“The Church is a ‘called’ people with a mission. This is a needed reminder for these days in which local congregations have become introverted and self-centered; concerned with buildings, busyness and big memberships. Too many of us judge a local church to be successful or unsuccessful by the same standards used to judge a business. The fact that a so-called ‘successful’ church has presented no real opposition to the community’s social problems. . . is conveniently overlooked. How to turn congregations away from this preoccupation with building up local clubs to the task of serving the world, in the name and for the sake of Jesus Christ, is the question with which concerned Christians the world over are wrestling.”
This quote comes from a sermon. Can you take a stab at when it was delivered? What decade? Do you think it sounds current?
In going through some old papers recently, I found a sermon that my father preached at the first Annual Meeting of the Central Atlantic Conference of the United Church of Christ in June of 1965. By vote of the delegates, the sermon was printed and distributed to those present and to the churches of the Conference. In the next few devotions, I will share some of the insights from that sermon because I believe they are still relevant today.
The church has always been called to serve the world. And there is always the conflict between perpetuating the institution and meeting the needs of the world. We all know of churches that are self-absorbed. The focus is on those who are members and those they want to be members and how to meet the needs of those people and keep them happy. As for the needs of the wider world, that’s barely considered in many churches.
But the church, the body of Christ, is called to always be focussed outward: To be looking at the world and the needs of the world and addressing those needs. How often we cite the verse, “God so loved the world.” The church is to express God’s love for the world, the whole world, all the people of the world, and the creation itself.
It is interesting to note this challenge to the church to serve the world. At Lakewood UCC last fall we had conversations about the topic, “What does the world need from the church?” We surfaced many ideas and suggestions that are guiding what we do as a church. This is exactly what my dad was referring to in this sermon from 1965 though I had not yet found it and read it. But this is not surprising because the mission of the church never changes. The context changes. The issues of the moment change. But churches of every age should be asking that same question: What does the world need from the church.
The “magic” of the Christian way is that when we are serving the world, when we are seeking to meet the needs of the world, we find that we, ourselves, are fulfilled, made whole, and we experience joy. When we concern ourselves predominantly with the needs of ourselves, our group, our particular congregation, we never find the joy and satisfaction that comes from serving the world in the name of Christ. I invite you to think about the ways your church is serving the needs of the world. I hope the list is very long!
Prayer: The church exists to express the love of God to the world. May the church be ever true to its calling. This involves paying attention to the world. Sometimes that can be painful. May we have courage and risk what we must to truly embody divine love in the world. Amen.
Lakewood United Church of Christ 