternoon. You would think that this is all about me. All these people might come here because of their relationships with me. But if this becomes all about me, then it will be profound failure. This is a day to celebrate this community, this great church and the launching a new relationship where we face the future together.
At the church in which I grew up in Cleveland, the youth group used to do a number of group building initiatives on our periodic retreats out in the woods. One of the activities entailed a group of 12 youth getting together on top of a two-foot square platform. The idea was that you had to stay up on the platform with everybody off the ground for 20 seconds while a flow of molten peanut butter rolled beneath you. Anyway, the first thing we did was start stacking people, which worked well for the first four layer or so. Then people started thinking about leaving people out and arguments ensued about who would be sacrificed to the peanut butter. Finally we figured out that it was possible only if everyone stood on the edge and leaned back. The tension in the arms made it possible to fit everyone on. So it entailed each person giving and pulling their weight. It entailed each person trusting the others. If one wasn’t as committed, the balance would be off and the group would fall off. That’s kind of how a church works. When we pull together and trust each other, we can do amazing things and even save ourselves from whatever lava flow is on the horizon.
Throughout the Bible, very little happened with one person. Anything worth anything depended upon a community to pull together. Abraham and Sarah traveled with a whole cast of characters who became a new race. Moses, Miriam and Aaron led 12 tribes of people to form ancient Israel, each having their function in the wilderness and in the Promised Land. When Ruth gave her child, Obed to her mother-in-law Naomi, the women of the town of Bethlehem proclaimed the day blessed and supported Naomi through her bitter valley. When Mary was told she was going to have a child who was to be savior of the world, Elizabeth, Joseph, the Magi and the Shepherds all had a part in supporting that family. Jesus depended on 12 disciples and 70 others to pave the way for him. Together they spread the good news. When Paul went before the Jerusalem council, he was surrounded by those Greek converts who had become his church and his extended family.
Lone rangers don’t amount to much of anything in the Bible. But when a community gathers together, then great things happen. Healing occurs. Justice is done. No one is left out and the voice and presence of God is among them.
We are the community that is celebrating a new relationship today. And just as I might be commissioned this afternoon, I want us to reflect upon what we can and will do together in the coming years. I want us to commission each other to the ministry we share.
We have heard three instances from Scripture where it is clear that the ministry is shared by everyone. Moses could not do everything by himself. First he had people to hold up his tired arms. Then he took the advice of his father in law, his own personal burnout task force, and he got some help so that he didn’t have to be the only person who made all of the decisions. Jesus commissioned 70 people in addition to the 12 disciples to spread the gospel and be the good news.
There is a movement in the church growth literature to centralize control in the person of the Pastor. They cite biblical texts to prove this. They say when a church is run by lay people, it will not grow. And numerical growth is the only thing that matters after all. The so-called logic goes that in this top-down centralized culture, people will only feel comfortable or want to be part of something where there is one person who sets the vision and to whom everyone give obedience. It also assumes the mental health and stability of the pastor. This is not a Biblical model. This is a corporate model. I don’t want to be a CEO, and I don’t think you want me to be one either.
I’ve been in churches where the pastor was expected to do everything and take care of everything by him or herself. It leads to burnout. It also breeds passivity to one’s faith commitments. I think that is one of the hard things about our society today. We are passive. We are used to giving our money to some one or some thing that will serve us. What we have lost is the sense that we are called to be in service to one another and those less fortunate than us. We have a ministry and a liberating Gospel that is given to us to spread the healing and loving ways of Jesus to a world and a people in need.
Hear what Jethro says to Moses, the CEO of the Hebrew people, "What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you." Moses was burning himself out and the people were starting to get antsy. They started thinking back to the good old days in Egypt where at least they had good food to eat. Never mind that they were in slavery, they wished for the flesh pots of Egypt. You see it wasn’t only Moses who was getting worn out. The people were, too. They had to wait in line forever to speak with Moses. They had to listen to other’s disputes. They would accuse others of getting favoritism. It got downright ugly. They believed, you see, that Moses was infallible. That was, until he wasn’t. The people needed folks to deal with the other matters—they needed shared leadership.
When the people shared the leadership, Moses could focus on other things, like getting to the promised land. Maybe that’s why it took 40 years.
Jesus appointed 70 people to do the work of evangelism and spreading the good news. And you know what, we have 70 people right here who are committed to doing the work of God. I say it’s time we commissioned each other.
Many years ago I wrote in an ordination paper that the Pastor’s job should be in part to put him or herself out of business. What I meant by that is having the laity become so empowered that they own the ministry.
UBC has a great history of this. And with all of our talk of streamlining, we must never lose that sense of the church being a place where we can do the ministry and grow into the people that God calls us to be. This may not translate into quick numerical growth, but it is evidence of your spiritual maturity as a congregation.
UBC is a place that owns its ministry. You people do it and it is exciting.
Meals on Wheels happens this week and the people come together to do it.
Loaves and Fishes makes meals monthly and people do it and own it.
Families Moving Forward hosts families in our church over night for a week four times a year. Half of the congregation is involved in this.
Great music happens each week from the choir, our slew of other pianists and instrumentalists and not one, not two, but three bell choirs. Worship leadership is done by one or more of you each week, adding flavor and variety.
The grounds are tended by church members and friends. We even had a fraternity helping out a few weeks ago. They moved the pews for us.
Groups get together to study the Bible, novels, share poetry, delve into church history and do social justice work.
The children are attended to and valued here. My own kids can’t wait to get to church. I hope you realize how good we have it here.
We care for one another. We visit, send cards, flowers, e-mails to those in need. We spend time sharing our joys and concerns. The fact that this sharing is sometimes longer than the sermon means that what we share is vitally important. How we hold each other up and try to heal one another is holy work that merits our attention week in and week out.
None of this hinges on the pastor. I often find myself watching you with awe. I’m experiencing for the first time as a pastor, a church that is so fully committed to its mission that my presence us needed more as a support than as a leader. What a great church.
This church is not about me. It is about you. It is about how we experience God together. It is about how we as a congregation come together to make all things new and bring healing to a world and a people in need.
I hope that even as I am formally commissioned this afternoon to be your pastor, that you also reevaluate and recommit yourselves to a ministry of hope, liberation and healing. I hope and pray that you recognize the God-giftedness inside of each of you. I pray that you own this ministry. Anything that we do together will only be good or fulfilling if we are willing to do it together.
I want to invite you to think of a dream for yourself or for the church. When the Bible talks about commissioning people, it always talks about laying hands on the one being commissioned and thereby receiving the Spirit. I invite you to think of a dream for yourself or the church and share it with your neighbor sitting near you. After each of you have articulated your dreams, lay hands on each other and pray for each other. There are 70 or so of us, the right number to carry on the work of Christ in this world. I invite you to commission each other to be the body of Christ and experience great hope.
(Pause for people to commission each other)
This new relationship we are beginning, I hope, will mark a new day for our congregation. A new day for you and me to live and thrive and grow in our experience of Christ. Amen.