"The Interesting Kind of Christianity"

(Taken from "The Externally Focused Church" by Rick Rusaw & Eric Swanson)

Jeremiah 29:7-13

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Introduction: When our government was first set up, it was put in the first amendment that there was to be a separation between church and state. The reason for this was to get away from how the king of England had dictated to the church what they could teach, and what they could do. It was actually envisioned that the church would help to direct the government, not the other way around. But in modern time, this has been turned around. The first amendment right of separation of church and state has become the emphasis for keeping the church out of government decisions.

Have you ever felt that people have gotten to a place where they no longer want to hear about religion? Do you feel that people think the church has no place in their lives and in the government? In many ways this is true. So many people have closed themselves off from the church. They might still believe in Jesus, but not in the church, and the message of the church.

Today we start a new series from themes of a wonderful book titled: “The Externally Focused Church,” by Rick Rusaw & Eric Swanson (Group Publishers, 2004). The wonder of this book is that is gives example after example of churches that have decided to get involved in making a difference in their community, and the positive impact it has had for both community and church.

I. Selfless Demonstrations- (Matthew 9:35-38)

a. Let them see you care- I believe there is a new awakening going on

in our society. This new awakening is about the proclaiming of the gospel, the good news that God loves all, and desires to be in a relationship with all. But this new awakening is happening in a different way than in the past. The new awakening is happening more along the lines of how it happened in Jesus’ time. It is happening by the church going out into the community.

You have probably heard the saying: “People won’t care what you have to say, until they see how much you care.” This is a telling statement for what is needed for churches who are wanting to impact their communities. The people won’t listen to what the church has to say, until they see that the church really cares.

EX. Fellowship Bible Church, Little Rock Arkansas. This church got over a thousand people to descend upon the public schools in their area to help renovate the schools. The people from the church were not invited by the schools, so needless to say, the schools were quite surprised when these people showed up. And they were speechless as they watched these volunteers rebuild playgrounds, landscape entryways, lay carpet, construct cabinets, and paint hallways & classrooms.

Those who witnessed this service were touched by these selfless demonstrations of help and love. And they began to believe that the church just might have something worth listening to. One fourth-grade teacher, amazed at what she saw, said: “If this is Christianity, then I’m interested.”

You see, this is how the community around us is going to be interested in the message of God’s love, and salvation through Jesus; by our selfless demonstrations of love. It is something that they need to see in action first, before they will come to hear. In Matthew 9:35-38, “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. ³⁶When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. ³⁸Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

The hearing that Jesus got from the people was because he went out into the

community, and was healing He was healing people. Through healing people, Jesus showed that He cared about them. As the people saw Jesus’ love demonstrated, it led them to want to hear His message. This is the model that the church needs to follow. And the churches that are following this model, are making an impact in the world for the Kingdom of God.

What really takes place when we do this, is that people come to know who we are. I know that when people see our sign, and they read “Presbyterian” on the sign, they don’t know what Presbyterian is, and are often kept away by our name. By connecting with our community, we are no longer seen as some secret society, but we are flesh and blood people, who truly care for others. In essence, we become one of them.

b. Community Engagement- We will talk more in point 2 about what

it means to be an externally focused church. But for our information here, I want us to understand that it is about engaging the community. About a year ago, when we were having our church meeting to talk about the vision God has for our church, we did an exercise where we talked about the history of the church. We began to think about how this church got started, and how it grew.

What caused the church to grow? Part of it was an urgency about needing new members. And because of this urgency, people were led to invite others to church. But what supported this growth, was the fact that in the 1930’s and 1940’s, people were more likely to come to church when they were invited.

But then a change took place, when during WWII, women went to work. And then after the war, women continued to work. And with the women being in the work force, it started to change the family structure, and the family schedule. Along with this, there came a time when businesses started to be open for business on Sundays, and sports were scheduled on Sundays. This all caused competition for the church, and people had to start choosing what they were going to do on Sunday.

As time has gone on, church was no longer the main option for people. And consequently, people don’t just come to church because it is Sunday, or because they are invited. There is a new challenge for the church to get the message of God out to the people. The answer to this challenge is community engagement.

The good news, is that the idea of becoming engaged with our community is not a new idea. There are many examples of other churches that are doing this, as we will see in our series throughout the month of November.

c. Introduction- Winston Churchill once said: “We make a living by

what we get; we make a life by what we give.” EX. A number of years ago Chuck Colson talks of a prayer breakfast that he attended. At this prayer breakfast there were some powerful people like, the president of the United States, senators, congressman, industry leaders, and heads of state. But the most powerful person was the person who spoke: Mother Theresa. Her power didn’t come from her position, or her title, or her wealth, but from her role as a servant. When she spoke, everyone listened. She earned this power to be heard through a lifetime of service.

I don’t think that people would argue that Christians shouldn’t serve. The problem is that statistics show that less and less people are putting forth the time and energy to serve. It is not a philosophical problem. It is a practical problem. And even more, the church is becoming more and more marginalized in society, and less and less influential.

Why has the church lost her influence? First, even though we have a compelling message, we don’t always share the message in a compelling way. Second, we are speaking a truth to a world that no longer believes in this truth./ And so we have to change the way the message is conveyed. Instead of trying to tell people right off that they need Jesus and the love of God, we need to find a way to share the love of God with them through acts of service.

As I said at the beginning of this sermon, there is a wonderful movement that is creeping its way across churches of all shapes, sizes, and denominations. These churches are evaluating what really matters, and have decided that what really matters is service. They are becoming more and more outwardly focused. They are integrating the good news of Jesus, with good deeds. And because of this, they would be greatly missed if they ever left their community.

Our church is doing a number of things that impact our community; our computer classes, our bread ministry, our food pantry, our open chapel, our giving away free Bibles... But we need to continue this momentum, and find ways to connect these good deeds with the good and compelling message of Jesus Christ.

II. What is an externally focused church? (Isaiah 1:13-17; Jeremiah 29:7,

11; Mark 10:45; Luke 9:2; Acts 10:36-38)

a. Who is the target? As I talked about last week, the difference

between an internally focused church, and an externally focused church is where its resources are used. An internally focused church uses its resources for only those who are members, and the programs that exist in the church. An externally focused church uses some of its resources to impact the lives of others in its community.

There are powerful words from God, in the book of Isaiah, that talk about this; Isaiah 1:13-17, “Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations— I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. ¹⁵ When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; ¹⁶ wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, ¹⁷ learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.”/ These are words that remind us that our faith is inadequate when we focus on loving God, but forget about loving others! God calls us to build bridges to our community instead of walls around ourselves.

Now there does need to be a slight warning, and that is that we can’t serve everybody in our community. We have limited resources, and so we have to determine what God is calling us to do within the capability of our resources. We have to seek out who our target audience is to be.

Although everyone that is outside of the church is a potential ministry focus, there are 2 groups on which we need to focus. The first group is those who would be considered marginal. God has always had a place for marginal people; those who are broken, and outcast. Examples in the Bible of people in this category are: orphans, widows, prisoners, aliens, the homeless, the poor, the sick, and the disabled. We can’t do ministry to every group in this list, but we do need to have a heart that is willing to show mercy to these people when we encounter them.

The second group is the city. It is about seeking to be a blessing to the city we live in. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Do you think if Jesus lived in Long Beach, He would have a plan for the city of Long Beach? I DO. And so, as God’s people, and God’s church, we need to seek out how we can play a part in this plan. Earlier in this chapter of Jeremiah, 29:7, it says: “Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” By helping our city to prosper, we prosper as well. The two, in many ways, are connected.

Do you remember Jesus’ first miracle? It was simply turning some water into wine. Jesus was at a wedding, and the host ran out of wine. So Jesus turned some water into wine. It was a simple show of love. It didn’t change the kingdom. But it did deeply touch the lives of those whose wedding it was!

Externally focused churches bring beauty to their communities…. Our computer class may not change the world for the kingdom of God, but they do bring beauty to our community. Leaving our chapel open for prayer won’t change the kingdom. But it does offer people a place of beauty and blessing.

b. Four important characteristics- So let’s look at 4 important

characteristics that will help us to be obedient to this call of God to seek the peace and prosperity of the city. First, externally focused churches are convinced that good deeds and the good news of God can’t be separated. In Acts 10:36-38 we are told: “good news…through Jesus Christ…and…he went around doing good…because God was with Him.” When Jesus sent out the disciples, in Luke 9:2, “He sent them out to preach the kingdom of God [the good news] and to heal the sick [the good deeds].”

Second, externally focused churches see themselves as vital to the health and well-being of their communities. We need to believe that this community would not be as healthy if we didn’t exist. In this way, we understand that we have a purpose. We are told in the Bible to be in the world, but not of the world. This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t connect ourselves with our community. It is just that, the way we connect ourselves should always show the love of God, and the way of God. “It is only when the church is mixed into the very life and conversation of the city that it can be an effective force for change.” (The Externally Focused Church, p. 25)

Third, the externally focused church believes that ministering and serving go hand and hand as we live out our Christian faith. As we talked about last week, living out your Christian faith is about serving others in the name of Christ. We need to have the same desire as Christ. We are told by Christ in Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” We have to be convinced that it isn’t enough just to learn through instruction, but understand that we really can’t grow unless we are involved in service…………Fourth, externally focused churches are evangelistically effective. What is meant by this, is that the growth of the church needs to happen with new Christians. The statistics show us that churches aren’t growing all that much, and the growth that is happening is transfer growth (people transferring from one church to another church). This kind of growth takes time and effort. It takes the effort of our building relationships with others so that they move to a place where they want to hear how Jesus has made a difference in our lives, and how Jesus can make a difference in their lives. And this kind of relationship building takes time.

Conclusion: As we continue in our series over the next few weeks, it is important to note that there is no one model to become an externally focused church. While we will hear examples of how other churches are becoming significant through reaching out, we will have to discover our own style and call from God. To do this we need to identify specific needs in our community, and then start ministries or programs that will help to meet those needs. It could be expanding our computer classes, or teaching ESL classes, or doing a reading program for children. But whatever it is, it is about carrying the message of Jesus Christ to the community around us in a way that compels them to hear and believe. Amen.