The personal nature of this message will be understood, given its setting.
Final
Wishes
Ephesians 4:1-7
Over the years I have
occasionally ended an old year or began a new year by presenting a “wish list”
for the future. Some of those wishes
were very practical; some were more spiritual.
I haven‘t done it in a while because I feared it had become a
gimmick.
Still, I thought it might
be appropriate to return to that practice this morning.
Before I turn to wishes
rooted in my text I want to share some that are more general.
I wish I might be able to
more adequately say, “Farewell”.
In my fourth decade as a pastor,
I’ll admit I’ve had a strange career or, at least, an unexpected one. I was going to teach, you know. There were a couple times when I thought that
was going to happen. It didn’t. So, I was the pastor who knew more about
Pietism than pastoral psychology, more about Tertullian than church
administration.
Oddly, though, during those
thirty-four years I have served only two churches. That is very rare for a Southern Baptist
pastor, especially when you consider the average pastorate is between three and
four years. I am leaving Worthington, as
I left Dawn, with the longest pastorate in the church’s history.
I hope this wasn’t because
the Lord was saying, “It’s safest to just leave him there; but if he starts
doing too much damage, I’ll move him somewhere else.”
When I left Dawn, it seemed
the right thing to do. When Cathy called
on behalf of the pastor search committee I had never heard of Worthington and
was not sure where Columbus was in Ohio.
She said Worthington was on the river and I assumed she meant the Ohio
River. She could not remember where the
committee had found my resume and I couldn’t remember ever sending it off to
Ohio.
I’ve often told people the
move proved God has a sense of humor.
Everyone in Dawn was involved in agribusiness; here people held all
kinds of jobs—there were even people in
“IT” jobs and I wasn’t sure just what they did. In Texas you could joke about Longhorns,
about Aggies, about Horned Frogs; in Ohio, you apparently don’t joke about
Buckeyes. (How do Buckeyes spend their
first week of fall practice? Studying
their Miranda rights.) Ultimately, though, I’ve concluded God didn’t move us to
get a good laugh; He moved us to bless us.
I could list a lot but because we moved we have Mikelle and Kelly in our
lives. Because we moved we have you in
our lives.
So, I’m not saying Farewell
because we have a better offer. I am
saying Farewell because it seems the right thing to do; perhaps God has a
younger person in mind for this church, perhaps God has a more dynamic person
in mind for this church, perhaps God has a more denominationally-sympathetic
person in mind for this church. I’m sure
God knows but he hasn’t told me.
2. I wish for you a healthy balance of
continuity and change.
For church’s 25th
anniversary celebration in 1997 I prepared a little booklet sketching the
history of the church. I concluded with
a brief essay on the characteristics marking the church during each decade of
its history. I saw a church united,
though diverse; compassionate; faithful; and resilient. I could describe the
church in the same words today.
But there is also a
resistance to change. An old joke asks, “How many Baptists does it take to
change a light bulb?” The answer: “CHANGE.
Whataya you mean change.”
Churches are changing. We’ve embraced some of those changes—though
some of you may feel those changes ambushed you. There’s still a place for Wesley and Watts
but there had better be a place for Green and Grant as well. I learned how to do the proposition/big idea
sermon, the kind of sermon presented from behind a pulpit. I’m not sure how well I can adapt to the
casual—even “pointless,” as it were—messages delivered while sitting on a stool
or an easy chair. But you might need to
learn how to listen to them and learn from them. My doctorate is from a seminary where the
dean cut his grass in a shirt and tie.
In the past few years I’ve dressed more casually because an insightful
Christian—older than I—pointed out how a suit and tie creates a barrier that
keeps some modern people from hearing.
Don’t make every change a
deal-breaker or a battleground.
Speaking of change, over
the years I have tried really hard to be wrapped up by 12:00 o’clock; I haven’t
always been successful but I think more times than not I have.
Whoever follows me may not
be so inclined. Instead of complaining,
learn to eat a bigger breakfast. With
the clock in mind, let me move on to some wishes rooted in my text.
Remember that in Ephesians
Paul is explaining how in Christ God has created one new people to live for him
and work for him in the real world. In
chapter four, he is laying out a picture of how that ideal finds its expression
in the church. Paul’s wishes for the church
are my wishes for you.
I
wish you might each possess those qualities unquestionably marking you as
Christ’s people.
He begins by underscoring
those traits that ought to be found in every Christian. Christians are to live “with all
humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love.”
We can’t look at each trait
in detail but, taken together, they describe a remarkable person. Such a person does not scramble to be the
Alpha dog; but is willing to do the menial if it benefits the church. Such a person meets you without assuming you
want his undivided opinion. Such a
person is a soothing presence in potentially explosive situations. Such a person has marked “retaliation” out of
the dictionary and written “patience” in the margins. Such a person shows a dogged determination to
start once again from square one with that spiritual slow-learner. Such a person ties up all these qualities
with Christian love. At the same time,
because the Spirit intends these qualities to make us Christlike, not nice,
such a person will not allow bullies to go unchallenged and error to go
uncorrected.
Imagine what church would
be like if each person possessed and demonstrated these qualities. Imagine the impact that church would make.
Every Christian would be a living defense of the faith. It’s why I wish it for you.
Of course, Paul’s own words
remind us this vision is sometimes thwarted.
These qualities are too often missing from my life. But I offer this wish because, we ought to
aspire “to live worthily of the calling with which [we] have been called.” I think Paul is reminding us we have been
called to be part of a redeemed people, a changed people, a new people; a
people whose lifestyle testifies to the fact God has been at work.
I
wish you might celebrate your unity as God’s People.
As Paul wished for the Ephesians,
I wish you would “be eager to maintain
the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Let me point out something
that seems clear from Paul’s language.
If the Ephesians were “to maintain the unity of the Spirit” it’s
reasonable to assume the unity was already a reality. We know of churches were unity is gone; only
animosity remains. I believe better
things of this church. So, I want you to
celebrate your unity. But let me be very
clear. The unity worth celebrating is
“the unity of the Spirit,” that unity produced by the Holy Spirit. Since the Day of Pentecost the church had
known the unifying presence of the Holy Spirit.
In Paul’s view, unity is the natural state for the church. It’s a unity that manifests itself in “the
bond of peace.”
Peace is a big theme in
Ephesians. In the second chapter Paul
speaks of the impact of Christ’s work on the cross: “Christ himself is our
peace,” he
says, “Christ came and preached peace to
you who were far away from God, and to those who were near to God.”
We Christians are bound
together because we have peace with God and peace with each other.
So, celebrate your
unity. Learn from each other. Let yourselves be inspired by the testimonies
of those who don’t share your background.
When you look around and see someone whose accent is different than
yours, whose political affiliation differs from yours, whose experience differs
from yours, remember Christ is in the business of tearing down walls.
But let me remind you,
there is one whose business is building walls.
So, let me add a footnote to this particular wish. For, I wish you might understand the threats
to your unity are many and you must be diligent to resist them. Peace—even peace generated by the Spirit—can
be fragile. Paul’s words imply maintaining
demands commitment and work. Here’s the
Amplified Bible’s rendering of the command:
“Be eager and strive earnestly to guard and keep the
harmony and oneness produced by the Spirit.”
I do not know how long it
may be before God sends a new pastor. That
waiting period may be a time of stress and tension. Be on guard against that happening. Hold onto the vision of being a united
church.
The threats to unity may
take various forms. Be on guard against
interpersonal relationships getting out of control. Watch out for parties forming. Pray you don’t allow jealousy and ambition to
make you a pawn of that great Divider, Satan.
Remember, there may come a
time when you must take the mantle of peacemaker.
I wish you might treasure the essentials of the faith
without obsessing over the non-essentials.
Some believe Paul might
have been citing an early creed as he says,
There
is one body and one Spirit, just as you too were called to the one hope of your
calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is
over all and through all and in all
In this list Paul cites
those things that ought to bind us together.
We are united in “one Body” for Christians in a local church shouldn’t
behave like they belong to different churches.
We are united through “one Spirit” for the we are all received the
Spirit and become more like Christ as the Spirit works within us. We are united through “one hope” for we
should share the common yearning for God to complete the work of salvation
within us. We are united through “one
Lord” for it is Christ to whom all of us owe our allegiance. We are united through “one faith” for each of
us is saved “by grace through faith,” none of us can claim any other basis for
our salvation. We are united through “one
baptism” for though the stories of how we may have come to that place may
differ, we have each declared our allegiance to Christ. We are all united through “one God and
Father” for we are doubly privileged to be part of God’s family and to call him
Father.
I think Paul is telling us
that the Faith is to be experienced not just talked about. But this doesn’t mean there aren’t essentials
of the faith. There are core elements on
which our hope stands or falls. Yes, we
are united through “one Lord,” but we must be absolutely clear who that Lord
is. He was more than a wise teacher
reputed to have done a lot of good things. He alone could claim that anyone
wanting to know what God is like should look at him. Ignore that and you have jettisoned much of
the Christian message.
Just a few verses later,
when Paul speaks of the varied ministries of the church, he stresses the
importance of being grounded in these essentials. The ministry of the church has its goal for
us to
all come to such unity in
our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord,
measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
Then we will no
longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every
wind of new teaching. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in
every way more and more like Christ…
I wish for you to treasure
those essentials.
But be careful you don’t
get caught up with non-essentials. Watch
out for those who claim to know more than they can possibly know. Avoid, as Paul warned Timothy, those who have
“an unhealthy desire to quibble over the meaning of words.” (I Timothy 6:4)
I
wish you might each discover your spiritual gift so you might work together to
accomplish Christ’s purpose for you as his people in this place.
Once again I’m going to have to be content with broad
strokes, leaving it to you to fill in the fine detail. Listen to what Paul says:
But to each one of us grace
was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. It was he who gave some as apostles, some as
prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, to equip the
saints for the work of ministry…
In Paul’s discussion of spiritual gifts in I Corinthians 12,
he focuses on the nature and character of the gifts. Here, we might say he focuses on the gifted
within the church, those who are both gifted and gifts. But what’s more important than the contrast
between these passages is what they have in common.
Both make it clear Christ provides what his churches need to
do his work. Do you get what
that means? Because of Christ’s
provisions a small church doesn’t have to wait until it is big to do his work;
a poor church doesn’t have to wait until it is rich to do his work. And, remember, those provisions are
manifested through the lives of individual Christians. In both passages Paul tells us each believer
possesses some gift (a charisma) from the Spirit. Ironically, that means we are all
charismatics but I don’t intend to pursue that notion on my last Sunday with
you.
Keep in mind how Paul uses “grace.” It is the “unmerited favor” that opens the
way to salvation but it is also a God-given enablement. The Expanded Bible translation gets to
the point: “Each one of us has been given
the special gift of grace,” where the phrase refers to a “graciously bestowed
divine endowment.” Those who possess
such “gifts of grace” have no more earned them than they earned the gift of
salvation.
The proper response to Christ’s gifting his people isn’t
pride but an eagerness to discover and use those gifts in ways that will honor
the Giver and accomplish his vision for the church.
What’s important now is for you to understand you possess—by
God’s grace—the capacity to do the work of the church even as you search for a
new pastor.
Let’s try to relate this to the text. Good Christians differ over whether there are
still “apostles” and “prophets” in the church.
We won’t resolve that this morning.
But it’s not impossible for one of you to have an apostle-like ability
to so testify to your experience of Christ that new doors are opened for the
gospel, doors that no “professional” minister could open. Or maybe, in the days to come, the church
will need someone with a prophet-like ability to apply the insights of God’s
Word to some challenge. Maybe that will
be you.
I don’t think it’s off base to suggest that the work of
these individuals Paul lists may been done by Christians who never have the
title. You may be one of them.
While there’s no doubt an individual like Billy Graham can
wear the title “evangelist,” you may discover that if you ever once ask God to
help you overcome your fear, you might be able to help a friend or neighbor
toward faith. Of course, in doing this
work of evangelism you will discover that some might trust Christ the first
time you offer the gospel. Others,
probably most, will be brought into the Kingdom through a measured
process. All of us are to be witnesses,
but you may discover God has specially graced you to do that kind of
midwifery.
Many believe when Paul speaks of “pastors and teachers,” he
uses the phrase in a way that calls for a hyphen, that he is describing a
single office, that of the “pastor-teacher.”
Once again, while Paul is certainly speaking of an individual who holds
a specific office or role in the church, the pastor-teacher’s work is not
exclusive to that office. Obviously, the
Sunday school reveals the pastor is not the only teacher in the church. Then, too, even if you are not the pastor,
you may be so gifted that you are able to relate pastorally to others. You may be the person God uses to “shepherd”
a confused believer, to comfort a broken-hearted fellow Christian.
Don’t ever assume the work of the church must cease until
you’ve found a pastor. God wants the
work of the church go on; trust the God who has gifted you to make that
happen. Then, when you have found the
new pastor, keep using your gifts to help the church.
CONCLUSION
Those are my wishes for you, some of them, at least. In the days to come, remember God has wishes
for you too and His wishes are always the best.
Before I finish I do want to say thank you.
Thank you to all of you who have, for almost twenty-three
years, given me the privilege of serving as your pastor-teacher. I am aware that in this age of hi-tech
entertainment it is audacious to expect people to sit and listen to one person
for 20 to 40 minutes. Yet, you
have. In my preaching, I have tried to
be clear, beneficial, and faithful to God’s Word. I’ve tried hard to preach because I believed
I had something you need to hear, not because it was 11:30 on a Sunday morning.
I want to thank the members of the Filipino Fellowship. I consider it a privilege you allowed me to
open the Word to you. Getting to know
you has been a joy. And I want to thank
Pastor Butch for letting his congregation come—not every pastor would do that.
I want to thank Philip and David who were willing to move
across the country so I could do what I’ve done for nearly two decades. You embraced them but outside the church,
they put up with anti-Texas prejudice which they overcame with good humor and
style. We’re proud of the men they’ve
become.
And, of course, I want to thank Pat. Now, this is me speaking not her. She has stood by me when there were
challenges we felt we could tell no one about. She has been a healer to the hurting,
gracious to the ungracious, a voice for the voiceless. When you called me as pastor you never
realized the treasure I’d be bringing with me.
Some of you may regret her departure more than mine.
Now, please stand and join me in
prayer.
