Reno UMC Sermon: 11-08-09

November 8, 2009
Rev. Judith Bither

Risk-taking Mission and Service

We are on our fourth part of discovering the Five Practices of a Fruitful Congregation. So far we have explored:

Radical hospitality
Passionate worship
Intentional faith development

Today we focus on Risk-taking mission and service.

Bishop Robert Schnase writes this about the subject of mission: “The word mission turns church service outward. Risk-taking Mission and Service includes the projects, the efforts, and work people do to make a positive difference in the lives of others for the purposes of Christ, whether or not they will ever be part of the faith community. Mission reminds congregations that Christ’s compassion, grace and love extend to the entire world, and these fruits are cultivated not only within the walls of the church or among the people of the Body of Christ who are regularly seen and already known. Mission refers to the positive difference made in the lives of people beyond the inner circle of the church.

At Reno First we have several ways that we reach out to those outside the circle of the congregation. In the last three years you have added significant missions:

New Orleans mission trips to repair homes
Family Promise to house homeless families several times a year
Drop-in-the-bucket food program that gives out about 90 bags of food two Saturdays a month.
In addition, 10% of the capital campaign funds are going to missions projects, which means $30,000 to programs locally and globally.
In addition our youth group goes on a mission project every summer, most recently to glean peaches in the hot California sun.
There are also numerous individuals in the congregation who volunteer in such things as prison ministry, at thrift shops, tutoring children after school, work on the crisis call line, and other organizations.

Bishop Schnase insists that we must do more than give money in order to practice risk-taking mission and service. It is clear that Reno First understands this very well! We are indeed changed when we reach out in a hands-on way. Ask those who are handing out bags of food on Saturdays or who prepare meals or sleep in the basement with the Family Promise families.

The United Methodist Bishop insists that Service, offering oneself in the deliberate effort to improve the condition of others, is rooted in more than 3000 years of faith tradition. Nothing is more central to faith identity and to the church’s mission than transforming the lives and conditions of people by offering oneself in God’s name. Nearly every page of Scripture shows people serving God by serving others.

The life of service flows naturally and inescapably from the teachings of Jesus Christ, and no congregation or disciple can avoid the direct gifts of God’s call to love and serve others. Schnase insists, “A church without service dies like a tree with neither roots or fruit, without nourishment of purpose.”

Compassionate service marked the early church as disciples were admonished to “be doers of the word, and not merely hearers.” They prayed for the sick, visited the imprisoned, marshaled their resources to provide for the needs of the poor. Paul recognized how the core practice of love defined the Christian life: If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.”

Another example is found in today’s scripture. It is the story of Stephen, one of the first deacons and the first Christian martyr. In the Acts of the Apostles the name of Stephen occurs for the first time at the appointment of the first deacons. Because there was discontent of how alms were distributed to the poor, seven men were selected by the Apostles to oversee this mission. Of these seven, Stephen, is the first mentioned and the best known.

It was because of this mission outreach of the First Century Church that Dr. Kenneth Haugk, a Lutheran pastor in St. Louis was motivated to organize his laity to be Christian care-givers. Since the program was started in 1975, tens of thousands of congregations of every denomination have enrolled in the system called “Stephen Ministry” to learn the skills to bring Christ’s healing one-on-one to people suffering from illness, grief, family problems and job loss, to name just a few of the needs. Our congregation is a Stephen Ministry Congregation, but it has been years since the program was put into practice. I wonder if this is one place God might be nudging us to be involved again.

Stephen Ministers are trained lay people who provide confidential care to individuals in the congregation or community. One of the strengths of the program is the confidentiality. Only the leaders know who has been assigned a Stephen Minister. Real names are not used. Stephen ministers learn the skills to help a person sense how God might be moving or nudging their lives.

Reno First will have many ways to practice risk-taking mission and service. The idea for international mission trips is also being discussed. Perhaps you do not want to support the food pantry or sleep in the basement with the homeless or go on a mission trip. Bishop Schnase reminds us that “the life of service flows naturally and inescapably from the teachings of Jesus Christ, and no congregation or disciple can avoid the direct gift and demand of God’s call to love and serve others. Risk-taking Mission and Service takes people into minis-tries that push them out of their comfort zone, stretching them beyond the circle of relationships and practices that routinely define their faith commitments.

What would that look like for us? What are other ways that we might reach the least and the lost right here where I church exists? A United Methodist pastor from Saint Charles, Missouri tells this story about her own congregation: “While serving meals and hospitality at the local Salvation Army kitchen, Martha, a member of our congregation noticed how often people lack the ability to attend to their basic hygiene needs. She noted the most often unused showering facilities at First UMC—and “Showers of Blessings” was born. Now, once a week persons are transported to the church, given fresh coffee, new soap and shampoo, soft towels, and a place to do what we too often take for granted—keep clean. The ministry, staffed and supplied by volunteers, is growing. Mothers bring their children and leave with thanksgiving on their lips, and men walk a little taller. We hope to expand the ministry to offer a new set of clothes after the showers. We are learning more about the need to which we’ve been invisible too long and about the ability to facilitate dignity.

As we practice Risk-taking Mission and Service, God’s Spirit:

Changes us;
changes others;
changes our churches.

Bishop Schnase doesn’t mince any words when he extols: “The stretch of Christian discipleship is to love those for whom it is not automatic, easy, common, or accepted. Jesus stepped across oppressive social boundaries, intermingled with those who suffered crippling infirmities and social stigma, and offered hope to those at their point of gravest despair.

Now obviously not everyone in our church is physically able to tackle any kind of hands-on mission or service. But everyone is needed to help fund the ministries and everyone can support them by prayer. It is my vision that our church budget will begin to support these missions—our food program and Family Promise—within the church budget, instead of separate; which feels like they are pet projects of a few instead of valuable ministries of the whole.

How is Christ calling you to be in ministry and mission through Reno First United Methodist Church? Let’s think beyond our doors to spread the love of Christ literally around the world. May we each pray on this and respond with passion!

For Jesus’ sake. Amen

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