A Life of Discipleship  Dying to Self Part 3...God's Work April 25, 2010 Rev. Dr. M. Taylor Bach

Galatians 5:19-23 John 16:5-15

Last week I had the opportunity of being interviewed on the radio, WCVX, a Christian station. Brandon Snow was the interviewer. He asked me a question that I want to propose to you. It took me aback for a moment. He said, “What is the single thing that distinguishes your congregation from all others?” You know, they don't like long empty silences on the radio. So I felt highly pressured. I thought, “Oh, I've got to come up with something dynamic right now!!!” What is the single thing that distinguishes our congregation from all others? I flashed to the fact that this is our 140th anniversary year. I thought, “OK. What is the single thing about our congregation in the 140 years that would distinguish us from others?” Instantly, what popped into my head was the word Friendship. We are a congregation of friends. Not just friends, but really good friends. We really like one another. We like socializing with one another. We like being with one another. All you have to do is be in a hurry to get into your seat on a Sunday morning and get through the crowd hanging out in the Narthex. Then you discover that you can't get there in a hurry because someone will stop you and talk to you on the way. The same thing frequently is true when you are leaving the church. If you want to leave in a hurry, it usually doesn't happen because one of your friends will grab you and say, “Hey, how are you?” or “What's going on with your life?” and “What's up with you lately?” So we have friendship that we share and that distinguishes us from others.

As I was looking over the documents and literature of the history of our church, what came to my mind again was the scripture where Jesus said, “I am the Way.” I was thinking then, do we know the Way? Do we really have the Way? Is there a map given by Christ that would help us in our pilgrimage together? A memorable devise came to my mind using the letters&M.A.P.

M  stands for the mystery of the church. We have a mysterious kind of bond that holds us together and enables us to like one another. I was also thinking about the ministers who preceded me. Some planted seeds, some ministers watered and then I thought about myself. I am probably the fertilizer! And you get that every Sunday! Now don't take that too far. (Laughter) But then it is the Holy Spirit who provides the growth. That is what I can't control. None of the previous ministers could control it. It is the Holy Spirit that creates the bond of love between us and growth and we don't have a whole lot of control over that. So there is kind of a mysterious element  part of our M.A.P.

The second thing that comes to mind is symbolized by the letter “A”. A  stands for the adventure in serving our church. If somebody taps you on the shoulder and asks you to serve in some capacity and you say, “Yes,” you really don't know how that's going to go for you. Yes, you look in the Constitution and see a job description or you may ask the person who tapped you on the shoulder, “Well, what are you asking of me? What do you want me to do here?” You'll hear a description of what you are being asked to do. But boy when you get into it, you are in for a ride. Who could tell you really how it will go? I think throughout the 140 years of our congregation, it has been an adventure for many, it has been a surprise for many. I think of Bob Girard who takes my place when I am on vacation and in the past couple of years, took my place when I was sick. You know, he got very short notice to preach on those occasions. It had to be an adventure for him. As each person steps out and volunteers and does something, it is an adventure. I am sure when the members of this church chose the name Pilgrim, they were thinking about adventure in some way, because what do Pilgrims do? Pilgrims are people on a journey. Pilgrims are people on a mission. Pilgrims are people who go from one place to another place. So we are Pilgrim Church. We are people in motion, in movement. We are people on an adventure.

Let's look at the last letter of our M.A.P. What would the letter “P” stand for? P  The answer is passion. We are called to be a people of passion. Sometimes compassion. The word compassion combines two Latin words. Com meaning with and passion meaning a burning desire inside to do something. We do things compassionately, with passion. We respond to each other when there's injury or hurt, when there is sickness. We respond to each other when there is excitement. We respond to each other in our friendship. That is what our friendship is about. So we are passionate and compassionate people. That is part of the 140 year history as well.

When I think what our church was like when Jan and I came here and I think about what it is now, I'm highly aware of how friendship has served us. I am highly aware how friendship has created the loyalty of people who come every Sunday. Friendship has been what has sustained the members here. I want to encourage you once again to make friends here. Nurture that bond. When I first came, I talked to you about the research that says a person can only sustain or nurture sixty friends. Well, we have 370 members on our books so you can't be friends with all 300 plus, but you can be friends with sixty. So I encourage you to figure out who your sixty are. Of course, out of that sixty some will be more particularly your close friends. Remember Jesus had a group of seventy-two disciples who followed him regularly&then twelve who were there all the time and really hung in there with Him. Of that twelve, He apparently had three who were just His best buddies. That was Peter, James and John. We are going to have that kind of thing in our church, too. We are going to have our larger group of our acquaintances and those we like. We would jump in and help them if they needed it. We are probably going to have the twelve that we would eat our Pancake Breakfast with and we are probably going to have the three that we want to see absolutely every Sunday. That is the way a church works. I've heard people criticize churches and say, “Oh, they are just a big group of cliques.” The answer is “Yes.” That is the way it is suppose to be. We are going to have our particular group that we hang out with and bum around with. That is OK. We will have the group that we socialize with and that is OK. That is how it works. That is part of human psychology. We will have our closer friends. So we want you to work on developing those friendships and celebrating those friendships and being there for each other in good times and in bad times. These are the ones you'll care about and care for.

We have our M.A.P. We have our mystery. We have our adventure. We have passion. That is what has sustained this church for 140 years. Ultimately, when we get behind that M.A.P., we see the reality of the fact that Jesus, when He identified himself as “I AM the Way,” is He who creates this M.A.P. When He gives us the command above all commands, that we love one another as He has loved us, that is the way. That is what creates our friendships. When He gives us rules to obey, when He shares with us the Great Command, that is the M.A.P., that is what brings us together in purpose. That is what feeds us and helps us to share our lives with one another. So I am excited about our church. I hope you are excited about our church, too. I hope you just want to run out and tell everybody about the friendships we have here, the worship services that we do here, the organizations and ministries that we experience here. There are all kinds of things that can be enjoyed here and done here that you can tell others about. Tell some of your non-member friends and family members about our church and how you find friendship here.

Rev. Bill Hybels is a minister who speaks highly of his own church, Willow Creek in Chicago, and probably if the truth is known, most ministers speak highly of their own church. I for one will always do that because I love Pilgrim and wouldn't trade it for anything in this world. I hope you catch that enthusiasm and I hope you feel that way, too. Bill said this, “When you grasp the M.A.P., when you know the Way, there will be a twinkle in your eye, a hop in your step and joy in your heart.” I think that is the kind of thing that distinguishes our congregation from other congregations on the West Side of Cincinnati.

I was glad to say that on the radio. The announcer told me that the radio broadcast will occur late in May. When I get more information about it, I'll share it with you so you can listen to it. Hopefully I said the right things and won't embarrass anybody or embarrass myself. When the interview was over, Brandon Snow said, “You know, I really enjoyed interviewing you.” I said, “Well, why?” He said, “Because you have such a passion for your church and in came out in the interview.” I hope it did. I can't wait to hear it. I hope it came out because I love this place and I hope you love this place. And I hope we can share that with anybody who will listen to it. We will celebrate it tonight at our 140th anniversary dinner dance and we will celebrate it all this year as we keep in mind that we know the Way, and that Way is Jesus Christ.