Did you know that only one out of 7 people change their habits after a heart attack!
Warning signs are there to tell us we need to change . . . that we need to take notice! WARNING!!!!
The life’s blood of the church is not offering money or church attendance. It is new followers of Christ. The church is always one generation away from dieing! There lies the problem of any church. We have a mission as a church to support and invite others to Christ. But do we do that?
Our numbers would say not . . .
In the 20 year period 1991 to 2010 We have had 98 new members join our church and 147 leave by death. During that same period Membership at First UMC has decreased by 39.96%. In 1991 we had over 500 members and averaged almost twice what we currently average in worship. IN other words, we have lost over 200 members and dropped by nearly half in worship attendance. Don’t feel too bad though. In 2010 our attendance was only 40% of our membership, but the high in the last twenty years was only 42.5%.
We are also a part of a greater mission. The UMC has a mission to make disciples for the transformation of the world. But do we do that? The data is sadly the same. We have lost over 7 million total members in the last 40 years.
People, we have been doing the same things over and over without results. So, why would we continue doing those thing? In two words – comfort and ease. At least I prefer those two words over this one – insanity! We have spent far too long in the safety of our places of comfort. The warning signs are evident in our church and in our personal lives – our pulse is weak!
“I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out.” John Wesley
Jesus told this parable: “A man owned a fig tree planted in his vineyard. He came looking for fruit on it and found none. He said to his gardener, ‘Look, I’ve come looking for fruit on this fig tree for the past three years, and I’ve never found any. Cut it down! Why should it continue depleting the soil’s nutrients?’ The gardener responded, ‘Lord, give it one more year, and I will dig around it and give it fertilizer. Maybe it will produce fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down.’” Luke 13:6-9 CEB
I fear the church, and our denomination, will be cut down and left behind if we do not learn to take risks and heed the warning signs. When I came here as your pastor just over a year ago, I was described to some of you as a pastor with an entrepreneurial spirit. Nice accolade, but what does that mean? It is someone who:
Dreams big dreams
is willing to take risk
Has a plan – Not just a dream but a plan
is Willing to fail
Believes the opportunity to succeed is greater than the risk of failure
So what if we became a church that had an entrepreneurial spirit? A spirit that would allow us to achieve our mission . . . to live . . . to have a strong pulse . . . to show signs of life.
In order to do that – to become that – I believe we must be willing to take risks, but what does that mean?
If failing was not an option for you. What would you try to accomplish? What if as a church we could do the same thing? What would we do? What would we want to be known for? What if we developed new vision? A vision that was willing to focus on the ONE rather than the MANY.
Remember the story of the lost sheep? (Luke 15:3-7) Perhaps we need to worry less about what we might lose in growing and focus more on what might be gained.
And speaking of lost sheep, maybe we need to take the risk of reaching out to our own lost sheep? Did you know that we have well over 100 church members that have not been this church in the past two years? This is the place they once called home. What if a group of church members visited every person on our church roll and dared to invite them to be an active part of the church?
Let me also remind you that we will grow when we actually have new disciples – new followers of Christ. The goal being discussed for the church is to create 12 new disciples in 2012. The church does not grow by borrowing members from other churches or by simply reactivating old members. If we are to be a vital and thriving church, we need to bring new followers to Christ. If we do not, we are but a generation from dying off!
We are stuck in a rhetoric of crisis rather than action. Easy to yell Fire, but there are few heroes willing to run into the fire to rescue the perishing. It is easier to talk of our problems than to risk trying something new. We would rather question the need to have goals – to make plans – we would rather say, “can’t we just be the church.” Why do we need all of this goal setting and planning stuff? My simple answer is “How’s the just being a church been working for you . . .?”
The kinder answer is what are you afraid of? Setting a goal means you might not reach it. That is the kind way of saying you might fail. So what? Wouldn’t you rather try than sit back and do nothing?
People, we need to learn to see the abundance and not the scarcity - you have talked for over two years about what it will mean to be debt free . . . now that it is in sight . . . what are you going to do with the new abundance?
What if we sought a new audience to speak with? An audience of the Least, the Lost, and the Lonely – not a very glamorous audience? Need I remind you that Jesus spent his entire ministry with the undesirables of the community - Fishermen, tax Collectors, Women, Lepers, Sick, Lame, Poor, The unnoticed, Homeless, and the poor. Perhaps we need to take the risk of reaching out to those that are not quite like us – not by inviting them to a meal, but by inviting them to be a part of our family in worship and study. Perhaps we need to reach out to those that we don’t know. We might just discover how similar they are.
I might remind you this new audience still needs to hear the old message: You know the one . . .
This old message needs to come from new people – from all of our people.
If we are to become more spiritually fit as individuals, if we are to become a more vital and thriving congregation then we must be willing to move from our place of comfort and begin to act in new ways.
I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you gave me clothes to wear. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me.’
“Then those who are righteous will reply to him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? When did we see you as a stranger and welcome you, or naked and give you clothes to wear? When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
“Then the king will reply to them, ‘I assure you that when you have done it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you have done it for me.’ Matthew 25:35-40 CEB
Risk seeing something more in the life of this church – in your own life – in the coming year. When is the last time you risked anything (time, talent, treasure) for the kingdom of God?
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