September 7, 2008

Five Practices: Radical Hospitality

Welcome to the Kingdom

Genesis 18:1-8

Opening Words: Have you ever considered yourself in the minority? Statistically speaking, it is true. If you come to church regularly, you are in the minority. The most recent studies tell us that only 41% of all Americans attend church regularly. You do the math. That means 59% of Americans don’t find worship to be a vital part of their lives. They still have spiritual questions but they get their answers in other ways. For many the biblical standard has been replaced by personal opinions and desires. In my opinion, our generation has the poorest theology in the history of our country. The only way to correct our theology is to return to church. One of the basic functions of the church is to teach people correct theology. The question that has haunted my ministry is how? How do you reach out and touch 59% of the population. Maybe this is a better question. What are 59% of all Americans looking for in a church?

Robert Schnase tells us in his book, Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, there are five things the unchurched are looking for in a church. They are radical hospitality, passionate worship, intentional faith development, risk-taking mission and service and extravagant generosity. These things are not new but they do hold the key to reaching the majority of our society. As I have read this book I discovered two things. First, these ideas are not completely foreign to us at Western Reserve. We have demonstrated some of these qualities in the past. Second, we have not mastered a single one. We still have some work to do in each area. Over the next five weeks we will look at each one. This week we begin by looking at radical hospitality. Let me call this message Welcome to the Kingdom. Let us hear this morning’s scripture lesson from Genesis 18:1-8.

Genesis 18:1-8 ¹ The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. ² Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.

³ He said, "If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. ⁴ Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. ⁵ Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way-now that you have come to your servant."
"Very well," they answered, "do as you say."

⁶ So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. "Quick," he said, "get three seahs of fine flour and knead it and bake some bread."

⁷ Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. ⁸ He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.

In 1900, the Daughters of the American Revolution elected social reformer Jane Addams to honorary membership. It was a vote they regretted later. Addams's antiwar stance during World War I and her insistence that even subversives had a right to trial by due process caused them to expel her. She commented that she had thought her election to the DAR was for life, but now knew it was for good behavior. Have you ever been part of a group but you didn’t feel like you belong?

The other night Joe Lieberman addressed the Republican National Convention. He was supporting John McCain for President. He was once the enemy but now he was endorsing the Republican nominee. It is a really amazing moment when you stop and think out it. Eight years ago he was Al Gore’s running mate. He was a few “hanging chads” away from being the Vice-President. So much has changed in just eight years. Now they tell us he is an Independent. He is a politician without a major political party. However, he was in a sea of Republicans. He was part of the group but did he feel like he really belonged? Have you ever been part of a group but you didn’t feel like you really belonged?

When I go on vacation I never tell strangers I am a minister. I tell them one of three things. I tell them I sell a specialized form of life and fire insurance. I tell them I am a counselor for a Christian organization. Or I tell them I handle customer complaints for a small company. In my mind I have rationalized my half truths. I don’t tell them I am a minister not because I am embarrassed of my vocation. I don’t tell them I am a minister to spare them the pain. When people find out you are minister they get all up tight. They apologize for their crude language and behavior. They apologize for not going to church. They really don’t know what to say so they ask me if I know Brother Davis, who lives near Little Rock. Do you know how many times I have been forced to sit at the table of the Aunts and Grandma’s at wedding receptions? In my opinion the worst thing about the ministry is loneliness. You can be surrounded by people on a daily basis but still be lonely. I know it is true because I have experienced it in my life. You can be part of a group and not feel like you really belong. Have you ever been part of a group but you didn’t feel like you really belonged? If you have had that experience in your life say, “Amen!”

We are instructed this morning from the eighteenth chapter of Genesis. The main character in the story is Abraham. Look at the story with me. According to the text, there is really nothing very special about his day. He is at the entrance of his tent, when he spots three strangers coming his way. That does not sound exciting to us. (How many times have you wished your visitors would go home?) But to Abraham their visit is exciting. He did not live in a neighborhood, he lived in the wilderness. It was very rare to have a visitor. It was so rare that his Near Eastern culture expected him to roll out the red carpet for them. That is exactly what he does. In verses two through eight we learn he does seven things to welcome his guests. First, he gives prompt attention to their needs. Second, he bows low. Third, he addresses them as “my lord.” Fourth, he serves them. Fifth, he offers them water. This was an extravagance in that arid climate. Sixth, he offers them food. Seventh, he positions himself for any future needs. Abraham’s goal is simple. He wanted to welcome his guests! Never underestimate the gift of hospitality. Arnold H. Glasow once said, “Some folks make you feel at home. Others make you wish you were.”

If any group understands hospitality it is us. In my time at Western Reserve we have welcomed many to our congregation. The other day I figured out that since January 1, 2002 we have welcomed 181 new members. (That figure includes both adult memberships and youth, who were confirmed.) That is really an incredible figure. I will match that figure with any church within the East Ohio Annual Conference. Let us be honest. We are not a mega church. We don’t spend massive amounts of money on advertising and programs. We don’t have a local television show. We don’t have an impressive Christmas show to thrill the masses. We don’t have an intense passion play that will make you cry. You don’t even have a high powered preacher. You are stuck with me. Yet, we have welcomed 181 new members and it has been great! Yet this is my concern. You can be part of a group and not feel like you really belong. Over the last fourteen years this church has changed. There may have been a time when you knew everyone. How many fellow members do you really know today?

Today, I want to challenge you to take the next step in congregational development. I don’t want to talk about church membership. I want to talk about assimilating new members into the life of the church. Let me speak from the heart. We are in a dangerous position. How many of those 181 new members are just attached to me? That is not a good thing. Someday I will not be the minister of the church. The future holds one of three things for me. I am going to move, retire or die. I don’t know what the future holds for me but I do know this. Someday I am not going to be the pastor of this church and if you don’t assimilate these 181 new members into the life of the church then they are going to leave. The time to start accepting one another is now.

So to help you take the first step in assimilating new members consider these three statements with me. They are not new but they are important. Each one is very practical. Each one is illustrated in the scripture lesson for this morning. I have seen how vital they are in my time in the ministry. Let me just be honest. It took us six and a half years to welcome 181 members. It won’t take that long to say, “Good-bye.” So if you are ready to start assimilating these 181 new members say, “Amen!”

Everyone comes to church for a reason.

Statement number one says: everyone comes to church for a reason. In the scripture lesson Abraham is standing near the front of his tent. If you use your sanctified imagination you can imagine it. He is looking out over the wilderness and sees three visitors coming his way. Who are the three strangers? The answer is not clear. You can interpret the text in two ways. One, it is God accompanied by two angels. Or, the three guests are God, the Father, the Son and Holy Ghost. Regardless, they come for the same reason. They come to announce to Abraham and Sarah that she will conceive and they will have a son. You can find that little fact in verse ten. They will name their son Isaac. It is one of the great scenes in the Bible and I should unpack it for you today. However, it is going to have to suffice to say they came for a reason. They illustrate for us everyone comes to church for a reason. What is your reason for coming to church?

There are many reasons people come to church. They are not bad things. Has anyone come to church today to witness a baptism? It is a wonderful family responsibility. Has anyone come to church today to see friends or hear some news? Has anyone come to church today because it is just part of your routine? Has anyone here ever said, “It doesn’t feel like Sunday, if I don’t go to church?” Has anyone come to church today because it is an escape from your real life? Has anyone come to church today because you want your children to have the same experience you had when you were young? Has anyone come to church today because you are lonely? There is a great deal of loneliness in the world. Loneliness is not a lack of people in your life. Loneliness is caused by a lack of intimacy in your life. There are many lonely people in our society.

Kurt Cobain was the lead singer of legendary grunge band Nirvana. You remember his story. He took his own life. Despite his widespread fame, great wealth and adulation as a rock star he grew terribly lonely and depressed. In the days leading up to his suicide one of his diary entries read: "Somebody, anybody, God help, help me please. I want to be accepted...I'm so tired of crying and dreaming, I'm soo soo alone." Is anyone one here that lonely?

We come to church for many reasons but we can receive many of those things in many other places. You can make friends, get news and escape life at Starbucks. I believe the real reason we come to church is God. Rudolph Bultmann once said, “Within each one of us is a faint recollection of Eden calling us home.” The reason we really comes to church isn’t to see people. We come to church to experience God. If you believe that is true say, “Amen!”

Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.

Statement number two says: everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. (This is where the message is going to get a little personal.) What is wonderful about the text is that Abraham didn’t know he was entertaining God. His guests get the red carpet treatment. He treats these strangers with dignity and respect. Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we treated everyone with dignity and respect? Wouldn’t your life be better if people treated you with dignity and respect. Is there anyone here who doesn’t like to be treated with dignity and respect? When we treat people with dignity and respect we draw the very best out of them.

Desmond Tutu was once asked why he became an Anglican rather than joining some other denomination. He replied that in the days of apartheid, when a black person and a white person met while walking on a footpath, the black person was expected to step into the gutter to allow the white person to pass and nod their head as a gesture of respect. "One day" Tutu says, "when I was just a little boy, my mother and I were walking down the street when a tall white man, dressed in a black suit, came toward us. Before my mother and I could step off the sidewalk, as was expected of us, this man stepped off the sidewalk and, as my mother and I passed, tipped his hat in a gesture of respect to her! I was more than surprised at what had happened and I asked my mother, ‘Why did that white man do that?’ My mother explained, ‘He's an Anglican priest. He's a man of God, that's why he did it.’ When she told me that he was an Anglican priest I decided there and then that I wanted to be an Anglican priest too. And what is more, I wanted to be a man of God." When we treat people with dignity and respect we draw the very best out of them. When you come to church you should expect to be treated with dignity and respect. I don’t care if you are a visitor or a forty-one year member. I don’t care if you are the preacher or the janitor. Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. If you can agree with that statement say, “Amen!”

Have you ever wondered why the church is struggling in our time? We should be booming! Everywhere I go I run across church experts. Have you ever noticed how many church experts there are in our world? Everyone has an opinion about the church. Everyone knows how to fix it. I marvel at those people. This is why. The church is my life. I love the church. My education is wrapped around church work, I hold a Master’s of Divinity degree. When I came to church today I came with twenty-five years of experience in the ministry. I should have all the answers but I will be the first one to admit I still have questions. There are times I still don’t know what to do. That is fine because there are so many church experts that tell me how to do my job. I can not tell you how much I value their opinions. (If you didn’t pick it up I was being a little sarcastic.) Do you know anyone who is a church expert? Church experts confuse passion and opinions about their local congregation with skill and biblical truth. Could it be you are a church expert?

Church experts fail to remember one thing that I will never forget. Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. When we forget this truth we damage the church. I have seen it a million times. I have heard the stories. They are ugly. No organization is better at self inflicting wounds than the church. Well meaning people became tools in Satan’s hands. Church experts chase new people off and they feel like that is fine, as long as they get to express their narrow minded opinions. They try to impose their will on others. They criticize other people and groups. They feel like it is their responsibility to grant permission or frustrate others with their words. They get a little responsibility in the life of the church and they strut around like they are royalty. And worst of all they laugh at others who are not as talented as them. Does anyone here resemble those comments? One of the most challenging things about my job is to protect new members from the church experts. Church experts chase off new members, who haven’t had the time to sink their roots into the life of the congregation. Gandhi once said, “I would have been a Christian if it wasn't for the Christians I know.”

Can somebody explain something to me? How can people who have come to church their enter life know nothing! The church is not based on your opinions and beliefs. The church is based on Jesus, who treated everyone with dignity and respect. If I have stepped on your toes I have one thing to say, “Good!” Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. I don’t care if you are candidate for President of the United States or a throw away child in a Russian orphanage. Every one of us is made in God’s image. And may God have mercy on your soul if you ever forget. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!” We have welcomed 181 new members to the kingdom since 2002. It won’t take that long to lose them.

Everyone comes with hidden blessings.

Statement number three says: everyone comes with hidden blessings. Through Abraham’s eyes these three guests were nothing special. They were just three ordinary men. What was hidden from him was their true identity. It was God, who had the power to grant this old couple the greatest desire in their lives, a son. They illustrate for us the simple point. Everyone comes to church with hidden blessings.

I love the story of comedian Groucho Marx’s daughter who was once denied admittance to an exclusive country club because she and her family were not members. Realizing what had happened, the embarrassed country club sent the Marx family an apology and an application to join. Groucho declined the invitation with the comment, "I wouldn't want to belong to any club that would have me as a member." Just think how that club would have benefited with Groucho Marx as a member? Every person comes to the church with hidden blessings.

Through the years we have welcomed some amazing people. They are all different, yet they are all the same. Each one who has come, each one who is here brings natural gifts and talents. Another part of my job description is to help you discover your gift and use it not just for this church but for God in this world. Everyone comes to church with hidden blessings. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

I end today with the words of a sixteen year old girl. In 1997 she stood before the World Summit of Children and made us think with these words:

He prayed - it wasn't my religion

He ate - it wasn't my food.

He spoke - it wasn't my language.

He dressed - it wasn't what I wore.

He took my hand - it wasn't the color of mine.

But when he laughed - it was how I laughed.

And when he cried - it was how I cried.

Did you get the message? We are all the same. If you have been a member here for 41 years or if you have been a member here for ten minutes we are all the same. We all come to church because we want to have an encounter with the God of the universe. We all deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. We come to church with blessings that must be shared with the world. We have 641 members. Have you ever been part of a group but you didn’t feel like you really belonged? May that not happen here. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

Welcome to the Kingdom

Genesis 18:1-8

1. How do people find Western Reserve?

2. Should we have training within the congregation to help with visitors?

3. Do we have an organized plan to help connect with new visitors?

4. Do we have a plan to help assimilate new members?

5. What information do new members need about Western Reserve?

6. What established groups at Western Reserve are the easiest to join?

7. When was the last time Western Reserve started a new small group?

8. What small group are you in?

9. Do you know the names of 50% of this morning’s worshippers?

10. Excluding God, what is the reason you came to church today?

11. Do you believe God loves Americans more then any other people?

12. Do you consider yourself a church expert?

13. What unknown gift would you like to use at Western Reserve?