"The Best is Yet to Come"
Luke 12:54-56
Sunday, November 25, 2007
(Taken from "The Externally Focused Church," by Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson)

Introduction: There is an interesting dynamic about our minds, and that is, that we can read misspelled words, as long as the first and the last letters are correct. If the first and the last letters are correct, then the mind helps to fill in the rest. Look at the following paragraph, in your outline and take a moment to read it:

“Aoccdrnig to rsearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer

in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is

taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a

total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae

the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as

a wlohe. Amzanig, huh?”

It is amazing that we can read this paragraph with all these misspelled words as if they were spelled correctly. The reason is that the mind can focus on patterns of letters more than on individual letters within words.

This morning I want to finish our series on the themes from the book “The Externally Focused Church,” by talking about how you don’t have to know the whole picture or have complete understanding, before you get started with being an externally focused Christian, or an externally focused church.

I. Being Useful- (Exodus 2:1-9)

a. Using volunteers- Probably the greatest amount of volunteer work

happens in a church. Churches handle this issue in different ways. Some churches, that want to see their volunteers be more “externally focused,” expect that all of the staff and all of the areas of ministry will have an externally focused mindset. The plan for each area of ministry needs to include ways to serve the community.

Other churches have a hired staff person whose job it is to find work for volunteers to do. They will seek ways for the church to be more community minded, and then try to deploy volunteers into the community. The staff person is looking for big-hearted people who want to transform their community.

Some churches are even going so far as to hire a “paid volunteer.” This term “paid volunteer” sounds like an oxymoron. But the idea is to find someone who has a passion to get others involved in their passion. They are basically hired as a 10- hour per week part timer (so they are a volunteer in that they usually give more than 10 hours a week to the position). And it doesn’t have to be just large churches that hire part time volunteer coordinators. Most churches can find some money to do this if they make it a priority.

The goal really is like what I talked about last week: finding a point person to help people in the church to engage their passion with community involvement.

EX. In the Old Testament, the book of Exodus, chapter 2, we have the story of Moses’ mother. She gives birth to Moses, and tries to hide Moses, because the Pharaoh at that time was killing the male babies. To keep her son alive, she puts him in a basket, and floats him down the river. Moses is found by the Pharaoh’s daughter. We pick the story up in Exodus 2:7, “⁷ Then his sister asked Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?"

⁸ "Yes, go," she answered. And the girl went and got the baby's mother. ⁹ Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you." So the woman took the baby and nursed him.” Here we see Moses’ mother gets paid for what she was born to do; care for her child. Whether we are paid or we volunteer, it is a great blessing to live out what we were created to do!

b. Utilizing the whole church- Now of course, the word volunteer

refers to those who are engaging in ministry of any type, and who do not get paid for the work they do. To be an “externally focused” volunteer is to be in shoulder-to-shoulder, face-to-face relationships with those who are yet to become Christians. And many who are volunteers start out reluctant, hesitant, maybe even fearful.

I think one of the most exciting parts of my job is to help someone who has a passion, but doesn’t quite know how to do the ministry that fits with this passion. As I help them learn how to serve, they begin to grow, and understand, and learn how to give their lives away; they realize that they can indeed do great work in the church. For example; I have had the opportunity to help many people become teachers: for Bible Studies, youth groups, and Alpha classes. At first they are fearful to stand up and teach. But in time, they find it energizing and fruitful to teach!

It is important to understand that it is not only people who are trained, that are called to serve. The church has to see, that the more who are mobilized to action, the more the blessing the church will be in its own setting, and in the community. That is the beauty of being a volunteer in a church, you don’t have to have any special training before you get started. Everyone can do it, because everyone is gifted by God, to serve God, for the benefit of the Kingdom of God.

c. Being motivated- In becoming a volunteer, probably the most

challenging aspect is to motivate yourself to take that first step of saying that you will get involved. But even more than that, once you take that first step, you need it to be a good experience, or you won’t continue in your serving.

This is why the recruiting experience is so important.

EX. I have known many churches who recruit people through needs. What I mean by this, is that a church will have a need (let’s say they need a Sunday School teacher), and they will have people who want to volunteer, and so they will place the volunteer as a teacher. But the problem with this, is often times the gift of the volunteer doesn’t match where they are placed. Maybe this person who is supposed to teach kids, has the gift of administration. The result is that neither the person who serves, nor those whom they serve, are blessed by the experience. I TRULY BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE SHOULD ONLY BE PLACED IN THE AREAS WHERE THEY ARE GIFTED!

A second thing that helps is for people to have a clear idea of the need, and the length of the need. People want to know if they are volunteering for a week, a month, a year, or for the rest of their life. They also want to have some direction they are to take, and some idea of the expectation of the result desired.

I believe that if you know that you will be doing what you love to do, and you know exactly how long you will be doing it, and with whom, and what is expected, the chances of you volunteering will increase. And this is how we seek to involve people in ministry here at Community Presbyterian Church. I want you all to know that I value every volunteer we have, because without our volunteers, we could not have an effective church, and we would not be making the difference we are making!

d. Partnering- But sometimes the need is bigger than what one

church can do. For example, I have been talking about making a difference in our community. But we cannot transform this community by ourselves. To really transform this community, we need to partner with other churches and organizations. But to do this we have to acknowledge 2 things: (1) As I just said, we have to acknowledge that the job is bigger than what any one church can handle; and (2) We need to acknowledge that God is already at work through other people.

I have shared many of the partnerships we have formed: with food finders; with WomenShelter; with Neighborhood Watch; with WOW jam (the evangelistic rally last summer that was supported by many different churches in and beyond Long Beach). I have talked about how our councilman Val Lerch has talked to churches about partnering together. And the churches and schools in our area need to start talking together and finding ways to partner.

When many people in the church hear about this idea of partnering, they begin to think that the church is selling out. But the truth is, we don’t have to water down our beliefs to partner with other churches and organizations. The partner-ships are not formed around statements of faith or doctrine, but rather out of common love and commitment to our community. As Rick Rusaw said in the book “The Externally Focused Church” (chapter 5): ‘We may not always agree with other community service groups on the cause or the cure, but we do agree there is a problem.’

For example, the issue of homelessness may be an issue where people don’t believe in themselves to be able to work and support themselves. Maybe if they were people of faith they would be motivated to live differently. But regardless of whether they have faith or not, the problem exists, they are homeless, and it is an issue that affects everyone in the community. If the government, and the churches, and the community organizations worked together, maybe this would be less of a problem.

e. Measuring- But another issue is that of measuring. When you have

no way to measure, you can get frustrated very easily and lose your motivation for serving. So we need to develop language that helps us to measure. This is especially true when you are working with other groups as well. In the book they give a list of terms that can be helpful to define: some of the ideas include:

· What does it mean to touch the lives of people?

· What does it mean for each group to be involved?

· What does it mean for each group to be partnered together?

· What kinds of decisions are expected by each group?

We will have difficulty communicating with each other and working together if we don’t agree on some basic principles and definitions. Because the cultures of “for profit” organizations and “nonprofit” organizations are different, we must be able to translate to the outside world what we do and what we are trying to achieve, and how what we are trying to achieve coincides with what they are trying to achieve.

One measurement is need verses input. It is good to measure how much need there is, verses what we can give to that need. For example, WomenShelter has many families who are in need of receiving help in giving their children a nice Christmas with some Christmas gifts. I know that our church could not take an unlimited amount of families, but I also know that many times people have expressed a desire to help in this way. So I told the volunteer coordinator of WomenShelter that we could probably help 2 families. In this way, we are seeking to help meet the need in a measurable way within our means.

A second measurement is outcome. It is important to regularly measure the results of our efforts and use of our resources. How effective are we in this partnership? This measurement is not always so easy. In the business world they have a tangible bottom line on its profit and loss statement. But what is the bottom line for churches? Usually the bottom line is changed people. So if we can help to change people’s lives, then we are being successful. But ultimately it is lives that are changed to believe in Jesus. In our serving, we trust God will make this happen.

II. Being the Best You Can Be- (Luke 12:54-56; Matthew 25:14-30)

a. Understanding the times- STORY- There is a Taiwanese fable

about a frog who lived in the bottom of a well. When the frog was thirsty, he drank a little bit of water from the well, and when he was hungry, he ate some insects that flew into the well. When he was tired, he lay on a little rock at the bottom of the well and looked up at the sky above him. Because of this, the frog thought of the sky as being just a small circle of blue. Since this was the only world he knew, he was happy in this world…….One day a bird came and landed on the edge of the well. The frog tried to get the bird to come down and play with him, but instead, the bird told the frog many stories of an endless expanse of sky. The frog did not want to believe the bird, and in fact argued with the bird that the sky was small and round. So the bird tried to get the frog to come out of the well and see for himself. But the frog just sat on his rock convinced he was right. In time, tired of the arguing, the bird flew away……One day a yellow sparrow swooped down into the well, put the frog on its back, and flew up into the sunlight. For the first time the frog saw the flowers, trees, animals, mountains, and the SKY. The frog enjoyed what he saw so much, that he never returned to the well.

Of course, this fable is about perspective. A church that stays within its four walls will have a limited perspective like the frog in the well. There is a big world in which to minister, but the church doesn’t see it. There is risk to go out, but it is worth it!

In our scripture reading this morning, we read a passage where Jesus complimented his followers on their ability to forecast the weather. But then he asks in Luke 12:56, “You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time?”/ This passage is a reminder to the church that to do ministry for Jesus, we need to know the trends around us. What are the influences in our community? What is people’s willingness to hear the good news of Jesus?

Do we know that the current statistics show that our community in the 90805 zip cope is 10.5 % white, 20.3% African American, and 53% Hispanic? Do we know that in 5 years, in 2012, that it will change to be 8.1% white, 20.3% African American, and 58% Hispanic? As Jesus says, You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time?

Did you know that within 10 years ago, a study was done, and in a 2 mile radius from our church, only 3% of the people thought themselves to be Presbyterian or reformed in their religious belief? On top of this, 17% were not interested in religion at all, and 18% percent were staunchly Catholic? This is important to know as we reach out into our community.

b. The power of small things- Illus. In 1987, Mike Hayes was a

freshman at the University of Illinois. He was having trouble paying for his college. One day he came up with an innovative solution. The solution was this: he wrote to Chicago Tribune columnist Bob Greene, and asked if Mr. Greene would ask each of his readers to send him one penny. Greene liked the idea, and so he asked his readers if they would do this. THOUSANDS RESPONDED. In less than a month, the “Pennies for Mike” fund contained 2.3 million pennies! Some of the readers actually sent nickels, dimes, or quarters. Some even sent checks. In the end, Mike Hayes raised over $28,000 which paid for his 4 years of college (now remember this was back in 1987)………Mike didn’t asked for a lot; he only asked for a little from each person.

The truth is, we don’t have to be a big church, with lots of money to make a difference. We just have to be willing to give a little, and to work together. You just have to move your desire into action. You just have to find an opportunity for your inclination.

c. A Kingdom assignment- There is a wonderful little book called

“The Kingdom Assignment.” (Show the book). It is by Denny and Leesa Bellesi. Denny Bellesi is the pastor of Coast Hills Community Church in Aliso Viejo. One day Denny did a stunning sermon illustration. He had $10,000 that he was going to give away to people that day. First he read Matthew 25:14-30. This passage is where Jesus talks about a landowner giving money to 3 servants and going away on a trip. When the landowner returns, he praises the first and second servants for making money on the money he gave them. But he was angry with the third servant, because he just hid the money away. After preaching on this sermon, Denny called 100 people forward, and gave them each $100. For them to receive this money, they had to agree to find a way to “invest” this money for the kingdom of God. Four months later the volunteers reported how the money had been spent. Through this money the hungry had been fed, ministries had been started, churches had been built, and many, many other God-directed ventures came about. Some felt that this was the most significant thing they had ever done………I encourage you to read the book. What resulted from this money is astounding!

This led another church to do this same “Kingdom Assignment.” One family took its $100 and sponsored a dog wash. They made $1300 and gave the money to the safe house for battered women. Another family planted a garden and sold vegetables. One 11-year-old boy asked for a dollar, made up fliers advertising his willingness to do yardwork that summer, and raised $273, which he donated to the “lost boys of Sudan” who live in Boulder, Colorado.

The point is, that God can take $100 (or less) and do amazing things with it. It’s not about size, it’s about impact. God wants us to impact our community. God wants us to impact people for Jesus.

Conclusion: God is moving the church beyond the four walls of its building and into the community. The results of those churches that are being faithful to this call are wonderful. People are coming to faith, lives are being changed, and Christians are growing. The truth is, the challenges and opportunities of our world are too massive to rely on doing it the way its always been done.

If we want to see a future of prosperity for God and the Church, we have to have the vision to see, the passion to feel, and the courage to do. Poet Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: “The voyage of the best ship is a zigzag line of a hundred tacks.” A sailboat doesn’t go in a straight line. It has to tack back and forth, in a zigzag pattern, so that the sails can catch the wind.

We may not have a map that shows us the details of the journey, but we do have a compass; Jesus Christ. Jesus was one who loved people, and gave His time for people, and gave His life for people. It is really more about the journey, than it is about the destination. God calls us to be faithful on the journey. He will take care of getting us where we need to go. Let us trust God in this. Let us get started, and know that God will provide the solutions as we go. Let us join the journey. Amen.