A Missed Opportunity?

A robocall from the police department was meant to inform us of something we already knew.  There had been an increased number of home burglaries in our neighborhood.  Just a few days prior to the call, my wife had been awakened early in the morning by a police officer at our door.  She was asked if we had seen or heard anything suspicious since the last evening.  Our next door neighbor’s house had been broken into and some items of value had been taken.

Everyone in our general area was subsequently invited to a neighborhood watch meeting.  The meeting was conducted by three police officers. They laid out the facts and encouraged neighbors to watch out for each other.  They also distributed information on how to organize a neighborhood watch group.

I noted with some interest that most of those who attended were older than I.  There are a lot of condos in the area which appear to be owned by seniors.  In the pre-meeting chit-chat, I overheard some words of fear but there were more expressions of anger and disgust.

There were two occasions during the meeting which drew applause.  The second was at the conclusion of the meeting when the assembled group offered their gratitude with polite applause.  The first occurred in response to the answer to a question by an older gentleman.  “Is it OK to shoot someone if he breaks into my house?”  The officer said, “You have the right to protect yourself.”  The audience response was rousing and animated.

I have struggled to find a word to describe my personal reaction.  More than anything I think I was just instantly and overwhelmingly sad.  Cheering the opportunity to shoot someone just does not seem right to me.  My sadness was compounded by the fact that it had already been several days since Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman had become household names.

The following Sunday I went to church.  I bristle when people accuse the church of being irrelevant.  But, on this Sunday morning, for the first time, I, as one who has been a church “insider” for most of his life, left worship feeling that the church, or more specifically this particular congregation, was irrelevant to the mission given to us by Jesus Christ.

Please try to understand me.  Yes, I had the opportunity to worship and offer praise.  Yes, I had received the body and blood of Christ.  What I missed was a sermon that somehow touched the realities of my life.  What I missed were prayers of the people that went beyond the congregation.  We prayed for the sick of the congregation, but we did not pray for our neighbors.  We did not pray for those whose lives have been ruined by violence.  We did not pray for those who live in fear.  We did not pray for those who have no way out of poverty.  We did not pray for communities that suffer the divisions of racial strife and injustice.  We did not pray for my neighbors who cheer the thought of creating their own justice with a gun.

Perhaps it was just a missed opportunity.  My fear is that my experience reflects a congregation without a mission.  Not once was the assembly asked or challenged to go out and do something.  There was no invitation to engage in meaningful ministry.

I will admit that my reactions were predictable.  I abhor violence.  I grew up in a city that was nearly destroyed by its racial division.  I live in a city plagued by poverty and lack of opportunity.  I love the church and think that we would actually have to work at making it irrelevant.  (How could our proclamation of Christ ever be irrelevant?)  However, we need to do better.  We need to be better.  I believe that we are to be about the business of peace and unity.  I believe that congregations are called to make a positive impact in their neighborhoods and in the world.  I believe that to ignore the issues that confront us and our neighbor is to ignore what it means to be a disciple of Christ.

I am sad, but I am not hopeless.

“For [Christ] is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.” Ephesians 2:14.

Comments? Go to http://niselca.blogspot.com or comment on Facebook.  --JC

Street Preachers

If there are any street preachers in downtown Rockford, I haven’t seen or heard them.  On a recent vacation trip to San Antonio, Texas, however, street preachers were in good supply.

I heard some yelling from the street below our hotel window.  Across the street, six floors below, there was a preacher shouting his message to the crowd gathered at the bus stop.  He was well dressed, matching the afternoon business crowd.  Interestingly enough, he returned late that night dressed in sweats.  He would get right up into a person’s face, but only reduced the decibel level if the person in front of him engaged in conversation.

A second preacher was stationed on a bridge over the San Antonio River, but he seemed a bit less committed to the task.  He would stop shouting, sit down and take in the scenery when no one else was around.

I found a third street preacher to be the most intriguing.  He was in the same place day after day on the plaza in front of the Alamo.  Using a short wall for his pulpit, he preached to the crowds that neither stopped nor listened.  In front of him he had an assortment of tracts.  I saw no one either take one or engage him in conversation.  Occasionally he would stop long enough to take a swig of water from a plastic bottle.

I do not doubt the sincerity of this man.  He preached as one who believed what he was saying.  Jesus had rescued him from a misguided past.  His passion was for others to know the fear of God, be rescued from the devil and the fires of hell, and know the joy of salvation.

I am guessing that this man is motivated to go out to that plaza every day because he believes that God has called him to do so.  I don’t think he will ever be discouraged by the fact that no one is listening to him because he is doing what God has asked him to do.

If only his energy and passion could be directed into a more effective means of communication.  I found him to be annoying.  My moments of rest along that wall would have been more restful had he not been shouting in my ears.  The Word of God drove me away from that spot.  I cannot imagine that his message is doing much good for the kingdom of God.

It does make me wonder if I have ever preached a sermon that someone would have walked away from if it were more socially acceptable.  Have I preached any sermons that did not in some small way build up the body of Christ?  Has my mode or style of communication ever been totally ineffective?

Effective preaching has never been more difficult in the life of the church.  I cannot think of any other time in our daily routine when we are expected to passively sit and listen to what one person has to say.  Life is interactive everywhere.  Preaching styles may be changing. I am not sure of how we will be communicating the Gospel in another generation.  But, for now, I am encouraging pastors to take great care in their preaching.  Give the task enough time and effort to do it just as well as you can on a consistent basis.  I am also encouraging parishioners to give pastors constructive feedback on sermons.  The body of Christ will be stronger for it.

Comments are welcome.  Go to http://niselca.blogspot.com or comment on Facebook.  --JC