Sunday, July 22, 2007
Luke 10:1-2
Senior Pastor
I was in a meeting earlier this week and we were exploring some ideas for having a Wednesday night meal here at the church this Fall. We are thinking that we could serve individuals and families before going into any number of opportunities later that evening here at the church. Everyone in the room was supportive but then the important question always comes up: Who is going to do it?
It has been an issue in every church I have ever served! New ministry idea, new ministry initiative – who is going to do it? Apparently, it was issue even for Jesus as he says to his followers in this passage we just read from Luke, The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. (v. 2) The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
It is kind of surprising to me, that even with Jesus there was a concern about the number of people who will help. It was the same in the early days of the Methodist revival. John Wesley had his brother Charles as a fellow-laborer and a few others, but soon he had more people coming to him for spiritual leadership and guidance than he could care for by himself. And it was at that point of need that Wesley made some crucial decisions that helped fuel the Methodist movement.
He determined that he would need to organize lay people to fill leadership roles if he was going to minister to these people. Now John Wesley was an ordained clergy and functioned in a system that had rules and regulations about who could lead certain religious functions. Wesley struggled with this at a number of points in his life and ministry, but he mostly came down on the side of opening doors to new leaders for the purpose of spreading what Wesley called scriptural Christianity or scriptural holiness across the nation - what we would call being a deeply devoted disciple.
Much of Wesley’s early ministry success was among the poorer folks within English society and, although not typically seen as leaders, he needed leaders to emerge from their ranks and they did. When there was a question about who could preach, Wesley struggled but allowed lay preachers in addition to ordained preachers. When there was a question about whether female gender excluded one from leadership of say a small group, it was allowed. In fact, women played an extremely instrumental role in the effectiveness of the Methodist revival in both England and the United States. When there was a question about ethnic minorities being welcomed, the Methodist movement embraced them.
Effective revivals require leadership usually in new and
multiple forms. Certainly this was
true in early Methodism. It stands just
as true today. Unfortunately, in United
Methodist churches across our country, there are declining numbers and often
times that means fewer leaders. Why is
that? Why do churches struggle to
get leaders?
There are surely many contributing factors, but let me point out one that Wesley worried about even in his day of great effectiveness. Lovett Weems, Jr. in his book Leadership in the Wesleyan Spirit that all Oklahoma United Methodists are being asked to read this year, shares this from Wesley’s writings. Wesley asks, “Does it not seem (and yet this cannot be) that Christianity, true Scriptural Christianity, has a tendency, in process of time, to undermine and destroy itself? For wherever true Christianity spreads, it must cause diligence and frugality, which, in the natural course of things, must beget riches! And riches naturally beget pride, love of this world and every temper that is destructive of Christianity.” (p. 73)
Certainly Wesley and other leaders were right in regard to what has happened to American Methodism. We have gained wealth and respectability and much greater education while our fervor for the Gospel, in many ways, has diminished. Our willingness to sacrifice for the cause of Christ is more difficult to identify these days, I think.
Weems tells the story of a new teacher starting out at a particular school. At this school there were prescribed policies and procedures for what each teacher was to do at the end of each day with the chalk, erasers and chalkboard. The new teacher was given the instructions but did not follow them.
Many days passed and the teacher was given numerous reviews and reminders of the agreed-upon procedures. Finally the custodian came in one afternoon and, once again, began explaining the policies and procedures to help this teacher. The teacher seemed completely uninterested and continued to pack to leave. The custodian, noticing the apparent lack of interest, stopped midway through the instructions. He said to the teacher, “Excuse me, apparently you are not accustomed to working under the supervision of a custodian.” (p. 67)
See the teacher thought she was the authority and therefore
the leader. But in this case, the
custodian was the leader. The custodian
had more experience. The custodian had
worked with all the other teachers to develop the most effective
procedures. All have gifts to
offer. Therefore different people are
called on to lead at different times.
Jesus demonstrates this in his ministry by the diversity of those who were a part of his band of followers. There were men and women; they had varying degrees of wealth and status. They possessed different kinds of education and occupations. They fulfilled different roles in the disciple band. Jesus practiced multiple leadership.
But I still wonder: Where did he get the seventy that are mentioned in this passage, that he sent out? If the laborers are few, where did the seventy come from? We know he had twelve disciples, but where did he find seventy traveling evangelists? I don’t know. It is curious to me.
Apparently more people are gifted for ministry than we normally think. Weems writes, “Multiple leadership helps to address the myth that some are leaders and others are followers. The reality is that all are leaders, and all are followers. The genius is to know when to be which.” (p. 67) Maybe that is what we are seeing in this Gospel account. Perhaps the twelve had one function to fulfill and the seventy had another. Maybe when the time was right, Jesus pulled the seventy from the throngs that followed and asked them to fulfill this particular assignment.
Later St. Paul points out that God has gifted all members of the body of Christ with gifts for ministry. We are not all given the same gift, but we are all gifted for ministry in the body. Being that this is the case, then each of us here have been given gifts for ministry. Could it be that God has gifted more people than we usually think of as leaders so that we might serve in the cause of Christ?
Do you recognize what gifts God has given you? Have you found your place or places of service? Last week we talked about serving people outside the walls of the church but there is also the important work of filling roles within the life of the congregation that make the other ministries possible.
Where is your place of service? That’s an important question to answer for the Christian. I find it changes over the course of a lifetime.
Let me share one last story from the book by Lovett Weems. He tells of this priest named John who always wanted to have a ministry with the lower paid workers in London. Yet, his assignments never made this possible. After several years he decided to take a job as a street sweeper. Nobody knew he was a priest among his co-workers. But he approached each day with an eye to be in ministry with those around him.
It was soon apparent that he was a bit older and a bit slower than most of the street sweepers. But they embraced him and at the end of each day different ones would help him complete his tasks. They found him to be winsome and a very good talker. In fact, so much so, that he was soon drafted to be their spokesperson with management. Whenever problems needed to be handled, they would ask John to go deal with the powers that be.
One morning John came to work and many of his co-workers were agitated. They told him that one of their co-workers had been found dead over night. It became clear that he was living in an abandoned warehouse all alone. “If we had only known. If we had only known that Joe had nowhere to live, we could have helped him. If we had only known Joe was sick, we could have done something. Now it is too late. Joe is dead. We will never be able to do anything for Joe.”
John said, “Maybe you are wrong. Maybe it’s not too late.” They said, “What do you mean?” John said, “At least we can give him a decent funeral.” That is when it came out that John was a priest. He helped them plan and conduct the funeral. But at the end of the funeral one street sweeper stood up and looked over the crowd and said, “How many more priests are there here?” (p. 69ff)
How many more priests are there here? How many more leaders for the cause of Christ are here? Are you ready to go into the fields? Let’s close today by acting on Jesus’ admonition to “Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
______ is going to do it?
The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are ______. (v. 2)
Wesley…came down on the side of opening doors to new leaders
Effective revivals require leadership, usually in ______
and multiple forms.
Why do churches struggle to get ______________?
Weems tells the story of a new ______________…
“…you are not accustomed to working under the supervision
of a __________________.”
All have gifts to __________. Therefore different people are
called on to lead at different times.
Jesus practiced ________________ leadership.
…each of us here have been __________ gifts for ministry.
Do you recognize what gifts God has given ______?
Where is your place of ______________?
He tells of this priest named ________ …
How many more ______________ are there here?
How many more leaders for the cause of Christ are
here?
Are you ready ____
____ into the fields?
Kid’s Question:
Who is given gifts for ministry?